Great LACs w Jan Term? Wise Criteria, or Too Limiting?

Katja · 05-09-2008, 01:28 PM

My D loved the J-terms at some of the LACs we visited (Williams, Middlebury, Oberlin, Colby)---both for cross-cultural experiences as well as for interesting courses different from the "regular" offerings. So, I have 4 questions that I'd love your wisdom & feedback:

1. Do you all know of other excellent LACs with January terms?

I'm guessing that there are more than we've been able to locate, & we would love your insights about other excellent LACs.

2. Do you all think J-terms are as great as they appeared to us on our visits?

3. Is it wise to give LACs with a J-term a higher priority & do you think that might end up being too limiting for my D?

By preferring schools with a J-term, is she inadvertently eliminating great LACs that offer similar programs outside of the "J-term" type framework (internships, cross-cultural experiences, etc)? Would you all advise against the J-term being a strong criteria?

4. Do you all think that the J-term-type experiences are offered at other LACs in other ways through internships, summer programs, school breaks, etc. or in other ways that may not be as obvious to my D & myself?
hat time for the students.

Amherst, for example, doesn't have the J-term but I'm guessing that it has other interesting programs that get at the same thing that the J-term does.

Thanks so much for any of your thoughts on this!
~Kat

ChiSquare · 05-09-2008, 01:58 PM

Hi Kat -

I'll be curious to see what we learn with this thread. My D also is quite taken with the concept of the J term. I can add to your list: St Olaf (in Minnesota) and Illinois Wesleyan (in Illinois - duh). Actually, Illinois Wesleyan has a May term - same idea, but different month. One advantage, or disadvantage, is that with the May term, it is easy to tack on some vacation time if the term is overseas.

These schools are less well known than the ones you mention, but very good LACs nonetheless.

I do know some adults who attended colleges with J terms, and all have very positive things to say about their experience with this.

bethievt · 05-09-2008, 02:11 PM

Grinnell students have most of January free and also 2 weeks in March and often do service projects or internships during these times. The Jan break isn't called a J term though.

Lafalum84 · 05-09-2008, 02:27 PM

You mentioned Colby & their Jan Plan.

Lafayette has an "interim session," it's not nearly as large as Colby's and a much smaller percentage of kids participate. But there are some classes on campus, and there are usually several trips abroad. DH went to Israel and Egypt over interim session, way back in the day. This year Interim session ran from Jan 7 - 25. As a result, second semester starts later than most schools, this year it started 1/28. Spring semester classes ended today (5/9) and exams end on 5/17.

BunsenBurner · 05-09-2008, 02:29 PM

Wellesley is another LAC with a January term. They call it Wintersession:

Wintersession at Wellesley College

The links to the catalog of courses, unfortunately, already expired, but there should be some information posted for the upcoming academic year soon.

Van2010 · 05-09-2008, 02:29 PM

Linfield College in Oregon has a Jan term.

HarrietMWelsch · 05-09-2008, 02:31 PM

Bates has no Jan term, but they have short term in May.

NorthMinnesota · 05-09-2008, 03:15 PM

Wartburg College in Iowa also has a May term. They students love that they can do internships that turn in to summer employment or travel abroad for longer periods in to the summer. How fun!

NewHope33 · 05-09-2008, 03:18 PM

I can't add any LACs to your list, but I can attest that J term can be fabulous for the right student. D has been to Ecuador to study ecology of the Amazon, and to Spain to work on her Spanish -- earning six credits each term.

interesteddad · 05-09-2008, 04:26 PM

I attended an LAC with a January term. My daughter attended one without.

Frankly, it would be so far down on my list of criteria that I wouldn't even give it much thought.

For the most part, January term courses are throw-aways. It's party-time. Conversely, many students at my daughter's school do internships arranged through the school in during winter break. Others go overseas on college sponsored junkets.

Of my four January terms, one was just a brain dead decision on my part -- a math course that met five mornings a week. What was I thinking? Two were just complete throwaways. I can't, for the life of me, remember the fourth one, but I'm sure it was pretty good!

Six in one, half-dozen in the other. There are more important considerations to think about. I wouldn't rule schools in or out.

It's probably a net plus for parents because it gets the little darlin' out of your hair!

unregistered · 05-09-2008, 04:37 PM

Amherst has an optional J-term. I've spent my J-terms on Amherst funded off-campus internship/volunteer type experiences, which I vastly prefer. I would say, for me, the idea of spending J-term on a freezing cold New England campus is not at all appealing, but I like that it is an option, I suppose. I'd so much rather spend the 5 weeks getting funded to go do something in India or Argentina, though. But I'm not a skiier.

K9Leader · 05-09-2008, 05:40 PM

We are still in the process of identifying and visiting schools - we've been to 9 or 10 so far, and three that we've visited are still on her list. Tops on her list right now is Elon, which has a J-term that, we were told, is taken advantage of by upwards of 80% of the students, either for coursework on campus or for a study abroad program. It helps that they don't charge extra tuition for the J-term. D likes the idea of being able to do a study abroad without being away for an entire semester. My wife and I like that it's covered in the annual tuition (not sure whether it's covered by the Fall or Spring tuition or whether you have to be enrolled for both). We all like the many opportunities it offers.

We are very familiar with the idea of a J-term as our in-state school, University of Delaware, which we live only ten minutes from has one. We know many students -- neighbor kids, kids from scouts, swim team, kids' friends -- who have made use of it. One young man we know (one of my Eagle Scouts who house and dog sits for us when we are away) uses it for any particularly tough course that he needs to be able to focus on exclusively.

It seems like such a more productive way to use the time. By the second week of January, my son is bored, especially since all his friends who go to UD are back at school for J-term.

jrpar · 05-09-2008, 06:08 PM

I loved Winter Study at Williams, but I don't think whether or not a school has a January option should be an important factor in selecting a college. If you otherwise like the school, I'd view it as a nice plus.

kristin5792 · 05-09-2008, 07:14 PM

Check out Elon in North Carolina. It's a small LAC that's gaining in the ranks and has a great J-term experience. It's definitely worth the effort to become familiar with it!

Elon was my second choice school (didn't go because it was too far away and too expensive for my family) and my friends that go there loved J-term this year. Their administration is wonderful and they have some really interesting classes, not to mention a gorgeous campus (albeit without a great town--though Raleigh's not too far away) and interesting students. It could be a great fit!

interesteddad · 05-09-2008, 07:54 PM

This thread piqued my curiousity about the actual schedules with and without a January term.

I compared my alma mater with a Jan term (Williams) to my daughter's school (Swarthmore) without.

Williams has 12 weeks of classes in the Fall Semester, 12 weeks of classes in the Spring semester. 3 weeks of Winter Study classes.

Swarthmore has 14 weeks of classes in the Fall Semester, 14 weeks of classes in the Spring semester, no winter study.

So there is a definite tradeoff in the 32 semester courses versus the 4 winter study courses in the two systems. Swarthmore's system is giving you a little more than an entire extra semester (16 weeks) of regular classes over the course of four years. Williams system is giving you an extra semester (12 weeks) of four winter study courses, taken sequentially, three weeks each) rather than four at once.

Six in one, half dozen in the other. The winter term approach is probably a little easier and more fun (because winter study courses are often guts). The extra time in the semester courses probably gives a bit more academic muscle in those courses (some of which are hopefully fun, too!).