ru4real1666

I also posted this thread in the Brown '12 section but in case people don't look there often I wanted to post it here as well. Please don't flame for reposting the same threads =)

So I don't want to be caught in the "shopping period" for freshmen and other students (but especially freshmen). This is why I have started this thread for advice. I am going to be taking mostly intro courses and some advanced ones but definitely these subjects freshmen year.

Calculus
Physics
English/Creative Writing
Maybe Biology or Chemistry

I want to know the best, and/or easiest teachers/sections for these classes so I can register early and avoid disappointment. Any recommendations for easy classes to balance some hard ones would also be GREAT! Thank you for all of your advice.

modestmelody

Not shopping is a horrible idea.

In fact, upperclassman shop WAY more than most freshman do, IME. Shopping well is essential to picking a great and balanced schedule and helps a lot when the next year rolls around.

Not to mention that Calculus you'll take based upon your high school level and the professors/grad students teaching it change every semester, physics will have three different sections at three different levels-- you'll shop to find the level that's appropriate and you don't have a choice of professor at that point.

Biology has one intro class taught by one professor (if you didn't take AP, if you take AP and get a 4 or 5 you don't take intro bio).

Chemistry will have three different professors who have three different take. None is better than the others, they're just all different. One of the professors who's been teaching 33 for the last few years just left over winter to the private sector so it may not be all that predictable anyway.

Not to mention, none of the three areas above are at any risk to actually close.

As for the times you take advanced subjects and not intro level courses, you'll likely only have one section, one professor for all of those classes. That's why you go through, find a bunch you like based on the subjects covered, then you read the Critical Review, ask friends, and show up to class and see which professors you like.

English/Creative Writing courses often close up, so again, choose some you like based upon subject matter. Introduction to Creative Non-Fiction, as well as all the LR11 courses are popular.

ru4real1666

Thanks a lot modestmelody. Your advice, as always, is valuable.

Do you recommend any particularly EASY classes people take? I mean are there any classes most people take just to get that easy A?

tetrisfan

That would be defeating the purpose of a Brown education!

modestmelody

Partially, tetrisfan, but there are some great courses that are considered pretty easy As.

PS22, EN9, UC170 are three that come to mind.

wolfmanjack

I shopped City Politics (PS22) but didn't like the # of books required coupled with the 500 people in the class along with the 2500-4000 word paper required. GEOL Intro courses seem easier.

modestmelody

PS22 is pretty easy, or is from what I've been told. Jim Morone is fantastic, and I've worked extensively with him. He's dynamic and engaging no matter what room size, and he's known for being one of the few lecturers that gets multiple standing ovations throughout the semester.

I always recommend that class.

2500-4000 is not atypical for social sciences/humanities, and I've even had a 4000 word paper in an Advanced Organic Chemistry course.

wolfmanjack

It may typical but the person was asking for easy courses not average courses. I did think he was a good speaker though. And I prefer smaller classes no matter who the teacher is.

modestmelody

I also prefer smaller classes. The exams are considered ridiculously easy in PS22, and I've had friends go through it barely showing up and not doing the reading and scoring very well on the exams. A lot of what's tested on there is common knowledge/sense from my understanding.

Then again, I didn't take it, just know Prof. Morone quite well and would always recommend his class as a pretty easy, but very engaging course that you will get out something worthwhile.

sly_vt

Back in the day we called the "easy" classes guts, and even had some amusing names for them -- Clapping for Credit, Rocks for Jocks, Physics for Poets and Astrogut are the ones I remember. EN9 was around back then too.

I also think there's a difference between an easy class and an easy A.

My daughter's taking City Politics. So I appreciate this discussion.

modestmelody

We still call 'em guts.

And yeah, you're right sly, PS22 is an easy class, not an easy A.

Rocks for Jocks, Physics for premeds (yeah, I'm a physical sciences concentrator, we hate on them), and Astrogut are still around.

Tell your daughter to enjoy Morone. He's so awesome.

onegoodgirl

This is hilarious ("physics for poets"--very laugh-worthy, esp. as a poet interested in physics and cosmology).

Any other prof.'s you current Brownies (yes, I know it's actually Bruins) would recommend highly? Oh, and do you know if Arnold Weinstein is still around?

onegoodgirl

Oh, forgot to add: I almost never have time to be on this site (11 classes, volunteer work, sports, extracurric.s, plus um--life), but could you email any suggestions for really good prof.s to me at ewilliams4@student.rcc.edu? I was accepted ED this year and--dork that I am--I like to get a head-start on things [well...when I want to, seeing as I in no way cared to get a head start on my fifteen-thirty page mid-year research paper due MONDAY!!!! AGGHHHSISGHOODSHBGOI. Well, I'm done ranting now.

billybobbyk

thecriticalreview.org <--here's the address for Brown's Critical Review that was mentioned earlier. Also, try checking out mocha.cs.brown.edu. The site allows you to look at different classes and the professors that teach them, and then you can cross-reference the professors' names in the Critical Review.

For example, if you go to the Mocha homepage, on the far left it shows what criteria you can reference classes by.
Select the Fall 2007 box, as the classes in Fall 2007 will best reflect next fall's classes.

Then click the "departments" hyperlink and click on any departments you're interested in looking into.

Once you've hit "search" and developed a list, look at the classes you want and hit "Add to Cart." Don't worry, this doesn't actually do anything, it just allows you to save the class on a "cart" on the left-hand side of your screen.

Look up the name of the professor by last name in thecriticalreview.org.

Tips

1) Grad students often teach the small English courses. You should take advantage of "shopping period" to look at a couple, but definitely preregister for a section, as the sections tend to fill up fast. Writing classes are generally capped at 15-20 students.

2) Some sections of classes, such as English 11, the basic freshman intro English writing class, are taught by either professors or grad students. You may think that professors are better, and this might be true as a general rule, but in my limited experience here at Brown the grad students can be AMAZING

3) Another important tip: Ask yourself if you mind getting up early. The earliest classes (with only 2 exceptions), start at 9 am, but many students are lazy and prefer to have their first class as late as possible. DO NOT BE ONE OF THESE STUDENTS!!! In the Intermediate Microeconomics class, a class that you can get into during your first semester as a freshman if you have AP Economics credit, there were 120 kids in each of the afternoon sections, but only 20 kids in the 9 am section. Now, think how much you can get out of that class! I'm not taking the class, but I imagine the students get a lot more out of it.