<p>And taking a few performance classes is a great way to up your credit count, so if you do end up using a free drop or you take a class somewhere and the credits don’t transfer, you won’t be as far in the hole as you would be otherwise.</p>
<p>(It was great to know that I only needed 11 credits spring semester senior year - I still took 18 credits and six classes [including a dance and an ESS], but I didn’t have to!).</p>
<p>“Shhh. Don’t let Mini hear you.”</p>
<p>No, I have no problem with that at all! My younger d. has found the academics just fine - for her. If she had her choice, she’d do her entire degree without reading a book, and it would all be applied learning, internships, jobs, and languages (coupled with good training in international accounting.) We didn’t send her there for the academics. The opportunities she has had in the first year have been far, far beyond anything she would have had at Smith (which she would have actually hated), but the academics have been far from fundamental (except in languages.)</p>
<p>The right school for the right student. My older would have absolutely hated American; my younger one would think the idea of huge workloads for a liberal arts degree from Smith bizarre!</p>
<p>PlantMom, if the stats class that your D is taking next year is MTH 245, she’s in for a treat. The professor is one of my favorites.</p>
<p>Mini: yes, re: “fit.” (MWFN: despite being very different in some ways, my D and Mini have some striking similarities in others.)</p>
<p>MWFN: yeah, I rolled my eyes at the extra for instrument instruction too. D never took a lab course though at one time she had even considered a bio major. Astronomy wound up trumping Physics when the time came. Speaking of which, Astronomy was a bit of a slog for students who didn’t have much math in their background. And, yeah, you’d think $50K would cover lab fees. (And I’m so grateful that it was just over $40K when D started…)
$50K? Ay, caramba!</p>