Swat '07 Will Try to Answer Q's

collegialmom
Mon, 02 Jan 2006 18:29:33 +0000

Thank you for the very comprehensive answers above about Swarthmore. They will be extremely helpful for prospective students.

I would like to clarify something mentioned above about large lecture classes at universities. I attended a large university and have a son who currently is attending one (my other son is at Swarthmore):

Generally, in our experiences, the large introductory lecture classes at these 2 large universities are very often taught by professors, and meet 2-3 times a week. The discussion sections, which are smaller (15-25 students) meet 1-2 times a week and are led by graduate students. Additional lab sections tend to have about 25-30/lab, and are led by graduate students. These parameters can differ by department, as to who teaches the lectures. The professors generally teach the large lectures to maximize the number of students who can be taught by him/her.

I received an excellent education at a large public university, and both my sons have been happy with their choices.