Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were a humanities kid, the last place I would want to go is a place for factory courses. That would include any large state school. Go to a SLAC -- or even a mid-sized university like USC or Notre Dame, where there will be much smaller courses. Then go to a place like Berkeley for grad school.

Completely disagree. My humanities student is at a large state school, and I'm astounded at the breadth and depth of her classes - not to mention the opportunities afforded to her that would never have been possible at a limited SLAC.

Glad DC is happy, but this is a case of not knowing what you are missing.

DP but it’s really not. The range of courses in a given subject at an SLAC can be extremely limiting.

How many courses can one kid take?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were a humanities kid, the last place I would want to go is a place for factory courses. That would include any large state school. Go to a SLAC -- or even a mid-sized university like USC or Notre Dame, where there will be much smaller courses. Then go to a place like Berkeley for grad school.

Completely disagree. My humanities student is at a large state school, and I'm astounded at the breadth and depth of her classes - not to mention the opportunities afforded to her that would never have been possible at a limited SLAC.

Glad DC is happy, but this is a case of not knowing what you are missing.

DP but it’s really not. The range of courses in a given subject at an SLAC can be extremely limiting.

Anonymous wrote:How did GDS get so many kids into Berkeley this year? They don’t even offer AP classes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were a humanities kid, the last place I would want to go is a place for factory courses. That would include any large state school. Go to a SLAC -- or even a mid-sized university like USC or Notre Dame, where there will be much smaller courses. Then go to a place like Berkeley for grad school.

I don't buy this received wisdom. Senior year, courses will be similar-sized at Berkeley and Middlebury or wherever. Junior year, a humanities kid probably is going to be abroad regardless. So you're really talking about freshman and sophomore year--and then the question is, for those 15 hours each week you're in class, whether you'd rather listen to a world-class expert lecture or a handful of other 19-year-olds pontificate in a "guided discussion." And then there are the other 153 hours each week when you'll be surrounded by a huge number of ridiculously smart and interesting people at Berkeley, and will have access to all kinds extracurricular opportunities.

So you do buy this received wisdom for two years, that is, half the college experience?

A couple of points: you make a case, really, for transferring to Berkeley; it is an easier transfer admit. Second, you are completely wrong about junior and senior years: while courses will be much smaller junior and senior year, there is still a huge difference between 20-30 kids and 5-15. They are not "similarly-sized" -- at any point.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were a humanities kid, the last place I would want to go is a place for factory courses. That would include any large state school. Go to a SLAC -- or even a mid-sized university like USC or Notre Dame, where there will be much smaller courses. Then go to a place like Berkeley for grad school.

Agree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were a humanities kid, the last place I would want to go is a place for factory courses. That would include any large state school. Go to a SLAC -- or even a mid-sized university like USC or Notre Dame, where there will be much smaller courses. Then go to a place like Berkeley for grad school.

Completely disagree. My humanities student is at a large state school, and I'm astounded at the breadth and depth of her classes - not to mention the opportunities afforded to her that would never have been possible at a limited SLAC.

Glad DC is happy, but this is a case of not knowing what you are missing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were a humanities kid, the last place I would want to go is a place for factory courses. That would include any large state school. Go to a SLAC -- or even a mid-sized university like USC or Notre Dame, where there will be much smaller courses. Then go to a place like Berkeley for grad school.

I don't buy this received wisdom. Senior year, courses will be similar-sized at Berkeley and Middlebury or wherever. Junior year, a humanities kid probably is going to be abroad regardless. So you're really talking about freshman and sophomore year--and then the question is, for those 15 hours each week you're in class, whether you'd rather listen to a world-class expert lecture or a handful of other 19-year-olds pontificate in a "guided discussion." And then there are the other 153 hours each week when you'll be surrounded by a huge number of ridiculously smart and interesting people at Berkeley, and will have access to all kinds extracurricular opportunities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were a humanities kid, the last place I would want to go is a place for factory courses. That would include any large state school. Go to a SLAC -- or even a mid-sized university like USC or Notre Dame, where there will be much smaller courses. Then go to a place like Berkeley for grad school.

Completely disagree. My humanities student is at a large state school, and I'm astounded at the breadth and depth of her classes - not to mention the opportunities afforded to her that would never have been possible at a limited SLAC.

Anonymous wrote:As a California resident, there are few better deals than the UC system, and UC Berkeley and UCLA are the crown jewels. But I agree with the previous poster -- probably no UC school is worth it out of state.

Anonymous wrote:When did Berkeley become known only for stem? It has the best graduate department in English in the nation and has contributed too much to speak on for the social sciences

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I were a humanities kid, the last place I would want to go is a place for factory courses. That would include any large state school. Go to a SLAC -- or even a mid-sized university like USC or Notre Dame, where there will be much smaller courses. Then go to a place like Berkeley for grad school.

I don't buy this received wisdom. Senior year, courses will be similar-sized at Berkeley and Middlebury or wherever. Junior year, a humanities kid probably is going to be abroad regardless. So you're really talking about freshman and sophomore year--and then the question is, for those 15 hours each week you're in class, whether you'd rather listen to a world-class expert lecture or a handful of other 19-year-olds pontificate in a "guided discussion." And then there are the other 153 hours each week when you'll be surrounded by a huge number of ridiculously smart and interesting people at Berkeley, and will have access to all kinds extracurricular opportunities.