Taking classes that aren't typically freshman classes?

[Ann.without.an.e]

DD is choosing classes for next year and two of the classes she really wants are not typically freshman classes.  At Duke they don't really limit you so much and many of their classes don't have prerequisites.  One is a 300 level class on TS Elliot.  The prof is a legend and he is getting close to retirement and she really wants to sit in with him before he is gone.  I think she will be fine with this.  It is Literature and she has an unusual ability to analyze literature.  She wants to take a Bio class that usually follows the other Bio class that she will be taking concurrently.  It isn't a prerequisite, per se.  She emailed the prof and he said that most people wait until after the other class because they gain some great college study skills in the other class but that there is technically no reason she can't take his class as well.  She has been through AP Bio and scored well on the exam.  She was also in biological research for over a year.  DD is a driven independent learner.  This should be ok right?  I shouldn't worry that she wants to step up into a difficult class (the ratings on rate my professor say that it is a tough class)?  Tell me this will be ok  :lol:  :crying:  :lol:  :crying:

[Guest]

I took a class this past semester that had a tough professor (which I had failed to look up beforehand).  If I had cared enough about the class, and actually needed it, I would have learned those specific study and test-taking skills that involve answering how the professor wants everything answered without actually being told that's how she wants everything answered.   :glare:  So do the reviews on the professor just say that he's hard, or that the content is hard, or that he's fair/unfair, or...?

 

(I did decide that the class just wasn't worth the frustration and am perfectly content with my F :) 

[Crimson Wife]

I did my 2nd bachelor's out of the normal sequence because I wanted to get the audiology-related classes done as soon as possible so I could better help my daughter. I ran into some difficulty with professors assuming background knowledge even though the classes I hadn't taken yet were not official prerequisites. I had to do a bit of "catch up" on my own as a result.

 

As long as she is confident enough to go to office hours and talk to the professor to find out what she needs to teach herself, it's do-able.

[Hoggirl]

My thoughts are maybe to try one of the two but not both. Maybe the lit since that prof is on the verge of retiring?

 

Ds's school is the same in allowing great flexibility, not being sticklers for pre-reqs ("sure, give it a try if you think you can do it" sort of attitude), etc. However, college life *is* an adjustment no matter how bright and driven the student is. She is going to be surrounded by equally bright and driven students. There may be a bit of imposter syndrome even for the super smart. Ds only took 13 units his first quarter to ease into college life. Pushing yourself a little is fine, but I wouldn't overdo it. You want that first foray into college life to be successful. He's currently finishing up a stats class where he lacked a pre-req and has done very well, but he is a junior now and understands expectations much better. He's done quarters with 18-19 units successfully, but I wouldn't want your dd's zeal to come back to haunt her. Is she living on-campus? I can't recall.

[snowbeltmom]

Unless there is a compelling reason for her to take 2 bio classes the first semester (i.e. she is majoring in bio and wants to quickly get to higher level courses, etc.), I would wait until the next semester to take the 2nd bio class.  The literature class looks like a great choice, especially if the prof will be retiring soon.

Edited June 6, 2017 by snowbeltmom

[Ann.without.an.e]

My thoughts are maybe to try one of the two but not both. Maybe the lit since that prof is on the verge of retiring?

 

Ds's school is the same in allowing great flexibility, not being sticklers for pre-reqs ("sure, give it a try if you think you can do it" sort of attitude), etc. However, college life *is* an adjustment no matter how bright and driven the student is. She is going to be surrounded by equally bright and driven students. There may be a bit of imposter syndrome even for the super smart. Ds only took 13 units his first quarter to ease into college life. Pushing yourself a little is fine, but I wouldn't overdo it. You want that first foray into college life to be successful. He's currently finishing up a stats class where he lacked a pre-req and has done very well, but he is a junior now and understands expectations much better. He's done quarters with 18-19 units successfully, but I wouldn't want your dd's zeal to come back to haunt her. Is she living on-campus? I can't recall.

 

 

She will be on campus.  They don't have "units" at Duke.  They have class credits.  They are supposed to take no more than 4.5 credits per semester.  Each class is a credit.  She will be taking 4.  I know, I am nervous about her jumping into two higher level classes.  Some classes do have a true prerequisite and these don't.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Unless there is a compelling reason for her to take 2 bio classes the first semester (i.e. she is majoring in bio and wants to quickly get to higher level courses, etc.), I would wait until the next semester to take the 2nd bio class.  The literature class looks like a great choice, especially if the prof will be retiring soon.

 

She wants to double in English and Bio and minor in Creative writing.  She has high hopes to do all of this but it will take a lot of focus and she needs to get her Bio credits in.  

[Melissa B]

My dd didn't have any issues taking 3000 level classes early, so long as there was no prerequisite. She took a lit class and a science class. She especially enjoyed the discussion level of the 3000 lit class.

 

I have always regretted not taking a class taught by James Michener spring of my freshman year. I was going to wait until my sophomore year and he stopped teaching due to health reasons at the end of that year.

[Ann.without.an.e]

My dd didn't have any issues taking 3000 level classes early, so long as there was no prerequisite. She took a lit class and a science class. She especially enjoyed the discussion level of the 3000 lit class.

 

I have always regretted not taking a class taught by James Michener spring of my freshman year. I was going to wait until my sophomore year and he stopped teaching due to health reasons at the end of that year.

 

 

Thanks for your thoughts.  That is her fear in waiting on the lit class.  This guy is getting very up there in age and I doubt he will teach much longer.

[Pawz4me]

I think it's pretty much the norm nowadays to not limit freshmen to particular classes? DS took 300 level classes his freshman year. Yes, they were hard. But not OTT hard (for college).

[Hoggirl]

I think the bio would make me more nervous because I would assume there would be a lot of premed students in there. They can be an awfully competitive bunch.

[G5052]

It's tough to say. 

 

My oldest took 200-level accounting his first semester because he was thinking of that for a major and wanted to really cement it. The advisor wasn't at all happy about that, but I was very forceful about it (I was a professor there at that time). He had done dual enrollment, multiple APs, and had taken over a dozen online classes in high school.

 

He worked his tail off and aced it with the highest grade in the class. The rest of his schedule was basic core-type courses and BUS 101, which was basically writing a short research paper each week on a business topic. Thankfully he is a very strong writer, so that really wasn't too bad either. He's a junior now with a 4.0.

 

So I agree maybe one but not both.

[madteaparty]

Does the 300 level class have a prerequisite?

[Starr]

It sounds like the professor was giving you the heads up that it might be better to wait on the Biology class. Don't necessarily count on an AP Class being exactly like a college course. 

[Hilltopmom]

I was a Bio major,I'd wait on the doubling up of Bio Classes.

 

Ds is going into 12th & taking all 200 level computer science classes. He'll start freshman year in 300 level courses.

[brendafromtenn]

This may not matter at all, but my oldest took a few classes out of his sequence and he didn't like them because he didn't KNOW anyone in his class.  They were all sophomores and juniors.  He felt very out of place.  Lonely.  He did well in the class, but told me this AFTER the class was over.  So, if you have a social student, this might be an issue.  

 

Just my two cents,

 

Brenda

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

If she is a strong writer I'd say the English class would probably be ok, especially if it is an opportunity that appears to be time critical.  I would think twice about the two bio classes in one semester though.  

 

Keep in mind that freshman year, particularly first semester, is about more than just the ability to handle course work in a given subject.  It is about balancing all of the course work, all of the daily life tasks, club and other outside activities/commitments, and a social life.  (I'm not advocating planning time for serious partying here-just acknowledging that students do meet up to chat, see a movie, attend a campus event, relax, watch or participate in sports, etc. and that this relaxation is a part of life.)  It is a challenging time for most students, full of adjustment; I'd allow a bit for a successful transition.  (Again, I'm not advocating taking only the easy path, just not doubling down on the hardest from day one.)

[Lori D.]

Agreeing with previous poster -- it was tough for DS#1 just being away from home and having to expend the mental/emotional energy on learning what his new routine was and what his life on campus needed to look like. And he was not taking advanced Science courses. And, he was a transfer student with a lot more maturity and tools for coping. His freshman roommate had a rigorous honors schedule, and really struggled to transition to campus life; he ended up driving home on the weekends.

 

I'd suggest only go with the advanced Lit. course, and save the 300 Biology course for spring semester or the following year. She is going to have her plate full with making the transition to college, the overall rigor, being away from home, and trying to establish her "place" and social connections. And like a previous poster said, you want this first semester to be a positive *success* and  to set the tone for having a terrific experience all 4 years at a top tier school -- not a barely making it and coming apart at the seams with sobbing calls to home every week just to get through it because she bit off too much to start with.

 

It's super she has done AP Biology and research in high school -- but I am betting both of these Duke college courses are going to be far more rigorous (300 level!) and at double speed (1 semester, rather than 1 year) than AP Biology. And, this IS Duke, so even a higher level of college rigor, is my guess.

 

Also, it is *tough* to do TWO heavy bio-science classes in one semester -- esp. if it's your first semester -- and esp. esp. if one of them is usually done before the other, but you're trying to do both concurrently. Why make it all so much harder on herself, and increase the odds of a major crash-and-burn in her first semester?? 

 

If, once she gets into this first semester and it turns out to NOT be as time-consuming as she thought, and if she finds she needs more to keep her busy, how about instead looking for ways to get involved on campus, joining a club and expanding her interests, looking for an internship or way of helping out in the Biology department, or doing some volunteering in the community that would provide valuable extra experience?

 

But that's just how I'm seeing it. 

Edited June 7, 2017 by Lori D.

[snowbeltmom]

It sounds like the professor was giving you the heads up that it might be better to wait on the Biology class. Don't necessarily count on an AP Class being exactly like a college course. 

This. 

 

My son's school does not award credit for AP Biology, and my son's Introduction to Biology class was much more involved than AP Biology, probably because it was assumed that the vast majority of students had taken AP Bio in high school and had the necessary background.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Thanks for your thoughts.  I talked to DD more about this.  The Bio class is a 200 level class, not a 300.