What courses you choose for your Dartmouth education is one of the most important decisions you make at Dartmouth. Not only does it determine for the most part what you will learn at Dartmouth, but one's selections often make the difference between a good term and a bad term.
There are almost as many ways to choose courses as there are students. However, "the best guide is upper-classmen," said Cindy Cheung '04, an economics and Asian studies double major, along with many other members of the '04 class interviewed by The Dartmouth.
Anna Parachkevova '04, who said she was happy with every class she has taken at Dartmouth, said she knew she wanted to take Education 20, one of the most popular classes at Dartmouth, because "everybody was talking about the class." She added, "it's all about talking to people."
The second most popular bit of advice was to take classes that interest you especially, particularly during the first year.
Cheung said knowing an area of interest was helpful, but a major "should be something that just happens."
Iga Czarnawska '04, who knew she wanted to be a film major before coming to Dartmouth and never changed her major, agreed. She said that all though knowing her major helped her to get the most out of college, "knowing what you want to do with your life can't be forced. It has to come naturally."
"There is room to sample," said Assistant Dean of First-Year Students Leigh Remy.
She recommended students first look carefully through the first-year book, which was mailed to them during the summer. They should be sure to read the course descriptions, even in departments which they do not initially feel could interest them, and note those descriptions which they feel drawn to. As they do, "certain themes will evolve," she said.
Remy said many students choose courses based on what their interests or classes were in high school. Many '04's admitted to doing this as well.
"The one class I liked was recommended to me by an upper-classman," Lara Appleby '04, a Genetics, Cell and Developmental Biology major, said. "The other two I chose because I was going through the whole high school well-rounded person thing, and I thought 'Oh, I did math in high school, so I'll do math.'"
The reason this approach is often problematic for students is that Dartmouth offers courses significantly beyond what many students had available in high school, Remy said.
Certain departments, like Education, Anthropology or Asian Studies, have no high school equivalent.
First-year students will all be assigned a faculty advisor whom they are required to meet with before selecting courses. Remy said, so as to ensure students are getting advice, and to give them their first relationship with a faculty member.
The advisor system, which is currently being re-evaluated, met with mixed results among the '04 class.
Advisors can prove to be valuable resources when their interests and personalities are similar to those of advisees. Raul Serrano '04 met with his advisor, whom he affectionately called "The Terror of the Philosophy Department," frequently. He later took his advisor's class and ended up majoring in Philosophy.
In contrast, Cheung was paired with a Physics professor -- she was originally planning on a pre-medical major. They found little common ground and she said he "didn't help very much at all."
Remy added, "faculty advisers are part of the larger advising system." She pointed to Dean's Office Student Consultants, Undergraduate Advisors and the student assembly's course review system as examples of others.
"There's not going to be one source of information. They need to get information from multiple sources," Remy said.
Most of the '04s contacted by The Dartmouth were aware of at least some of the resources available to them, but all chose a few favorites that they used to choose courses.
Appleby added two other important tools to be aware of when choosing courses: the shopping period and the non-recording option.
There is a two-week period at the beginning of any term, called the "shopping period," when students can add and drop classes online at the registrar's website without penalty.
"These freshmen should take course shopping literally and if they don't like something, they shouldn't buy it," Appleby told The Dartmouth. "They are in control of their classes and the fates of their terms."
Students may find it more difficult to change classes as the two weeks go on, as much ground is covered in class over even a few sessions.
To NRO a class, a student sets a minimum grade with the registrar at the beginning of the term. If he or she gets a grade above the minimum, it is recorded normally. However, if a student gets below the minimum, it is recorded only as a passing grade, and not factored in to the student's grade point average.
The NRO can be used three times during a student's four years at Dartmouth.
Appleby recommended using the NRO on large, introductory classes where she didn't feel anyone cared about the grades and the topics covered often did not meet a student's area of interest.
There is also something to be said for looking at the course reviews available online through the Student Assembly website.
"Course reviews are excellent. It's great to figure out what you're getting into," said Cheung.
"I encourage students to use those selectively," said Remy. She explained that classes that one student enjoys may not necessarily work for another.
"How they learn is not the same as how their neighbor learns," she said. "They need to find a curiculum that works for them, not someone else."
