[JSRC 학생기자]So What Do Harvard Students Study Anyway?-1
Last week was the second round of midterms at Harvard. I survived, though it was a very difficult week. I would like to give a brief overview of the undergraduate academics here at Harvard. This semester, I am taking four courses: Economics 10A, Math 1B, Expos 20: Imagining the Wild West, and SciFi Movies: Real vs. Fiction.
During the summer, incoming freshmen must take subject placement exams. The results of the exams, as well as the high school courses and AP scores of the freshmen, are used to advise students to take certain levels of classes for math, science, and writing courses.
All students must take a writing course in the Harvard College Writing Program, commonly known as an “Expos” course. Expos is divided into two levels: 10 and 20. The majority of students take Expos 20 courses, while Expos 10 is usually reserved for international students to help them adjust to English writing at the college level. All Expos courses are for one semester, and students who take Expos 10 must follow up with a Expos 20 course in the spring. Students rank up to nine different Expos courses they are interested in. Each course focuses on a different topic, and students are placed into a course via lottery.
Freshmen are also highly encouraged to take a seminar class. These courses are small in size (typically up to only 15 students) and specifically for freshmen-students only. All seminars are taught by professors, and are “pass-fail”; no letter grades are given, so this reduces stress that many students feel. The topic of seminars are often interesting, if not “unusual”. As I mentioned before, my seminar involves watching disaster movies and discussing which elements are scientifically feasible what are not. Seminars also give freshmen a chance to get to know a professor very well, which is more difficult to do in larger, introductory classes.