Posts tagged scheduling

Do you guys happen to know when we get information next about roommates/housing/classes/work study? — Asked by Anonymous

The word from Student Life is sometime in mid-July, barring any sorta delays. So, probably not for at least another week or two. Just a heads-up, though: in Admissions, I/we only know as much about housing/roommates/classes as the incoming freshmen do, so we will probably never be a great resource to ask about things like that.

Your best bet (assuming that you’re an incoming freshman) for that kind of information is either to ask around on the Class of 2016 Facebook group or call the office of Student Life at (802)-440-4330. I’d say give it another couple of weeks before you start making phone calls though - it’ll all be worth it, I promise.

-Evan ‘13

Is orientation one day or multiple days? It says it starts on the 31st but then there are a few more days before convocation so will orientation be happening during those too? — Asked by Anonymous

Yes it will! You can basically think of convocation as the unofficial ending of orientation proper. Basically, once returning students arrive on-campus that’s when orientation starts to come to a close. Don’t worry, though. We keep you plenty busy during the days in between freshman arrival and convocation.

-Evan ‘13

I was looking through the curriculum and I really want to take so many of the courses next year, which obviously isn't a bad thing, but from what I have read it seems like a fair amount of the courses aren't offered each semester. Is that only with the classes that seem very specific or does it just randomly get mixed up? (or am I completely off base and don't know what I'm talking about) — Asked by Anonymous

Courses are most often taught on a 2-year ‘cycle,’ from what I’ve noticed. I’m going to use a science analogy, but if you think of each professor as teaching roughly four intro- and four advanced-level classes every two years, it’s kind of like having Chem 1 offered in the fall, Chem 2 in the spring, Chem 3 the next fall, and Chem 4 the next spring. Except, maybe that’s not a great analogy, because Chem 1/2, 3/4 is taught every year by alternating professors. But it’s a good model, I think.

Do you see what I mean, though? Essentially, the classes you see offered on the curriculum that you CAN’T pack into your schedule for the fall will, more often than not, be offered some time again in the next two years. There are cases where professors teach a totally new course in lieu of an old one, and cases where certain professors go on sabbatical, but for the most part, as someone who’s about to be a senior (!), I think I’ve finally seen the ‘cycle’ complete a full rotation.

Bottom line - there will always be classes you want to take and can’t fit into your schedule: this is the perpetual dilemma of a Bennington student. But you can rest easy knowing that the classes you REALLYWANNATAKE will most likely be offered again sometime over the next four years - and if they aren’t, there’ll probably be something cooler being taught in their place.

-Evan ‘13

how many courses does the average bennington student take at a time? — Asked by Anonymous

Most often, I would say students take four 4-credit classes over the course of a term, although this number is very much subject to change. The magic number is 16, which is the number of credits a student must take every term in order to graduate in four years - the thing is, though, you can add up to 16 any way your schedule will allow.

One example of this is scheduling for dance students - a lot of dance classes are 1- or 2-credit courses that meet once a week or only for half the term (instead of meeting twice a week, all term like typical 4-credit classes). Obviously, you can’t take classes that overlap with each other, so you can begin to see how the puzzle of making your schedule each term takes shape. But yeah, four courses and 16 credits is the baseline average.

-Evan ‘13