If you kid is studying at Williams/Amherst/Pomona/Swarthmore/Wellesley/Bowdoin now,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to Williams after attending a top MCPS magnet high school. I was told many, many times that college would be easy in comparison. This was NOT true in the end. Granted, I was a physics major, but college was on a very different level even for reading/writing based classes. The majority of my classmates went to normal public high schools and struggled at first, but were on track after a few semesters.

I think very few people cruise through a physics major in general.

That’s true. Math, Chem, English, History, and Philosophy also had a reputation for being very difficult. Tutorials were super challenging (but equally rewarding) no matter the subject!

Yes, it’s always fun talking to people from non-lacs and relaying that history was one of, if not the hardest majors at my college too. First semester did an upper level history seminar and got destroyed in the process, but it was a good class

As an aside, English majors get too much credit: history majors are better writers. Philosophy too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Four classes, none of which are STEM, are typically not overwhelming. My guess is that your dd’s high school was not particularly rigorous and it will take her a a semester or two to catch up, just be patient and support her, she’ll figure it out.

I don’t think that’s the driver here.

I think her course mix is. She’s in too many courses with heavy reading and writing loads at once.

I never had this issue as I was Econ (weekly problem sets), a core class, my foreign language (daily classes, weekly tests), and a for language lit or linguistics class (10 or 20 page essays due each month, plus discuss a different book every ten days).

Next semester she should try to get the class syllabus and mix up the type of homework, essay deadlines, and test dates.

Ha! OP here. I am a little surprised to see my old post was activated. It IS about course selection balance. she consulted multiple professors and advisors when selecting courses for the second semester and ended her first year with a 3.96 GPA. The only course she didn’t get an A was one for which she missed turning in a project because engagement in a national competition. The bottom line is the SLAC is quite rigorous but the support is there.

[Anonymous]

What is anyone’s experience at Amherst college as Psychology major?

[Anonymous]

Adding another experience for Pomona. DD just finished her first year as a potentially chemistry/history. She’s loved the experience and there’s so many gems: multiple talks by a Nobel prize winner, already in a lab and got 2 research offers at Harvard and UCLA this summer, always exploring California and the student community is wonderful. Would highly recommend if DC is interested in the west coast.

[Anonymous]

My dd did the IB Diploma which was a huge amount of reading and writing across all disciplines so I think she was well prepared.

[Anonymous]

Or what was anyone’s experience at Amherst as non Stem and non history major..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, very common experience.

This is why it's important to have the experience in high school of "lots of hard work to do, no free time". Otherwise college is a huge shock.

I went to a top liberal arts college after private day school in MA. Not a top private. College was easy for me and loads of free time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd did the IB Diploma which was a huge amount of reading and writing across all disciplines so I think she was well prepared.

Mine as well. But unlike me, she’s never does all the reading in college and gets all A’s. She took 7 courses senior year and sports captain and EIC of newspaper. Now on trimester system w 3 courses per semester.

[Anonymous]

Kids only take 4 classes at SLACs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids only take 4 classes at SLACs?

Most colleges are like that. They usually are 4 classes and each class is 4 credits while at universities 1 class is 3 credits and you take 5 classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids only take 4 classes at SLACs?

Most top LACs mandate four classes and consider them 4 hour equivalents, so like 16 hours total at other schools. Gives you some idea of the workload and rigor of the classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is anyone’s experience at Amherst college as Psychology major?

Very easy major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a colossal reading load in college but learned to read parts closely / skim others / not read parts at all, and I notice that my kid (freshman at a SLAC) doesn’t have those gears yet. It’s a crucial skill in the humanities.

Also, this skill is something that cn be more challenging for kids with ADHD or any executive function issues. ADHD or other executive function or learning issues may not present as big a challenge until college. Its not unusual for these conditions to be diagnosed in college when a lot of the built in scaffolding of high school and home are removed.

This is where the learning centers at college can be helpful especially if they are aware that a strategy that works for one student may not work for another and can help students figure out what works best for them.

[Anonymous]

Oh wow thanks, really? Did you attend Amherst?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is anyone’s experience at Amherst college as Psychology major?

Very easy major

Wow thanks! Did you go to Amherst?