Deltastrike, all of your questions will be answered in detail at an Information Session, and/or by taking advantage of Spend-a-Night. While you’re there, harvest some student emails so you can continue to ask them questions. The Information Sessions will give you the bare facts, but if you want to find out what it’s ~really~ like, ask several students. There’s a lot of marketing gloss about how helpful the staff is.
There used to be a lot more information on the website, but I couldn’t find it. I’ll give some summary information to get you started:
- Coursework:
What courses you take each year are pretty well lined out. It doesn’t matter what you’ve had before (even if you’ve had college classes). There is a very specific list of classes. It’s rigid, except each semester you’re allowed to add one elective (roughly), assuming your academic record there is good. No matter what course you take, TAMS provides the books.
The Junior year has Biology (at 8:00 am, invariably after a midnight Wing meeting), Literature/Composition (same novels every year), Math (either PreCalc or Calc depending upon how you score on the placement test), Chemistry (Honors or regular, depending upon placement test), with labs for Biology and Chemistry.
TAMS staff often take roll in the Biology class when they know you’ve had a late night, so you can’t sleep in. The class has assigned seating, so they stand in the back row and look at the back of the heads. Empty seat = cutting class.
- StudentLife: Tons of clubs meet in the evenings, just make sure you have time. They have a Club Fair in the first week, or perhaps on move-in day. The students are warm, motivated, and help each other. (In stark contrast to the staff.) You are expected (required?) to volunteer your time on certain projects, which are generally manual labor out in the heat. Enjoy that part. :- ) Expect them to make it hard for you; they want tough survivors. Sometimes they present it as being warm and fuzzy, but you are definitely on your own to survive. Safety drills are always after 11 pm curfew, and often before a major Biology test (which everyone dreads). Bring your book, and study while the alarms blare, if you can.
- average day as a Junior Except for 8 am Biology, it totally varies. Like any other university student, your schedule will have 'holes' between classes. Find a convenient place on your path between the classes where you can study. Sometimes the classroom is empty and you can go in early and read. It was never more important to read the material before class, and those 'holes' are the perfect time to do it.
- How many classes are there per day? Like any other college student, it will vary. Hopefully, you won't have all your classes piled up on one day, but it can happen.
- Which seemed the hardest? None of them are like high school, no matter how rigorous. This is the Big Time. You can't cram for these classes - no way. So work ahead, stay organized, start memorizing early, and never miss a class - not even for a doctor's appointment. Many people dread Biology the most, perhaps because it's the one class all TAMSters take. The literature/composition class can be difficult because the instructor wants it Just Exactly So. I recommend making heavy use of the English lab, because you don't always get what you need from the English Prof.
- sources of inspiration ... essays
When you attend the Information Sessions, be thinking about your essay and take notes. Then apply what you've learned about TAMS to your life. I've said this before, but the Admissions folks are looking to see that you ~truly~ understand what it's about, and can apply it to yourself as an individual.
They want tough, tenacious, resilient (you'll see that word a lot), completely independent and self-starting. You aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto.