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[Phys-L] Re: Liberal Arts colleges / student mathematical capability



As a faculty member who sent a student to your department a few years=
back, I understand what you are saying. However, we are very tightl=
y bound in the credit limit rule that Mike Ed. alluded to. To have o=
ur physics major look like a standard university physics would violat=
e the limit place at our institution on the number of credit hours th=
at can be applied to the major. As a result, we very often advise ou=
r students heading to grad. school that they should expect to take a =
few senior level course to make up for their deficit. I also try to =
indicate the need for such in my letters to the grad schools also. W=
e try to make up for this by providing a intense research participati=
on program for the students.
=20
In my memory the few times the sciences tried to up this credit limi=
t on majors the humanities howled greatly about turning a "liberal ar=
ts" college into a "trade school" so the idea has never gone anywhere=
.
=20
Mike Monce
Connecticut College
=20

________________________________

=46rom: Forum for Physics Educators on behalf of Roger Haar
Sent: Thu 9/15/2005 12:02 PM
To: PHYS-L@LISTS.NAU.EDU
Subject: Liberal Arts colleges / student mathematical capability



Greetings,

Here at the U of Arizona Physics department, when
looking at graduate student admissions from small
usually liberal arts colleges, a pattern has been
observed. Students with good GPA's and letter of
recommendation have low Physics GRE's. It appears
that some of this is related to QM being taught
during the last semster of the senior year, thus
after the GRE's have been taken. Many of the
incoming grads from liberal arts colleges end up
taking remedial graduate classes (400/500
co-meeting classes). Some students from small
medium and large state institutions are no better.

It is quite possible to get a good undergraduate
preparation for Grad school at a small college,
but I think either the student has to take command
of the situation, or the institution has decided
that excellence is more important than graduation
in four year with 12 or 14 credits per semester
loads.


Thanks
Roger Haar
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