freshman class scheduling; helicopter parent or legit concern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I helped my kid this first semester because using the school's website to pick classes and avoid schedule conflicts, then looking at "rate My Professor" can be a little complicated. You have to read between the lines of some course descriptions too. Anyway, after this it will be the kid's job. I don't see any problem with assisting them this first time out.

‘Rate My Professor’ will do more to destroy the student’s education than help it.
Professors receive higher marks for being ‘an easy A’ than their ability, experience, and discipline understanding.
The student who earns a B in a difficult, challenging class learns so much more than the ‘easy A’.
Much more accurate information exists to help a student find the best quality and qualified instructors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your instinct is right here. It’s a ridiculous schedule. No. No. No. Scale it back.

If he isn’t working full time, he can easily complete 27-30 credits per semester.

[Anonymous]

"If he isn’t working full time, he can easily complete 27-30 credits per semester."

Only if he goes to Rate My Professor and signs up for all the easiest professors or if he is attending a school that provided him with 100% merit aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you were wrong. If you really wanted an advisor's input, you should have suggested that your son talk to them about the feasibility of his schedule rather than doing it yourself. More generally, though, his schedule is not inherently bad. A lot of college kids find the kind of schedule he put together to be really helpful, where they have some days full of class time and other days are more open for studying and other activities. Some students find it really challenging to use their time well when they have two hours of classes in the morning, a two hour break (including lunch), another hour class, then a couple of hours before practice or another extracurricular, because it's too choppy to feel "worth it" to schlepp yourself to the library or something to only study for an hour, so the time gets wasted instead.

In addition to embarrassing your kid, you're just wrong. I used to stack my schedule like that on purpose...in class all day, then nearly a full day to read, study, do homework, etc. An hour or two between classes was not useful time for me.

The only issue would be whether that's too many credits for one semester, although sometimes labs can throw off the numbers. But that's for him to figure out--you need to back the hell off.

[Anonymous]

. Most important aspect of parenting a freshman is to prepare your kid to get what he needs. Most important part of college scheduling:
Know what you need to get a degree. Map out classes required in degree for all four years plus options. Map out all general ed and electives for all four years. Know what classes are bottlenecks and how to get in them. Remember this is not HS. You do not need a math, an English, a science, etc. Only take what you want or need.
Take more credits than minimum so you can drop the class you are failing. Reddit at your school will look at his schedule and comment on it’s usefulness or difficulty.

At my DD’s scheduling she was denied an override for the difficult bottleneck math class. So she marched into the math department and got it anyway. But she knew what she needed ahead of time. If your kid can go into scheduling each semester knowing what he needs and what is an option to fulfill that need he can have a good four years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I helped my kid this first semester because using the school's website to pick classes and avoid schedule conflicts, then looking at "rate My Professor" can be a little complicated. You have to read between the lines of some course descriptions too. Anyway, after this it will be the kid's job. I don't see any problem with assisting them this first time out.

‘Rate My Professor’ will do more to destroy the student’s education than help it.
Professors receive higher marks for being ‘an easy A’ than their ability, experience, and discipline understanding.
The student who earns a B in a difficult, challenging class learns so much more than the ‘easy A’.
Much more accurate information exists to help a student find the best quality and qualified instructors.

Completely not true. The school we were looking at is well known for not giving out any easy A's. I'm intelligent and discerning enough to weed out the useless, unhelpful reviews -- kinda like yours. Usually the comments went to the availability of the prof, their helpfulness in answering questions, their level of enthusiasm. I found it quite helpful.

[Anonymous]

Most important aspect of parenting a freshman is...

To back off and let your kid figure it out.

[Anonymous]

Not, if you want them to succeed. This is why the wealthy families with college degrees find college easier than the first generation student with a full ride. Parents who have navigated the process know what where the land mines are and how to navigate. I’m not saying OP should interfere with the schedule; I’m saying she should have prepared her kid to know what he needs to take to begin with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not, if you want them to succeed. This is why the wealthy families with college degrees find college easier than the first generation student with a full ride. Parents who have navigated the process know what where the land mines are and how to navigate. I’m not saying OP should interfere with the schedule; I’m saying she should have prepared her kid to know what he needs to take to begin with.

Agreed 1000%. Luckily my kid was willing to sit down with me and come up with a good schedule that avoided some of the problems DC's son's schedule had. This really should have been worked out ahead of time so it didn't come as a surprise on orientation day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"If he isn’t working full time, he can easily complete 27-30 credits per semester."

Only if he goes to Rate My Professor and signs up for all the easiest professors or if he is attending a school that provided him with 100% merit aid.

The poster is correct, students with well developed time management and study skills can master difficult courses of 20+ credits per semester and work full time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I helped my kid this first semester because using the school's website to pick classes and avoid schedule conflicts, then looking at "rate My Professor" can be a little complicated. You have to read between the lines of some course descriptions too. Anyway, after this it will be the kid's job. I don't see any problem with assisting them this first time out.

‘Rate My Professor’ will do more to destroy the student’s education than help it.
Professors receive higher marks for being ‘an easy A’ than their ability, experience, and discipline understanding.
The student who earns a B in a difficult, challenging class learns so much more than the ‘easy A’.
Much more accurate information exists to help a student find the best quality and qualified instructors.

Completely not true. The school we were looking at is well known for not giving out any easy A's. I'm intelligent and discerning enough to weed out the useless, unhelpful reviews -- kinda like yours. Usually the comments went to the availability of the prof, their helpfulness in answering questions, their level of enthusiasm. I found it quite helpful.

Northern Arkansas A&M is a diploma mill, hope you child doesn’t hang with the moonshiners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I helped my kid this first semester because using the school's website to pick classes and avoid schedule conflicts, then looking at "rate My Professor" can be a little complicated. You have to read between the lines of some course descriptions too. Anyway, after this it will be the kid's job. I don't see any problem with assisting them this first time out.

‘Rate My Professor’ will do more to destroy the student’s education than help it.
Professors receive higher marks for being ‘an easy A’ than their ability, experience, and discipline understanding.
The student who earns a B in a difficult, challenging class learns so much more than the ‘easy A’.
Much more accurate information exists to help a student find the best quality and qualified instructors.

I agree, ‘Rate My Professor’ is a joke.

[Anonymous]

She articulated a cost concern, and she doesn’t trust her son to manage his own way.
He should consider attending the local community college. Low cost and close. Mommy can help him in class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He sounds smart, I didn't figure out the all T/Th or all M/W/F schedule until I was a junior.

You sound like a nightmare.

Me too! I had classes daily as a Freshman and it wasn't ideal (for me, at least). Sophomore year I changed to M/W/F and so much better...

[Anonymous]

I always stacked my schedule like that and worked on the off days. it was never a problem for me and I graduated as valedictorian of my college. You were WAY out of line to suggest this.

Most colleges won't let you sign up for too many hours. The poster suggesting huge amounts of hours is out of touch. A full schedule used to be 15-18 and I had to get special approval from the Dean the times I went over 20.