Miscellaneous Homework 9: Tentative Schedules

Summary: You will develop a tentative schedule for next semester.

Purposes: (1) To give you the opportunity to reflect upon your education; (2) To prepare you for preregistration; and (3) To provide us with fodder for discussion.

Due: Thursday, 3 November 2005

To Turn In: Fourteen copies of the information that I have requested below (list of potential majors, interesting special topics course, tentative schedule, rationale, alternatives).

Background:

From Monday, 7 November 2005 to Thursday, 17 November 2003, Grinnell permits students to preregister for courses. Students should reflect upon the purposes of their education and their academic and non-academic plans, choose courses for the next semester, discuss their course selections with their advisors, and turn in their course selections to the registrar. The registrar will then present class lists to faculty who may then choose to eliminate students from over-enrolled classes.

As the previous description suggests, Grinnell intends preregistration to be a reflective process, a time in which students carefully consider the purposes and means of their education. Such reflection is particularly important at Grinnell because Grinnell emphasizes an open curriculum rather than particular requirements.

Assignment:

Since the primary goal of preregistration is that students reflect on their education, you should first reflect on your plans and goals for Grinnell and beyond. Since such information is likely to be personal, you need not share it. When you have reflected sufficiently, prepare the following:

1. a list of tentative majors you might pursue;
2. the name of a special topics course for next semester that you deem interesting;
3. a tentative schedule of four courses you would prefer to take next semester;
4. a short (one paragraph, informal) rationale for that selection of courses.
5. a list of three alternate courses that you might select if your first choices fill.

Suggestions:

• If you are currently in a foreign language, you should plan to continue that language.
• If you are currently in a Mathematics course and anticipate enrolling in a Mathematical discipline, you should plan to continue in Mathematics.
• You should explore disciplines that might provide you with a major of interest.
• You should begin to think about the prerequisites for upper-division courses. If there are upper-division courses you anticipate taking next year, plan to take prerequisites next semester.
• Most students find that they benefit from taking a variety of courses. A good starting point is to plan one from each division.
• If you have not taken Computer Science at Grinnell, you should consider taking Computer Science 151 or 153.

Requirements:

Phi Beta Kappa has a huge list of requirements. Please review them if you would like to be considered.

If you plan to go abroad (and you should), you need to ensure that you have taken three courses in each division by the end of your second year. Note that Tutorial traditionally does not count for divisional credit.

Use:

I expect to break the class into small groups to discuss your selections. We will then reconvene as a group to discuss the general strengths and weaknesses of your schedules and your ideas for special topics.

In our regular meetings this week, we will discuss your schedules and iron out any final details.