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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instead of making a generalization about SLACs, OP should just name the school DD attends. That would be helpful

Agree but don’t hold your breath

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, OP. I appreciate your post. I, similarly, do not understand the weird hostility on DCUM.

Look, it’s a silly post. I have never heard of a college large or small where every student can register for any class that they want whenever they want. No college has infinite resources of course offerings. OP isn’t telling anyone anything new. What’s weird is that she’s so involved in her kid’s course registration. I’ve never heard of any parent doing THAT before.

+1. And, if DD is seeing an advisor, as OP
says later in the thread, and they are not helpful, then they need a new counselor! OP's kid (not OP!) needs to request a switch to one who knows how to help with registration for pre-meds. Problem solved! (OP you are paying a fortune for this SLAC. Teach your kid how to problem solve! Sitting back and complaining here doesn't help you or your daughter. The SLAC can't fix a problem it doesn't know about.

FWIW, my SLAC had dedicated counselors for the sciences, pre-law and pre-med.

[Anonymous]

Wow, some of those responses were hostile. I do agree limited course offerings can be a concern at small schools although overcrowding/limited access to some classes can also be an issue at big schools.

One of my kids is at a SLAC and one at a huge school. I did have concerns about limited classes at some SLACs for some majors and it was something we considered in the search. DD ended up at a school where her major is one of the biggest on campus so they do have a good amount of classes. Still, sometimes she has to make choices because classes she wants may only have one section and it's the same time as another class. She figures it out and her advisor sounds helpful. Another thing that reassured us is that the school is very flexible and has a pledge that if you are unable to finish in 4 years because of something that is their issue - like class scheduling - then the 5th year is free. So, they are flexible about satisfying requirements and will open up space as needed. So far, DD is on track (junior).

DS at a huge school has run into scheduling challenges too and sometimes can only meet a requirement by taking an online class, which he doesn't like. But, again, he's worked it out.

Back when I went to a big state university, there was a system of rotating registration priority and students knew that if you had the lowest registration priority you were unlikely to get any classes you actually needed in that quarter so we scheduled internships or study abroad during that time.

I'd be surprised if there is any college where you can always take exactly what you want, when you want, in the format that you want. But, at least with gen eds, I think my kids have both benefitted from having to take a class that they might not have considered if not for scheduling issues. It's exposed them to topics that they wouldn't otherwise have learned about. I think that's part of the serendipity of college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of making a generalization about SLACs, OP should just name the school DD attends. That would be helpful

Agree but don’t hold your breath

DS attends Williams but really doesn't have this problem. His first semester, he complained that there were too many good choices to choose from. Any LAC won't be a good fit if you are looking for hyper-specific early specialized course selection, but most college students don't know enough to even desire this. If a senior physics and classics major can find enough courses for contentment, I'm sure most other majors have ample opportunity.

[Anonymous]

A potential problem at small schools can happen when one develops a specialized interest in a particular subject area for which no major or no courses are offered.

Many LACs publish faculty rosters and course offerings that are wildly inaccurate in order to give the appearance of having a variety of professors in each dept. and of offering a wide array of courses in each major.

One small LAC lost almost all of its econ profs suddenly, but the school's website falsely claimed to have over a dozen econ profs even though it really only had one or two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A potential problem at small schools can happen when one develops a specialized interest in a particular subject area for which no major or no courses are offered.

Many LACs publish faculty rosters and course offerings that are wildly inaccurate in order to give the appearance of having a variety of professors in each dept. and of offering a wide array of courses in each major.

One small LAC lost almost all of its econ profs suddenly, but the school's website falsely claimed to have over a dozen econ profs even though it really only had one or two.

Yikes. That sounds like a rare event though. Perhaps it was a school that was on the verge of closure? Or the public one in Florida that the governor imposed all those curriculum changes at? Nothing like what you describe has occurred at our kid’s LAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A potential problem at small schools can happen when one develops a specialized interest in a particular subject area for which no major or no courses are offered.

Many LACs publish faculty rosters and course offerings that are wildly inaccurate in order to give the appearance of having a variety of professors in each dept. and of offering a wide array of courses in each major.

One small LAC lost almost all of its econ profs suddenly, but the school's website falsely claimed to have over a dozen econ profs even though it really only had one or two.

Yikes. That sounds like a rare event though. Perhaps it was a school that was on the verge of closure? Or the public one in Florida that the governor imposed all those curriculum changes at? Nothing like what you describe has occurred at our kid’s LAC.

No, it is an SLAC based in New England.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A potential problem at small schools can happen when one develops a specialized interest in a particular subject area for which no major or no courses are offered.

Many LACs publish faculty rosters and course offerings that are wildly inaccurate in order to give the appearance of having a variety of professors in each dept. and of offering a wide array of courses in each major.

One small LAC lost almost all of its econ profs suddenly, but the school's website falsely claimed to have over a dozen econ profs even though it really only had one or two.

Yikes. That sounds like a rare event though. Perhaps it was a school that was on the verge of closure? Or the public one in Florida that the governor imposed all those curriculum changes at? Nothing like what you describe has occurred at our kid’s LAC.

No, it is an SLAC based in New England.

You are just boldly lying about the Bates college event. They had many profs leave the successive semester, but not "only had one or two." They rebuilt the department and could hire faculty at a whim. To be so bold in lying is what is astonishing.

[Anonymous]

I had one at a SLAC and one at UVA. It was always stressful getting classes at both. The SLAC had more flexibility about majors. UVA requires separate applications to several majors, which was a source of stress for my child. At UVA, some of the classes my kid took had 700 (financial accounting-which is also online increasing the annoyance), 500 and 400 students. Largest at the SLAC was 50. Both schools were rigorous and both educations good, just very different experiences. Both kids are happy with their experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A potential problem at small schools can happen when one develops a specialized interest in a particular subject area for which no major or no courses are offered.

Many LACs publish faculty rosters and course offerings that are wildly inaccurate in order to give the appearance of having a variety of professors in each dept. and of offering a wide array of courses in each major.

One small LAC lost almost all of its econ profs suddenly, but the school's website falsely claimed to have over a dozen econ profs even though it really only had one or two.

Yikes. That sounds like a rare event though. Perhaps it was a school that was on the verge of closure? Or the public one in Florida that the governor imposed all those curriculum changes at? Nothing like what you describe has occurred at our kid’s LAC.

No, it is an SLAC based in New England.

You are just boldly lying about the Bates college event. They had many profs leave the successive semester, but not "only had one or two." They rebuilt the department and could hire faculty at a whim. To be so bold in lying is what is astonishing.

I am not the previous poster, but I do remember that incident at Bates, which was terrible - 4 Econ professors all quit abruptly and the Econ majors did not find out until July I think. For the seniors, it meant they could no longer write a senior thesis (the culmination of their 4 years) because there was not enough faculty to support them. I would have been horrified if I were one of those students or parents - you have to admit, it was devastating for that senior class. You could look it up in the school paper - they covered it well.

My dd is at a SLAC that she loves, but Bates was the least favorite of the ones we saw - it felt small and under-resourced and Lewiston is pretty grim. I love SLACs and find it a little annoying when people call them boarding schools, but tbh Bates did not even strike me as a nice as a boarding school.