As You Think About SLACs...Limited Number of Courses

[Anonymous]

This might have seemed totally obvious to some of you, especially if you attended a SLAC. But it actually wasn't something I thought that much about when DD chose a college. She is very happy at her school, but the limited numbers of courses and sections makes getting the classes she needs and wants really challenging. I do think it was the right environment for her, but it is frustrating. I feel like I'm solving a puzzle as I help her with her registration. And she really does need help because the school has a very laissez-faire attitude about it. She's a STEM major and has some goals for later in college, so it's really important she get certain classes. And it is difficult.

I'm not going to name the school because I'm not sure it matters. Just make sure that if you're looking at a small school, you really dig into the course catalog. Don't just look to see if they offer the major your kid wants. Look to see how many sections of core courses they offer and when those courses are. Maybe even do a little mock schedule to see what your kid's semester would be like.

Just a tip from someone who did not do that and maybe wishes she had! But we are still happy with the school. Just can be challenging as opposed to bigger schools with more options.

[Anonymous]

her counselor should be helping her get these courses, not you

[Anonymous]

At big schools can also be hard to get into the classes you want, just the nature of the beast.

[Anonymous]

Another thing to look for is the number of students in your major, since that largely determines the number of courses offered.

[Anonymous]

DD went to a SLAC and never had any issues with getting into the classes she needed. I went to a large state u and often didn’t get into the class or section of the class I wanted.

[Anonymous]

The whole point of a SLAC is that it is small and she can get them to work with her to figure issues like these out. And she needs to be advocating for herself.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I'm not here for a judgement on my parenting. She does talk to her advisor, but I am telling you that they are very hands off. The college has a lot more people majoring in the humanities than STEM, so I think it is easier for them to get the courses they need because a lot of them are very broad.

I'm not interested in a critique of my parenting. This is literally just a heads up to parents considering small colleges.

Also, 18 and 19 year olds are not always very savvy about understanding the best way to maximize their courses to meet college requirements and their majors and other interests they have. My daughter didn't understand that she could "double dip" on two requirements and meet both through taking one class and the school didn't make that clear to her. Doing that leaves another course open in her schedule down the line for a class she really wants to take that isn't just to meet college requirements.

[Anonymous]

This must be school dependent. My daughter is also at a SLAC - she meets with her adviser before pre-registration, goes over the classes she is interested in and, together, they come up with her schedule. She then pre-registers - if a class is overenrolled, she reaches out directly to the professor and, so far, things have always worked out - once they added an extra section for the extra students. One time she took a class a semester later than she originally intended, but then she was able to choose a course she really loved instead. Another time, she was supposed to take a level 1 course in one department, but was able to substitute something else by writing to the department head. Her friends at larger schools regularly complain about getting shut out of classes, but the difference at her very small school seems to be the access to professors and department heads, and the school's flexibility. While I agree there are issues with some schools and the oversubscribing of certain majors (eg, Pomona and CS), overall I can say her experience at a SLAC has been excellent and she has yet to hit a brick wall with faculty or administration - it seems like everyone there is very willing to help resolve any issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This must be school dependent. My daughter is also at a SLAC - she meets with her adviser before pre-registration, goes over the classes she is interested in and, together, they come up with her schedule. She then pre-registers - if a class is overenrolled, she reaches out directly to the professor and, so far, things have always worked out - once they added an extra section for the extra students. One time she took a class a semester later than she originally intended, but then she was able to choose a course she really loved instead. Another time, she was supposed to take a level 1 course in one department, but was able to substitute something else by writing to the department head. Her friends at larger schools regularly complain about getting shut out of classes, but the difference at her very small school seems to be the access to professors and department heads, and the school's flexibility. While I agree there are issues with some schools and the oversubscribing of certain majors (eg, Pomona and CS), overall I can say her experience at a SLAC has been excellent and she has yet to hit a brick wall with faculty or administration - it seems like everyone there is very willing to help resolve any issues.

OP here. Honestly, I think this would be true of her school too. Last semester she had issues with all the classes fitting, and they did help her. I think part of it is that outside of her major she has a few other interests, and getting all of those things to line up is really hard. She can also take classes at another college close by, but that requires going between the colleges which also takes time and make it harder to line up the classes. (And she needs that other college because there is like 1 section of a CORE CS course that she MUST at her college so if that doesn't line up properly, she will not have the course for her major.) She is a rule follower, so I don't think it really occurs to her to ask for exceptions. And we are very happy with the school overall. My point is just that there are so FEW classes available, especially in her major, it can make setting up her schedule very challenging. Maybe this depends on the school. I'm just saying it's something I wish I had paid more attention to when we were looking at schools. I don't know that it would have changed our mind, but I would have liked to know it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD went to a SLAC and never had any issues with getting into the classes she needed. I went to a large state u and often didn’t get into the class or section of the class I wanted.

I went to a large state university back in the days of telephone registration.

I remember waiting, finger on the last digit, at 11:59:59 so I could actually get into the system in time to get my classes. I’d have two or three, even four backups to every class, and sometimes I’d have to hit redial dozens of times before I got in.

I was in the honors program with priority registration over others with my same class status, which helped, but I don’t know how regular freshmen managed it.

I was actually easier when I got deeper into my major, because a lot of the upper-level courses were combined with grad school sections, so they could offer more of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm not here for a judgement on my parenting. She does talk to her advisor, but I am telling you that they are very hands off. The college has a lot more people majoring in the humanities than STEM, so I think it is easier for them to get the courses they need because a lot of them are very broad.

I'm not interested in a critique of my parenting. This is literally just a heads up to parents considering small colleges.

Also, 18 and 19 year olds are not always very savvy about understanding the best way to maximize their courses to meet college requirements and their majors and other interests they have. My daughter didn't understand that she could "double dip" on two requirements and meet both through taking one class and the school didn't make that clear to her. Doing that leaves another course open in her schedule down the line for a class she really wants to take that isn't just to meet college requirements.

She should ask for a new advisor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This must be school dependent. My daughter is also at a SLAC - she meets with her adviser before pre-registration, goes over the classes she is interested in and, together, they come up with her schedule. She then pre-registers - if a class is overenrolled, she reaches out directly to the professor and, so far, things have always worked out - once they added an extra section for the extra students. One time she took a class a semester later than she originally intended, but then she was able to choose a course she really loved instead. Another time, she was supposed to take a level 1 course in one department, but was able to substitute something else by writing to the department head. Her friends at larger schools regularly complain about getting shut out of classes, but the difference at her very small school seems to be the access to professors and department heads, and the school's flexibility. While I agree there are issues with some schools and the oversubscribing of certain majors (eg, Pomona and CS), overall I can say her experience at a SLAC has been excellent and she has yet to hit a brick wall with faculty or administration - it seems like everyone there is very willing to help resolve any issues.

OP here. Honestly, I think this would be true of her school too. Last semester she had issues with all the classes fitting, and they did help her. I think part of it is that outside of her major she has a few other interests, and getting all of those things to line up is really hard. She can also take classes at another college close by, but that requires going between the colleges which also takes time and make it harder to line up the classes. (And she needs that other college because there is like 1 section of a CORE CS course that she MUST at her college so if that doesn't line up properly, she will not have the course for her major.) She is a rule follower, so I don't think it really occurs to her to ask for exceptions. And we are very happy with the school overall. My point is just that there are so FEW classes available, especially in her major, it can make setting up her schedule very challenging. Maybe this depends on the school. I'm just saying it's something I wish I had paid more attention to when we were looking at schools. I don't know that it would have changed our mind, but I would have liked to know it.

You need to back way off and let her figure out how the system works on her own. This isn’t about a SLAC v bigger schools. Yes, most 18-19 year olds can figure out how the system works. Tell her to sit down and actually read the course manual.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the heads up, OP. It’s something to think about and discuss with my kids before college: how to navigate registration, attempt to negotiate or petition, how sometimes things can be flexible if you talk to the right administrative person, and so on.

PP who used to do phone registration: I used to have to stand in a VERY long line and do in-person. If a class was filled by the time you got to the window, you had seconds to tell them your plan B and try to rejig your schedule. All the while, dozens and dozens of impatient classmates were boring their eyes into your back, willing you to hurry the F up. Good times!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This must be school dependent. My daughter is also at a SLAC - she meets with her adviser before pre-registration, goes over the classes she is interested in and, together, they come up with her schedule. She then pre-registers - if a class is overenrolled, she reaches out directly to the professor and, so far, things have always worked out - once they added an extra section for the extra students. One time she took a class a semester later than she originally intended, but then she was able to choose a course she really loved instead. Another time, she was supposed to take a level 1 course in one department, but was able to substitute something else by writing to the department head. Her friends at larger schools regularly complain about getting shut out of classes, but the difference at her very small school seems to be the access to professors and department heads, and the school's flexibility. While I agree there are issues with some schools and the oversubscribing of certain majors (eg, Pomona and CS), overall I can say her experience at a SLAC has been excellent and she has yet to hit a brick wall with faculty or administration - it seems like everyone there is very willing to help resolve any issues.

OP here. Honestly, I think this would be true of her school too. Last semester she had issues with all the classes fitting, and they did help her. I think part of it is that outside of her major she has a few other interests, and getting all of those things to line up is really hard. She can also take classes at another college close by, but that requires going between the colleges which also takes time and make it harder to line up the classes. (And she needs that other college because there is like 1 section of a CORE CS course that she MUST at her college so if that doesn't line up properly, she will not have the course for her major.) She is a rule follower, so I don't think it really occurs to her to ask for exceptions. And we are very happy with the school overall. My point is just that there are so FEW classes available, especially in her major, it can make setting up her schedule very challenging. Maybe this depends on the school. I'm just saying it's something I wish I had paid more attention to when we were looking at schools. I don't know that it would have changed our mind, but I would have liked to know it.

You need to back way off and let her figure out how the system works on her own. This isn’t about a SLAC v bigger schools. Yes, most 18-19 year olds can figure out how the system works. Tell her to sit down and actually read the course manual.

Perhaps you didn't read where I said I wasn't asking for parenting advice. This is a heads up to parents with Seniors. Look at the classes in your kid's major that are offered and when and how often they are offered. If it's fine, that's awesome. If not, take it into consideration. (She cannot get a new advisor. There is one advisor for first years.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the heads up, OP. It’s something to think about and discuss with my kids before college: how to navigate registration, attempt to negotiate or petition, how sometimes things can be flexible if you talk to the right administrative person, and so on.

PP who used to do phone registration: I used to have to stand in a VERY long line and do in-person. If a class was filled by the time you got to the window, you had seconds to tell them your plan B and try to rejig your schedule. All the while, dozens and dozens of impatient classmates were boring their eyes into your back, willing you to hurry the F up. Good times!

Thanks! I don't remember having that issue, but I was a humanities major at two big schools. (I transferred.) I don't ever remember having any problems getting classes I wanted or needed. But I was an English major. If there was one class I wanted and it wasn't available, it wasn't a very big deal to choose another. That's different than needing Systems Engineering 201 and there is only 1 section offered at one time.