jazzymom

Can anyone shed light on whether CU's core requirements are excessive and interfere with exploring a wide range of subjects?

There is a quote in the big Princeton Review of colleges book that has a student complaining about the core and how difficult it is to take classes outside your major. This one comment has become a huge stumbling block for my son, even though there is much about CU that would suit him very well. He's intensely interested in the physical sciences, astronomy, physics, possibly engineering but also philosophy and religious studies; he doesn't know what he wants to major in and wants to explore. (He is in the honors program but did not apply for the Norlin scholars, which I now realize he should have done to have the kind of freedom he's looking for.)

My question is, though: are core requirements extensive, more so than other universities?

drb

I don't think this should be an issue for your son. My D is a physics major and pre-med (for now) and takes an incredible science load. It has not been a major issue to work in the core and distribution requirements around this. The requirements are moderately extensive but they are quite general and can be fulfilled by a wide variety of courses. Given your son's diverse interests I can't imagine he would find this a problem.

I have helped my D with her scheduling (at her request) and the online tools make it very easy to figure out what requirements remain to be fulfilled and what courses are available to satisfy them. The hardest part is figuring out how to leave Thursdays free for skiing.

One strategy my D is planning is to load a few of these into a semester abroad, since she can't use that time to fulfill upper level science requirements.

The honors program also facilitates meeting core requirements since students have preferential access to some classes.

Anyone interested in "physical sciences, astronomy, physics, possibly engineering " will find a huge range of opportunities at CU. The core requirements should not be a disincentive to attend.

jazzymom

Thanks, drb. I'm going to PM you with some other questions.