Reply to Williams vs Bowdoin?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Williams vs Bowdoin? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Williams is the only LAC my kid is considering, the tutorials really set it apart.  But that won’t appeal to every kid.

[/quote]

The tutorials are great, but every good LAC makes it easy to do something similar, like an independent study. My third year student (attending a different school) is on their 4th at the moment, with at least 2 more happening next year. Tutorials have the benefit of being well structured by the prof ahead of time, but an independent study can demonstrate greater ability to navigate the unknown on the part of the student. [/quote]

You can do an independent study anywhere, including universities, but the tutorials are unique to Williams among US schools.[/quote]

The branding is unique to Williams. Their tutorials can have up to 10 students. So by that criteria my kid’s LAC has roughly 50 tutorials, they just call them courses.

I think highly of Williams but I have never heard of someone applying there and no other LACs simply because of its “tutorials.” Some depts, like CS, offered none this year.  Some, like Math, offered only 2. Chem offered one.

Independent projects offer more personalization, [b]but if looking for small discussion type classes, Williams is not unique.
[/b]
Don’t fall for marketing. [/quote]

If you want small discussion type classes, consider U Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, Claremont McKenna, and many others. The Williams college "tutorials" bs is getting old.[/quote]

I have no horse in this race - they are both phenomenal schools and I hope my ds applies to both. That said, I just want to correct the misinformation about the tutorials - I sometimes hear said that other schools offer the same type of tutorials Williams does. That is simply not true - nor is what the poster above says about tutorials having up to 10 students. Yes, 10 students can register for a tutorial, but the way the class time works is that the professor splits the group into pairs and each pair meets with that professor weekly. They are assigned reading for the week; one student writes a paper and shares it with the other student, who writes a response to the paper. (STEM classes have less reading and more problem sets, labs, etc.) At their next class, they discuss. The students switch off on the paper and response for the rest of the semester. The 10 students are not in the same class - they may meet occasionally, to hear a speaker for example, or for dinner with the professor at the end of the semester - but the tutorial is 2 students/1 professor. It is not the same as other small classes (which Williams and many other schools offer, of course). The reason people mention the Williams tutorials so often is because they are unique to Williams - if anyone knows of another US college that offers this, please let me know.[/quote]
Maybe I’m unsure of tutorial, but DS goes to Pomona for physics and upper div classes are called tutorial- in the first class you are put in a tutorial group of maximum 2-3 students and you get weekly reading, then you get assigned a problem where you have a window to talk with and bring up your ideas with your professor, then the class meets later that week and you each discuss and debate the solution to your problem. Maybe that isn’t tutorial.

I know Claremont McKenna does have tutorial for PPE- it’s imported straight from Oxford. Since my kids go to college in California, that’s where my knowledge is, but I’m sure there’s other colleges with a tutorial system.[/quote]

The Claremont McKenna PPE classes are the closest comparison - also based on the Oxford model. I guess the difference is you must be accepted into the PPE program in order to take them, and that is limited to 24 students per year I believe. You apply fall of sophomore year. (I love CMC btw and would be so happy for my kid to go there or Pomona). Yes Pomona has those 2-3 person tutorials in specific upper level Physics classes. I honestly do not think one is "better" than the other - just that it is worth understanding them and if they will be important to you. 50% of students at Williams never take a tutorial, but of the 50% who do, 75% take at least one more. Is it THE deciding factor for those students? Probably not but it is one factor for many, as are myriad other things about colleges. These schools we are discussing are ALL amazing schools, and they are more alike than they are different, but I don't think it's terribly constructive to try to say small classes or specific classes in one program are the same as the Williams tutorial system, which has probably 60-70 tutorials available each year. Yes they are mainly the humanities - last time I looked, there were maybe 20 in lab sciences and math. Most excellent schools have something that is special or unique to their curriculum - and I am glad kids can dive into this stuff when they are getting ready to apply. Not sure why it turns into such a point of contention for some parents, or why it produces such vitriol (not from you!!!!) from some about the "Williams tutorials BS" lol.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics