September 23, 2011
Grade Options, Key Events & Opportunities
Greetings, first-year students! This week’s email goes into a little more depth about grade option decisions, and also highlights a few important events and opportunities that are immediately on the horizon.
* Grade Options *
You have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 4, to make grade option changes or to add a course (with a late fee). So why does Brown have more than one grade option? The founders of the open curriculum created the S/NC option to encourage students to explore broadly across the disciplines. Ideally, the option of taking a course S/NC should tempt you into areas of the curriculum you might not explore with the pressure of a grade evaluation. An engineering concentrator, for example, might be more inclined to enroll in a visual arts course if she knows that an “S” rather than a letter grade will appear on her transcript; the same would be true in reverse.
Brown allows you to take as many courses as you wish S/NC, but there are a few things to bear in mind when making your grade option decisions. Students generally take no more than one course per semester S/NC and are advised to opt for a letter grade in courses that are part of their intended concentration(s). If you plan to attend graduate, medical, or law school after Brown, you should consider opting for letter grades in courses related to those goals, as well. Students sometimes worry that taking a course S/NC will be viewed negatively by employers, graduate schools, or professional schools, but in most cases, taking a course S/NC will have little or no effect on post-graduation plans. The bottom line is, no single course will determine your admission to a given profession or graduate program–it’s really your overall academic record that carries the day.
Still have questions about your decisions? Schedule a chat with your advisor or Meiklejohn, or drop into Advising Central.
* Events & Opportunities *
Study Abroad Fair
Tuesday, Sept. 27
11:00 am - 2:00 pm, Lincoln Field
Speak with the Office of International Programs (OIP) and other program providers from around the globe. A great opportunity to learn about study abroad options.
First-Year Dinner
The Faculty Advising Fellows Programs hosts on-campus meals that provide opportunities for students and faculty to interact outside the classroom. Next Tuesday, September 27, the program kicks off its 6-part First-Year Dinner series with "So Many Choices, So Little Time: Involvement Outside the Classroom at Brown." Join upper-class students, faculty, and fellow first-years to talk over dinner about how to balance engagement outside the classroom with the demands of course work. Watch your inbox for an invitation.
CareerLAB Alumni panel on Careers and Concentrations
Tuesday, Oct. 4
7:00 - 8:30 pm, CareerLAB
Wondering how various concentrations relate to career options and paths? Come hear from young alumni how they made their concentration choices, and how those choices did or (often) did not relate to their career decisions.
The Advising Team