<p>About the warning on the physics department, for those students who eventually hope to attend Vanderbilt Medical School, they now require more than just intro level physics to be considered for admission. Is it still common for premed hopefuls to “audit” summer courses in tough subjects like Organic Chemistry,etc to prep for the actual course when they return to their school and take the same course for actual credit? This was very common when I was an undergrad-don’t ask how long ago that was!
My D is a total liberal arts/humanities/social science kid who wants to major in English and Political Science. Is there as much grade deflation in those departments as well?</p>
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<p>I’ve seen this elsewhere. Many kids come into a school like Vandy with a gazillion AP credits, but forgo the credit and retake the course for the ‘easy’ A. Of course, only ~15-20% of them will earn an A, due to the curve. Those without the AP course are doomed to a C or life in the library. Plus, the students in the courses for majors tend to be a little more helpful to each other.</p>
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<p>All major unis weed-out premeds. On average, approxmately 30% of each matriculating Frosh class are premeds (at Hopkins its even higher). Obviously, only a handful of students make it thru to apply to med school. Most switch to social sciences or humanities after that first C in Chem.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that is the dirty little secret in college admissions. Preprofessional kids (med, dent, vet, law) are almost always better off taking a merit scholarship somewhere and starting at the top of the class. For pre-professional students, it grades, grades, grades. A 4.0 from Cal State xx is much better than a 3.0 from Cal-Berkeley.</p>
<p>Regarding the humanities courses–my D did not get a single solid A (a couple A-'s and a B+). We were happy with those grades as we know she worked as hard as she was able given the time she was spending on calc and chem. She was the only freshman in her English class (the B+). I will say that overall, she spent way more time studhing for everything than she did in high school.</p>
<p>And BlueBayou–my daughter is one of those people you describe above who took the AP and retook it in college (actually, the College of A&S recommends this). She did spend her life in the library and still came away with a c+. This probably sounds like I’m crying over spilled milk; I’m not. The situation is what it is. But I think it’s something students (and parents) considering Vanderbilt should be aware of.</p>
<p>As we helped my daughter consider schools, we very much pushed her to aim high and attend the best school she could get into. Ultimately she applied to Vanderbilt early decision. In retrospect, I think there is some benefit to attending a school you have slightly better credentials for, where you can be at the top of the heap academically and hopefully also qualify for merit $$$.</p>
<p>Hindsight is always 20/20. My daughter is loving her Vanderbilt experience. But I do think her future career direction will be re-focused because of that choice.</p>
<p>It really depends on the class and the professor. I’d say the professors here WANT you to succeed, and intro to chemistry is no different. Are some more willing to help? Of course, that’s life, some people are just nicer than others haha. Do people get A’s in it? Absolutely. They don’t spend there first semester on frat row though. The reason so many freshman do poorly in Chem 102, is that they lack the balance. They usually end up studying 3 days before the test and wonder why they are doing poorly. By definition, people will fail that class and people will get c’s. That is how it works here; however, if you put the time in, YOU don’t have to be one of those people. (Don’t get me wrong, there are people who work very hard and still get c’s… that sucks, but I respect their work ethic! 
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<p>At the end of the day, I do ultimately suggest trying to get a 5 on Chem AP, and bypassing it all together. Take organic your first go around, and then if you are on the pre-med track take chem 102 over the summer. It’s not impossible, but along with Math 150a-b, it is easily the hardest graded class for freshmen.</p>
<p>dwhite, math 140 satisfied my D’s liberal arts requirement. It’s an easier calc class. She’s not at all a math person, and still found it hard, but i think it is much easier in comparison to 150.</p>
<p>As for not-math people needing to take the math requirement, check the SAT II score requirements and aim to bypass it all together. I don’t think Vanderbilt offers anything below calculus. By some miracle, I never even took Calc in high school and still managed to get the SAT II score needed to test out of having to take math here. It really shocks people here to find out that I have never taken Calc in my life, don’t have to, and don’t plan to, but I’m certainly not complaining. God gives us all different gifts, and mine is certainly not math!
Mal :)</p>
<p>There is precalculus and statistics (relatively easy classes) that can be taken here to fulfill graduation requirements. These will not work for students who plan to pursue majors in science (or pre med students), however they will fulfill AXLE (liberal arts graduations requirements).</p>
<p>The AXLE curriculum doesn’t require a math. It only requires 3 math/science courses. All three can be science. The courses that count are listed in the AXLE info (see CAS website). Social stats is one (SOC127), there is a philosophy, etc. No AP’s count for AXLE requirements. </p>
<p>Mal, you have CPLE’s. You DO have a math requirement, unlike AXLE. For those not familiar, AXLE is CAS; Peabody is CPLE.</p>
<p>The other surprise for some: EVERYONE has to take at least one writing class at Vandy - even if you have transfer credits.</p>
<p>Wow, my S will be thrilled to take anything but math to fulfill his math/science requirement!! Like a previous poster said - everyone has their strenghts - math is not one in this family! We did know about the writing class - luckily he would be happy to take any amount of writing courses! </p>
<p>Thanks for the info kelsmom.</p>
<p>Another important thing to note: AP credits will NOT count toward AXLE requirements. Fortunately, there are some interesting options to choose from for AXLE.</p>
<p>dwhite, here is the link that tells about AXLE not requiring math. I don’t think it’s outdated. I looked at the AXLE info on CAS & it seems to fit in with that:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cas/docs/Comparison%20of%20CPLE%20and%20AXLE.pdf[/url]”>http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cas/docs/Comparison%20of%20CPLE%20and%20AXLE.pdf</a></p>
<p>Thank you. One final question (I think): How many classes (on average) do freshman take each sememster 4 or 5? I assume the writing course is taken either spring or fall so maybe its 4 classes one semester then 5 the other?</p>
<p>I am not sure about freshmen, since my D transferred in as a sophomore. She registered for 5 classes, but her adviser suggested she drop one (she had lots of transfer credits). However, my D is taking 5 in her 2nd semester at Vandy & is fine - although she has TONS of reading & lots of papers.</p>
<p>I think S took 5 classes his first semester, but one was a one hour engineering seminar. D took 4 classes, but one was a 5 hour language class. For a variety of reasons, it is better to take a slightly easier load and to do well than to take on too much.</p>
<p>I would suggest to start with 4 (and labs/1 hour classes). I would not suggest taking 5 classes and labs. If your are doing research, stick with 4. If you are a humanities major and do not expect labs, 5 classes is doable, though be prepared for many papers and readings.</p>
<p>The College of A&S strongly urges first-semester freshmen to take four courses, only one of which is a writing course. Because our daughter was essentially “repeating” two classes she’d had in high school (chemistry and calculus), we felt she’d be fine with five. That was probably a mistake. Both chemistry and calculus were a time suck, and the two electives, though not classified as writing courses, were writing intensive. She did fine, but the workload was intense. Since most students come in with some AP credit, I would recommend starting with four courses and then upping to five in the second semester.</p>
<p>I wish I had found this site before my D’s summer orientation. We went into the registration process blissfully ignorant of the rigor of the first year courses. She had no calculus in HS but was encouraged by the summer advisor to take Math 155 (advanced calculus) because she had a 32 on the math portion of the ACT. She decided to “take it easy” and sign up for Math 150. What a nightmare. Even with a tutor she could not pass the class. (She successfully retook the class the next summer.) Bio Sci 110 was no better - way too advanced for her. At least the Beginning Latin instructor took pity on her upon finding that she was the only student in the class who had never taken Latin before. </p>
<p>My advice to entering freshman is to look carefully at the courses and ask around. My D is now a sophomore and loves Vanderbilt, but that terrible first semester could have been avoided if we had known what to expect. It took quite a toll academically and emotionally.</p>
<p>Lion,
My daughter took Math 150 as well. She soon discovered almost everyone she knew was in 155, which even though is the higher-level class, is considered easier. I wish the academic advisor that assisted with the registration process had steered her in that direction.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the good information. I will certainly pass it along to my S when its time to register for classes.</p>