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05-23-2008, 07:17 PM
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#1 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Massachusetts --> Barnard College 2012
Posts: 88
| In-Residence Seminar
I'm thinking of doing the in-residence seminar program next year... has anybody had any experience with it? Thanks so much! | 
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05-23-2008, 07:23 PM
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#2 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: NY
Posts: 58
| i did it and loved it. the seminars on my floor was women and culture and ethnicity and social transformation (i did the latter). what's nice about it that with those seminars, you will probably end up having a lot in common with your floormates (since you all chose those seminars). and obviously, it's easy to discuss papers/books with people because you know where they live, and they're so close. | |
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05-23-2008, 09:40 PM
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#3 | | Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007 Location: Coastal village, Suffolk County, NY
Posts: 2,443
| My D loved it too! | |
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05-24-2008, 02:21 AM
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#4 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 181
| Are there any downsides to it? Like are there any roommate disaster stories? | |
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05-24-2008, 10:34 AM
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#5 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: NY
Posts: 58
| my roommate and i weren't in the same seminar, but it didn't really matter. we didn't become best friends, but we had a good situation. both neat and organized. if i wasn't such a heavy sleeper though, it would have been a problem (i went to bed like, 4 hours earlier than her).
when you're rooming with someone you don't know, there's always a chance that it won't work out (or even if you know them, still). some are ill matches, while others are perfect. Res Life can only do so much. 
but i think that on a whole, the in-res seminar program makes for better living situations: you all choose to take those courses so there's a chance you have more in common because of that. | |
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05-24-2008, 10:39 AM
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#6 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 181
| What do you think about cluster advising? | |
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05-24-2008, 11:12 AM
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#7 | | Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 306
| I did cluster advising, I recommend it! It's basically the same as a normal floor except that you get some nice free events (for example, we saw Avenue Q with our whole floor + advisors for free). Some of my friends were on an in-floor seminar and liked it - their floor seemed closer than most floors I know, I dont know if this was entirely because they were in the same course but I'm sure it contributed  | |
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05-24-2008, 01:13 PM
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#8 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 32
| I have to say that I remember my in-res seminar situation to be less than ideal. It might have been partly due to the chemistry on our floor and the people we lived with though, because I've heard a lot of good things about it. My floor turned out to be very competitive, and we had our fair share of people who had "inferiority complexes" when it came to academics. However, I think it's not that uncommon for students, especially their first year, to feel somewhat inferior than others in a highly competitive environment like Barnard. Anyway, I just remember there was a lot of competition on our floor, which made the seminar not so fun. People were always asking if each other if they'd started their papers three weeks or more before the due date. They were afraid to ask questions or to say things in class for ear of looking stupid. Generally, the people on my floor were just very guarded about their work for that class in particular. And I didn't find that we had all that much in common because we chose that class either. I took Legacy of Med as the seminar, so it didn't really unite us under any sort of theme the way another themed seminar might, like the seminar about Women. I think a lot of us chose the course because we felt like our college education would not be complete without reading classic texts, but that was pretty much the only thing we had in common.
But like I said, it really depends on the people you live with. I think I just happened to live with a group of people who were a little more insecure than others their first semester here. | |
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05-24-2008, 04:09 PM
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#9 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 54
| I know this might be kind of strange, but I don't think I have ever heard of "in-residence seminars" and "cluster advising." And I'm going to Barnard this fall! Can somebody please explain? Are they basically classes you take with the people you live with?
thanks | |
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05-24-2008, 06:23 PM
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#10 | | Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: NY
Posts: 58
| when you get the first- year guide in the mail soon, it tells you about it.
cluster advising is when everyone on your floor has the same advisor and you do things together (info sessions and dinners and other activities). my friend did it; i think the in-res seminar is better and has more to offer. | |
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05-28-2008, 02:51 PM
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#11 | | Junior Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 35
| hey panda2! i think i was on your floor.. and in your seminar!
anyways. iloved ethnicity and social transformation, no bad experiences (but i've heard stories about the women and culture seminar..). eitherway, if you have a bad experience, at least you'll have a live-in support system to vent and work with. it's a win win situation | |
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