PinkyandtheBrains. Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 (edited) While taking last minute college tours we are making a point to have ds sit in on a math class and meet at least one member of the math department faculty. What would be some standard questions to ask? I'm trying to help him break the ice. I think (hope) once the math talk starts he'll be more comfortable talking. Edited October 19, 2017 by PinkyandtheBrains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 typical class size are classes taught by faculty or grad TAs are classes in seat or online do classes fill up, have wait lists, or are majors guaranteed a seat in the class they need to complete the sequence on time are there help centers, math labs, tutoring, academic assistance how many majors per year in the department is there a society of math students or similar organization, can everybody get involved percentage of students going to grad school opportunities for undergraduate research 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted October 19, 2017 Author Share Posted October 19, 2017 typical class size are classes taught by faculty or grad TAs are classes in seat or online do classes fill up, have wait lists, or are majors guaranteed a seat in the class they need to complete the sequence on time are there help centers, math labs, tutoring, academic assistance how many majors per year in the department is there a society of math students or similar organization, can everybody get involved percentage of students going to grad school opportunities for undergraduate research This is exactly what I needed, thank you. We know some of the answers already but not all. Hopefully this will help get the conversation going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 (edited) more questions: departmental scholarships testing out/acceptance of AP quality of advising: who are the advisors, how often do students meet with advisors Edited October 19, 2017 by regentrude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetC Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Many of those questions can be answered by looking up data online Besides data, ask open ended questions- What makes this department/school unique? What changes are currently happening at the department? University? What sorts of students do well in this program? Who is this department NOT for? What are the differences between X and similar major Y? How hard is it to double major with X and my other interest Y? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 The questions will come easier once he has been to a few schools too and has experiences to compare! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 Many of those questions can be answered by looking up data online Besides data, ask open ended questions- What makes this department/school unique? What changes are currently happening at the department? University? What sorts of students do well in this program? Who is this department NOT for? What are the differences between X and similar major Y? How hard is it to double major with X and my other interest Y? Yes! Thinking about what DH could answer well, and what you can't find online, these are great and could get some unexpected answers. For example, "We're in the middle of completely revamping our curriculum and the requirements you see now are completely different than what will be required for your graduation." Or, "The goal of our curriculum is X; if you want to do Y, you'll need to do this additionally even though it isn't in the course catalog." Emily 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 What do you enjoy most about teaching here? What do most of the math majors do during their summers? Take classes? Internships? How easy is it for a math major to participate in a study abroad program? How many students study abroad? Is there a particular location they tend to go? When during their college career do they study abroad? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Another question to ask, especially at small schools, is whether catalog courses are offered on a regular basis (as listed in the catalog). I attend a small state school and one of our perks is small class size, and given our size fewer sections are offered, so it can take some creative scheduling if you're in a time heavy major like the sciences or arts and want to study anything not directly related. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 What types of research are your UG students participating in? Who are their supervising mentors? grad students? Professors? What are the grad from you dept doing now? What professions/businesses? Where grad school? My kids have always wanted to know about access to grad level courses bc they have entered with significant undergrad coursework completed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted October 20, 2017 Author Share Posted October 20, 2017 You guys are amazing. We were able to ask some of these yesterday. We have more to meet next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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