Grad courses vs. Undergrad

hopefullyIvy
Thu, 22 Feb 2007 12:16:16 +0000

Hi,

I’m faced with some decisions now. Now I can start taking 4th year courses. Except in my university, 4th year courses are usually “held with” grad courses. I know that grad schools favour people with some grad course credits. But I also hear that in my university, although we have a strong undergrad program, grad students aren’t that great and that my university’s grad school doesn’t have much of a reputation. I know for a fact that many professors complain about the grad students being not as bright as 4th year undergrads.

So my question is, should I sign up for the 4th year courses as an undergrad course, or as a grad course? (we are given that option, considering that the two courses cover roughly the same material - grad students just have to do a bit more work, but not by much. I know I can just do a grad student’s work while being enrolled as an undergrad too.)

Since I’ll be learning the same stuff, it’s not really the question of which course can you learn more anymore. The only thing that differs is the grad schools’ perspective on how it’s going to look on my application. (I want to apply to the top schools like Stanford, MIT and Harvard)

What do you guys think? Grad courses or undergrad?

While I’m at it, I’m also wondering about just “sitting in” on a course. There are so many courses I’d like to take, but I’m already taking way over a full course load and the administration hasn’t been very friendly towards my taking more courses. If I just sit in on a course, I don’t mind not getting a credit for it, as long as I learn something. But would I be able to mention that I sat in on courses on my grad school application? If so, do I need some sort of a proof that I actually took the course?

Please help me out, I’m so confused.