Three weeks ago, I started attending the lectures of my first class at MIT! I’m taking a course in the Anthropology department, 21A.300 – Practicum in Global Health and Development. Here’s my final schedule for this semester: Tuesdays and Fridays I have FREN 349 – La Belle Epoque in Paris at 9:50 and PSYC 330 – Psychology of Law at 11:10. Then, I have AFR 306 – Urban Development and Underclass on Tuesdays at 1:30pm. On Wednesdays, I have 21A.300
My final class schedule for Spring 2013!
We’re 18 students in 21A.300, including six other Wellesley students and a student who attends both MIT and Wellesley. That student is in the five-year dual degree program, and will graduate with Bachelors degrees from both institutions.
There are also two male students in the class. Interestingly, this is the first semester-long undergraduate class I take with male students. Admittedly, there was a male student in my Wintersession in Paris course last January. But we only had class three times a week for three weeks so it doesn’t really count… right? Haha. Well so far, I’ve found the MIT class with the two male students quite interesting and different. Though I wouldn’t say that I am intimidated, I’m not nearly as comfortable as I am in my classes at Wellesley. I don’t participate as much as I do in classes here, and I am self conscious. I’m not entirely sure if it’s the fact that I am at MIT and surrounded by students who excel in the math and sciences or if it’s shyness. Perhaps it’s the fact that I am out of my comfort zone and I need a period of adjustment. Anyway, it’s only been three weeks so I’ll give it some time. I’ll provide a more detailed assessment of my cross-registration experience in a few weeks so look out for my post!
This is what the Wellesley-to-MIT cross-registration experience entails:
– Attending classes and doing homework for only three classes during a period of about one week to 10 days at the start of the semester because classes start later at MIT than they do at Wellesley
– Taking the Exchange Bus from Wellesley to MIT — the commute takes about 40-45 minutes depending on the traffic
– Attending the first session of the course and asking the professor to sign the cross-registration form
– Making a copy of the form so that you can submit the original to the MIT registrar, and the copy to the Wellesley registrar
– Submitting the forms to each registrar
– Going to a room in the basement of the MIT student center to create the proofs that you are now a student at MIT… your ID card and your Athena email
– You’re good to go!
For some reason, I thought the process would be more tedious and I had been putting aside the thought of attending classes at MIT for that reason since the fall of my sophomore year. However, I took the plunge this semester because I figure that I should take advantage of everything that’s offered to me while I still can – and I only have 3 semesters left (well 2.5 now…) as a Wellesley student!!
Please note that in addition to MIT, Wellesley students can cross-register and take classes at Babson College, Olin College of Engineering and Brandeis University. There is a shuttle that runs between Babson, Olin and Wellesley. However, students ought to figure out their own transportation to attend classes at Brandeis. I used to tell students on my tours that one of the perks of attending Wellesley is that my parents submit a check to Wellesley for tuition and costs but they actually pay for my tuition at five colleges. Now, who doesn’t like the idea of Pay-One Get-Four-Free??
A few announcements:
Early Evaluation decisions will be coming out in the next few days so keep your eyes out for an email from the Board of Admission!
Spring Open Campus, an event for admitted students, will be between April 21 – April 23
Junior Open Campus, an event for high school juniors, will be on April 27