Help with Course Selection

Raceme117 · 06-19-2009, 10:38 PM

I'm finishing up my course selections and am looking for suggestions to fill my first social science requirement. The three I am deciding between are:

Introductory Sociology
Contemporary Political Ideologies
Introductory Economics

The other three courses I am looking to take are:

The American Dream of Success (W-course)
Calculus w/ previous exposure
French 101

I am looking to be a political science major or econ major, though at this point I know it doesn't matter much. I would also like to pursue a concentration in International Studies.

Any suggestions on which of those three courses may be best with this prospective schedule. I plan on taking all three of the courses eventually, though maybe not Introductory Sociology.

Thanks!

amplifiar842 · 06-20-2009, 12:10 AM

I would steer clear of general, intro socy. I took it (not at Davidson) and really was just bored out of my mind, because a lot of it is common sense, but there are enough names, dates, and details that you still have to read the stupid book. I wouldn't take an intro politics course either (American Government or anything too general). Jump into interesting, specific topics. Contemporary Political Ideologies looks best, I think.

W-course sounds really interesting.

French 101: Why 101? Mostly just curious. But if you're starting a new language, be prepared for quite a bit of work, because it moves much faster in college than in high school. If you've had French all through high school and deliberately flunk the placement test...unwise, because then you're stuck taking through 201 (that's THREE courses...almost a semester). A lot of kids do that and I really don't understand why....

I found Calculus (with Swallow) rather painful. I made a C, which is now just a P on my transcript. I'm not a math-person. If you're into econ, you probably are, so maybe it's not anything to worry about, but just remember that it's going to be like Calc BC with an extra unit or two tacked onto the end. I really, really enjoyed Dr. Swallow. He's very personable and I love that he teaches both math and humes...but math is not for me.

I think overall, things look pretty good. Mostly just consider the issue with language and math. If you're not a math person, you should take 115 or whatever that applying mathematical concepts baby-math class is. Or something like it.

Raceme117 · 06-20-2009, 12:24 AM

Thanks for the advice. The French issue is a gray area for me. I plan on pursuing an International Studies concentration which requires two courses beyond the 201 requirement. As my goal is not to simply get through the requirement but rather become fluent in the language, I thought this might be the best choice as I do not feel comfortable with my french abilities at this point. Am I wrong??

amplifiar842 · 06-21-2009, 10:43 PM

Well. I mean, it really just depends on you. If you feel like you REALLY paid no attention to French in high school...yeah, it's probably a good idea to start basic. But I wouldn't necessarily say start at 101. Remember that in a 101 course, you're going to cover all forms of the present tense, basic vocabulary, and basic sentence structure, generally speaking. If you already know how to conjugate verbs in the present tense and recognize patterns for irregular verbs...you're probably set there. In 102, you'd get a little more into it, I would think. 102 is probably a good place to start if you have a decent foundation in the language but you don't feel super comfortable.

Take the placement test and see what it says...and then enter it in Webtree based on how you feel. Maybe confirm with the French department head your reasoning for going with a level lower or higher, for example.

Raceme117 · 06-22-2009, 10:45 PM

amp:

What about this:

Intensive French 1&2
Applications of Math with computing (MAT 110)
The American Dream of Success

..I think I am going to decide against Contemporary Political Ideologies because it is fairly writing intensive and I don't know if that would be a good choice with a W-course. It is also a Poli Sci course, that would make two. I will also get a math req out of the way, my W course and will meet the language requirement quicker (2nd semester) and have more time to take further french courses and work towards the international studies concentration. Is my logic flawed?

Thank you for all of your help (here and Facebook!)

amplifiar842 · 06-23-2009, 01:59 PM

That sounds great, actually!
The only thing about W-courses is that they don't actually count toward a major or concentration most of the time, BUT it is good to take a W-course in an area of interest, so that sounds good! The math class is a good idea...if you're not a math person you don't wanna take calculus. If it is required for an econ major or if you think you'd take it eventually or are ready, by all means, go for it! But if you're not into math...it's advanced!

Always happy to help - I always hope I'm actually helping

eiffel13 · 06-23-2009, 04:34 PM

Amplifiar - don't mean to hijack the thread but on the same topic, this is my d's proposed
course selection as an incoming freshman. What do you think? She is a possible
chemistry major although she found AP Chem quite tough and doesn't know her
score yet so isn't sure if she will get AP credit. Same with math, she took AP
Calc AB and doesn't know her score yet.

W course - Jim Crow (Kelly)
Hum 160 (seems to also satisfy the writing requirement, does this matter? is it good?)
Math 130
Chemistry 115

Other options for W course - Dangerous Words (S. Campbell), American Dream (Roberts) and Justice & Piety (Shaw).

eiffel13 · 06-23-2009, 04:36 PM

Sorry to hijack your thread, Raceme117, go Class of '13!

amplifiar842 · 06-23-2009, 10:24 PM

Hey! I wrote a little bit about Humes here:
Davidson Classes

I'm playing devils advocate in that thread a bit...it's okay to have two things that'll count as a W-course, but she'll only get credit for one.

If she's thinking Chem, 115 is a good place to start. Tell her to be forewarned however that a lot of people who like chemistry and take it with Dr. Nutt (who is really, really hard but will fight with you so you'll do well) end up not liking chemistry temporarily after that class, but then they get back into it a semester or two later. Even if your daughter did AP Chem, it might not hurt to do Chem 115 because the other option is diving straight into Orgo (organic) which is...brutal, I've heard.

Calc will probably be a major requirement, so that's good for her to take. As you see above...I didn't care for it, but I'm not a math/science person. If she is, she should go for it. There's also a "Calculus with Modeling" class that's really interesting, I've heard. It's very different because the main focus is on real world application. Some science majors like this option.

eiffel13 · 06-24-2009, 09:16 PM

Huge thanks, Amp. So helpful and I am grateful for all your info, it is very much
appreciated. I hope you and my d cross paths - raceme too!
Go Class of '13!!

amplifiar842 · 06-24-2009, 10:13 PM

At Davidson? I'm sure we will! It's way too small not to!

eiffel13 · 06-27-2009, 11:32 AM

Amplifiar, I've PM'd you. Thanks, Eiffel.