<p>I turn up my nose and laugh french like at your complaints. Ready? Ready? Hoh hoh hoh hoh. (Okay you probably aren’t going ot get that reference).</p>
<p>No syllabus? Please, dude. You can do better than that. </p>
<p>And you totally misconstrued my point. The philosophy of kvetching about minute details even if a place is heaven on earth is a HARD way to live. Did I say you live that way? No. But if you do, that’s a hard way to live. Enjoy heaven!</p>
<p>I spit in your general direction. Hmph!</p>
<p>I don’t know if Physics is a weaker dept at Brown but don’t most colleges have depts that are stronger than others? I know my kids eliminated schools that didn’t offer strong programs in their chosen field. They didn’t “choose” to go there and then complain about the program. That’s why kids should research schools, departments, curriculums and faculty. For my DD, she wanted a BFA in graphic design and was disappointed to discover how many schools on her initial list didn’t even offer a BFA, but instead offered a more generic BA degree - or a fine arts major with a “concentration” in graphic design (maybe a few classes). Now, that doesn’t mean those are terrible schools or terrible GD programs. They just aren’t what she wanted. My son wanted to study neuroscience and didn’t want to just take a class or two in it (as a Biology major) so he chose schools with strong neuroscience departments. He also discovered major differences in programs, even at top schools. They are not equal.</p>
<p>Brown has strong academics but that doesn’t mean all departments are equal. Just as you would expect a strong math department at MIT, I predict there are some departments that aren’t as strong. It’s fairly easy to find out what depts are strong. Most schools are happy to report this. You can also look into the breadth and depth of their course offerings, faculty and facilities. I think it’s naive to assume all departments are equal - or to expect them to be so. That’s what distinguishes schools from one another.</p>
<p>Well who said that I’m slashing my wrists because of how upset I am with these complaints? that’s something you people for some reason deducted.</p>
<p>I never understood how a particular program ca be not so strong. Now, if it were an aerospace engineering course, and we didn’t have that many spaceships, I would understand. But what do you need to have a strong physics department?
Or, in other words, what’s keeping us from making it better?</p>
<p>What, lack of funding? Not enough interest in advanced physics courses? Well how then do you explain the billions of classes with only 3-4 people in other departments? I could name you 3 students only from my own highschool here that would be interested.
And no I’m not interested in “well then make your own study group”. I didn’t come here to start groups, I came here to take courses. Not develop my own course, then take it myself. It is my opinion that is not a way to go. As I said, if I design a course myself, I might as well stayed home.
Or, if brown pays me the usual cost of a course, I will gladly do it.</p>
<p>You see this freedom to make your own course as a great thing. I see it as thievery</p>
<p>slashing your wrists? dude, actually read my post! I meant enjoy the heaven on earth that you’re in. nobody said anything about slashing your wrists…crikey…</p>
<p>it’s simple. some schools offer more classes in a certain department or give it more funding. some have more famous or accomplished or able professors. some have more labs or studios or resources. everything that makes a good program good can come in differing supplies. not every program is equal at every school. that’s just how it is…i came to brown for neuroscience because that paticular program is so great, in addition to everything else brown has to offer.</p>
<p>if i was really into womens studies, for instance, i wouldn’t come to brown because the program is weak (a shame, i like womens’ studies)</p>
<p>I don’t need any lab or resources, other than a pen and paper, to do physics. Neither should anyone else need more. We have quite enough professors, many of them very capable of teaching a myriad of different courses.</p>
<p>so your problem is?</p>
<p>That I’m expected to pay tuition but also solve issues by myself?</p>
<p>“You see this freedom to make your own course as a great thing. I see it as thievery”</p>
<p>Again I have to wonder, why did you choose Brown?</p>
<p>Having the option to create your own courses is one thing an is indeed great. Having it as a solution is useful.</p>
<p>It being the ONLY solution is not a great thing.</p>
<p>welcome to college! welcome to the world! </p>
<p>They can’t read your mind and cater to your whims (like I said before). If you have a problem, complain about it! Do something about it!</p>
<p>But again, it doesn’t sound like you really have any issues except for the physics department not being hard enough, which will probably be answered by taking higher/grad level courses and doing advanced research, all of which is READILY AVAILABLE to you</p>
<p>Or, since Brown is SO easy, I’m sure you’ll have a 4.0 and can transfer to MIT or CalTech and get much more hard core physics.</p>
<p>Negru, </p>
<p>One problem off the top is you say you picked your school based on the highest ranked school you could get into. Problemo. That’s no way to pick. Yes, you want a good school, a challenging school. But rank some points one way or another is not what differs between schools. Schools differ in lots of ways as you are finding. My kid NEVER has seen a college ranking list. She could not tell you where Brown was ranked. I have a feeling, but I’d have to check as I don’t examine rankings much (but did see the list once), that another school she got into, Penn, may be ranked higher than Brown. Penn was WAY lower on her list and she actually preferred several non-Ivies ranked way lower over Penn. She picked schools by fit. She didn’t even pick by the major/department since it is a liberal arts degree and her intended field which was only a possibility at that point and not a definite, would require grad school anyway. She had lots of factors that went into picking a college and it went beyond the field of study. And it surely had nothing to do with ranking, though she did want a challenging college with other motivated and driven learners like herself. </p>
<p>Creating an independent study is not thievery. My D has only done one independent study at Brown (though did some in HS) and actually she got one on one instruction weekly with a professor. Seems like a good deal to me. She even got a rec for grad school out of it. </p>
<p>Her major is weak at Brown but here is where I am telling you that she created ways to build a strong foundation in her field. She has documented how she has pieced that together on her grad school apps. There has to be ways for you to create a challenging course of study and research at Brown. It’s a school that really promotes that but it requires drive on the part of the student to see what things can be pursued. Also, maybe the courses in Physics you have taken thus far are too easy but can every single course they offer be too easy or just the lower level courses? Find out what they suggest you can do to challenge yourself. Even an independent study with research is not like what you could do at home as you would work one to one with a mentor. </p>
<p>And do you JUST wanna take Physics? it sounds like three of your four classes are Physics ones. Sure, Brown allows that but Brown is a liberal arts school and a chance to branch out. If you wanted purely to study physics, why didn’t you choose a school like MIT? If you are so advanced, surely you’d be a viable candidate there, right? Brown is not considered an easy school in the US. If it is too easy for you, then try a tech type college like MIT as it may be more to your liking. Why do you need to change Brown? You may have picked the wrong school for what you want! However, there ARE ways to be proactive and get a mentor to help you design a better and more challenging course of study for next semester. They are there to help you. </p>
<p>You don’t come across as a go getter. You seem to have a lot of time on your hands that could be productive. In fact, college isn’t only about studying your major. Get involved in something. I still can’t get over that you posted a while back that you don’t have time to meet with people to create some solutions for your academic plans. Trust me, you have TONS more time on your hands than my kid. You are not in ECs and you are on CC a lot too. Isn’t this like hell week at college? I don’t know what you have on your plate but I know today my kid was in classes all day, spent six hours tonight grading projects as a TA for a course, has a 65 page paper she did with two collaborators to hand in tomorrow and do a presentation on, and a very time consuming studio project due Wed., AND has her first two grad school apps which included extensive preparation of a portfolio on top of the regular app requirements for grad school due to go out on Thursday which has been a lot on top of her college coursework itself (like having an extra course at least) and on top of a varsity sport and other ECs. She doesn’t have a moment free. You make fun of atheletes and insinuate that Brown students don’t work hard on academics or aren’t super bright in so many words. But from what I am reading, you may be a really bright student, but are atypical of the hard working, driven, motivated, very involved and engaged, and yes, happy, students I have come across at Brown. You have a lot of time on your hands and sit around and complain and don’t make things happen for yourself.</p>
<p>Brown does not need to change. It may not be the school for you, and that’s OK. After all, you seem to have picked it for its rank. It is not surprising that the fit was off the mark by that method. Again, either take initiative to find ways to make the experience better there for yourself (and I think this IS possible to do…then again, with so much pessimism and you say you might complain anywhere you go), or find a place that really meets your criteria (and forget about rank). Rank won’t get you a good career. Drive and motivation and achievement will take you places. Do you have what it takes? Go after it.</p>
<p>
here we go again</p>
<p>higher/grad level courses only cover more advanced topics. I was planning that, before I get to those topics, I study the lower ones into greater detail. I’m pretty sure that the grad course in EM won’t be teaching me the gaussian method with matrices on how to solve an electrostatic system. That is something that should’ve been covered in phys 47. Lucky me to have found it in highschool, because it apparently seems that otherwise, by relying on college courses, I would’ve missed it completely. Using this reasoning, can you possibly imagine how little these courses actually teach you? Desperately little. Like a friend said, the us college system only cracks the door to knowledge a tiny bit, enough for you to know how to do your job get fat and watch tv - maybe take a course in philosophy to consider yourself a doctor of it.
So yes, to get even the slightest clue on physics, you can’t afford to take anything else. I don’t see how you could with any different subject. Assuming you really want to know it, not just have a dim idea in 100 different subjects.</p>
<p>And if the courses aren’t designed to teach all these things, how the hell do we learn about them? Take every existing book in the world and examine it? Ask a prof, hey prof, can you teach me everything about this subject?
This is what universities were invented for people. To do this job for you. That’s why you give them $$$. Stop taking responsibilities away from them. It’s like paying taxes to the state, and then state lets you live alone in the forest instead of doing it’s job of protection etc, and what’s worse, you go like “woohooo we are so free our government is so cool”…instead, “wait a minute, what am i paying taxes for then?”. or maybe it’s just me being more critical and skeptical</p>
<p>And I really don’t have time. I don’t see how you could do research and have time. Every minute I have, assuming i’m not overly bored or tired, i use to make some progress with my research projects. And even in the long run, finishing this work is more important than meeting a dean and discussing possible improvements for brown. Because that is simply not my job. Sometimes I would like to try and change some things, but I immediately get turned of when I get personal responses like here, instead of general comments. </p>
<p>And if any of my comments can apply to any or every other university in the us, or world, that still changes nothing. “Everybody else is stupid, so we might as well be too” is not a reasonable argument.</p>
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<p>So, this really may not be about Brown. It may be that you find the US college system as inadequate for your purposes and it doesn’t “fit” where you are academically after getting out of high school in your country. So, even transferring may not solve your dilemma. If this is the case, why don’t you attend school back in your own country where I assume the college system dovetails better with the high school preparation? That’s an option, no? Why did you select the US colleges? Perhaps these colleges are not challenging enough for you. Apparently, you are too advanced. </p>
<p>However, aren’t you from Romania? It so happens that one of my daughter’s friends from the beginning of her time at Brown is from Romania and to my knowledge, she is happy at Brown. So, perhaps it is more your own personal “fit” with the school, which happens at all colleges for some who have not found the right match. </p>
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<p>I do wonder why you chose Brown? Can you shed some light on why Brown was your FIRST choice (you applied ED)? Well, I know you said rankings…but was that it? I suppose one way Brown may have fit you is that they allow you to take what you want and you could fill your semesters with physics and not take other subjects if you didn’t want to and that is not the case at most colleges. But on the other hand, Brown is primarily a liberal arts school. It really isn’t for this level of specialization that you seem to want where you take only one subject. There ARE schools that are specialized. Why didn’t you apply to a school that had a specialized program and a tech type degree or university? A liberal arts environment really isn’t for those who want to specialize and study one thing like you seem to want to do. Poor fit. </p>
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<p>I only know you have WAY more free time than my Brown student. You are in NO ECs. You mentioned partying. You mentioned cutting classes. You are on CC a lot (she would not have any time to be on CC even if she wanted to be). If she can fit in meeting with advisors (she met with four in just the past couple of days on top of a very very booked up schedule and huge projects due, TA grading responsibilities, along with grad school apps due all at once during these same few days), you can. I didn’t even add in her several ECs, one of which is a sport that in this season is 12 hours per week but next semester is 15 hours midweek and the ENTIRE weekend every weekend off campus, plus one week of missed classes off campus. Sorry, I don’t comprehend this dilemma about time that you keep mentioning.</p>
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<p>You don’t get it. Yes, you could try to make some changes at Brown but that was NOT the main suggestion made here. Folks, including myself, have discussed meeting with deans about making changes for YOURSELF while at Brown, to better meet your learning needs and goals. We are not focusing on changing Brown (that takes time and more than one voice to speak up). Rather, there are advisors at Brown who you can go to about what is not working for you to get advice of how to make the experience better and how to tailor your education to meet your goals. It isn’t about changing Brown. It is about taking the initiative to create a better experience for yourself at Brown, at least for the next semester and if after a LOT of effort to change your course and if it still is so bad for you, then consider transferring to where it would be better suited to your needs, interests, and desires. Again, we are not talking of improving BROWN. We are suggesting you get the help from advisors at Brown to change YOUR experience there and how to make it better. Rather than complain on CC, voice your concerns with a dean and ask how to improve your experience and what they would suggest in order to meet X, Y and Z concern that is not working for you. What do you have to lose? Um, one hour? Right, you don’t have time. I forgot. I think you have spent more than an hour posting on CC. Think about it. Do you want to complain or do you want to take initiative to make your experience better and get help from those waiting to help students like you? You have a choice here. What are you going to do?</p>
<p>when you apply your arguments and complaints specifically at Brown when it occurs everywhere, it is a reasonable argument. </p>
<p>Okay, really, REALLY not understanding why you chose Brown if ALL you want to study is physics. That goes against the entire Brown philosophy of diverse learning. I’m sorry, but what good is a physicist who knows only physics? Why not let (even slight) knowledge of other subjects inform your knowledge of physics and the world? In fact, I’m not even understanding why you chose to go to school in the US if you have such a negative view of the way it is styled!</p>
<p>And don’t assume facts about grad courses. You don’t know what they teach; perhaps they do cover those subjects or perhaps you can cover them ever so briefly on your own as you take the grad courses and because of your natural physics grace won’t need a whole course on them.</p>
<p>And if you aren’t willing to do something on YOUR part to change something, stop complaining, because it WON’T change on its own, no matter how much you think it should or want it to. You’re wasting your time.</p>
<p>sooz – your daughter definitely had the right approach concerning fit. I’m curious, what’s her major?</p>
<p>Well the way I understood brown’s philosophy was that, now, after being exposed to several different subjects and issues of life, as a mature knowledgeable person, you are ready to study only what really interests you.</p>
<p>Only when I got here I learned that it actually represents a second chance for students to broaden up - or worse, the first chance.
I don’t buy that "know only as much as you need to, use the extra time to learn something else - you are either good at your subject or you suck at it.</p>
<p>The fact that I can take grad courses if I want to at brown was really appealing. Assuming, of course, that the grad courses teach what they’re supposed to teach. And by no means replace undergrad education</p>
<p>And also please realize, even if I do take you advice, and do my own independent w/w/o a prof, talk to a dean to create a new program, blabla whatever, I would STILL complain about the courses, even if I won’t be taking a single one anymore</p>
<p>you’re insatiable, Negru. </p>
<p>And you CLEARLY need to transfer to a tech school that shares your philosophy of education. I mean I don’t know what else to say.</p>