Colorado College Top Questions

At CC the classes are really small. They can't be any bigger than 25 students and are usually discussion based. The profs get to know you really well. They know you by name and will help you out as much as possible. Sometimes they will even hold class at their own homes. We're a small community and it's a great feeling.

The block plan keeps all of the students busy. We are forced to learn time management early on and face our minor neuroses towards the end of each block, but overall the block plan is an innovative system I would not change for the world. One of the great things about coming to CC is that everyone really wants to learn. People are passionate about a number of different subjects and take many classes outside of their major to get a true liberal arts education.

The block plan is the best thing that's ever happened to me - but I'm a spanish major. Math or science majors may feel waaaaay different. History classes are pretty hardcore, too - tons of reading. But the profs are great and fun and the kids are super smart, if kinda slackers.

block plan is cool and the small class sizes make things more personal

See above on Block plan. Professors are incredibly accessible, the best of the best, brilliant, and just all around excellent. I have had dinner at my academic advisors house three times this year, including a class he held there another two times. The requirements are all extremely do-able, and make everyone at this school a truly well rounded liberal arts student. Education here is most definitely geared towards learning for its own sake, and more importantly, developing yourself as a fulfilled human being.

The absolute best thing about CC's Academics is the small classes and professors, closely followed by the block plan. I will start with classes. It is only rarely that a class has over 25 students, and in the upper-level classes that number drops easily. Attendance is important for almost all professors; participation is for most. Classes are very heavily discussion-based. I have had a few classes where I did not feel the professor did not make an effort to get to know his or her students, but certain other professors have been absolutely amazing at that. In my three years, I think I have been over to three or four professor's houses to have class or just have a student dinner, and ALL of the professors are called by their first names. I am an English major, and I felt like the second half of my sophomore year was when I really started to get to know the department and feel like a major, I often have take class breaks in the English office lounge and chat with other students from other classes. It's also great to enter a class and know about half the people there. When I first started the English major, however, I was disappointed with the intro-level classes I had to take. Most of it was a repeat of AP English from high school and I did not like some of the professors. The Block Plan is one of CC's big draws; I like it because it enables a much greater flexibility of choice. If I change my mind about what classes to take in October, it's not too late to try and get whatever I want for the rest of the semester. Also, it caters to short attention spans like mine and focalised learning. One of my other favourite things is the ability to take trips; often geology or astronomy classes take field trips throughout the southwest; also there is a small campus up in the mountains designed to hold only one or two classes; I went there for a week with my Beginning Poetry class. If I were a major of Chemistry or Physics, however, I do not think I would not enjoy the Block Plan. Each day for a month then includes three hours of class, anywhere from 1-6 hours of lab, and then homework.

SUCH a unique academic environment. It requires intense discipline, very quick learning. Slacking off is detrimental but the schedule allows for a LOT of free time without ANY school to worry about in the form of block breaks (unlike spring break on the semester system where you still have school to think about)

Yes, professors ALWAYS know your name. And students always refer to their professors by their first name. Your more colleagues than student/teacher relationship. My favorite class at CC... how many can I put? I loved bioarchaeology, human osteology, and human evolution with Christina Torres-Rouff. She's amazing! Class participation is huge and important. Classes are usually around 15 students, so if you don't participate, it really stands out. CC students are always having intellectual conversations outside of the classroom. I'm not saying we're dorks, but we care and are smart. I also know people who love to debate controversial subjects while drunk. So you get both worlds. Every class is unique. I've taken a class that uses German film and novels to see the German side and experience of the Holocaust. It was taught by a German professor who narrowly escaped being in the Nazi youth. I also took a class called "religion and wilderness". We were in Talkeetna, Alaska at the base of Denali. We read various religious literature (from many different religions) in the outdoors. We also were helicoptered into the wilderness, lived in the woods for 2.5 weeks, hiked on a glacier at the base of Denali, rafted out of the woods, and hiked back into a separate national park and did a two-day solo trip confined to 10 ft. spaces. It was truly an amazing and life-altering experience. I'm an anthropology major and when I graduate I will begin working for the department as a paraprofessional while I apply to grad schools. I obviously love my field and I owe that to my advisor. She has allowed me to join her on two separate professional research projects and is letting me spearhead a separate project. I love her and the department. I'm joining her this summer in Chile for research and I've had dinner at her house twice. Professors generally invite their students to eat at their homes. Its common at CC to be close with faculty (not in a gross way).

Colorado College is a seriously amazing place! I'm taking a class right now taught by Serbian students who single-handedly over threw Milosevic through non-violent action. Last block I spent a week in Crestone, Colorado, a spiritual mecca. Although CC is filled with incredibly bright and motivated people, the work here is only as hard as you make it. There is big difference between being a sociology major and a environmental science major.

My favorite part of classes at CC is the uniqueness of them. Because classes are done on the block plan (students take one class everyday from 9-12 for 3 and 1/2 weeks) teachers can be really creative on how and where things are taught. For example, next year I am going to Paris for three and a half weeks to study black literature. Then thanks to the flexibility of the block plan I am going to stay another three and a half weeks just exploring Europe with my friend. This way I will only be one class behind and I can either make that up during the summer or take adjuncts until I have enough credits. Also for people interested in competing in winter sports (snowboarding, skiing etc.) The block plan really works to your advantage. Get out of class on Friday and don't come back til Sunday night. Or if you are really serious, take a block off during the winter and make it up during the summer. The block plan is here for students to take advantage of and I would recommend every student do.

The block plan is the best thing about the academics here, not to mention the professors. We call them all by their first names, can reach them via email (sometimes phone) at all hours, and encourage asking 100+ questions a day. I'm a English major emphasizing in Film and minoring in Philosophy so I can take the specialized classes within my interest. I'm now taking Film History and Theory in which we're studying Freud alongside German Expressionist fims such as The Cabinet of Mr. Caligari. Another great thing about the block system is that field trips are possible, even encouraged. My History of Architecture class went to both the Air Force Academy and downtown Denver to get a real feel of notable buildings.

Colorado College operates on the Block Plan, which can be strenous at times. As the environment is small, it is easy to maintain friendly constant contact with professors, something greatly encouraged. Students, I find, are more in competition with themselves; whicah can be good because it's all about setting your own personal standards.

The professors know my name and I have formed very positive relationships with many of them. I spend time outside of the class room with my professors at the pool hall or for dinner at their house.

Very small class settings usually no more than 30 kids. I know all my professors names and have had dinner off campus with most of them. Participation is very very common. Students study probably every day. My major, geology, is probably one of the best departments on campus--we have a lot of funding, accessibility, facilities, professors, field trips, assistants, etc. Most unique class I've taken was probably Latin American Hip-Hop. Class field trips are very very very common, I think I've been on a field trip AT LEAST once in almost every class--in geology we went to Moab for a week. requirements are a piece of cake--there are barely any. education is geared towards learning for its own sake here.

The Block Plan is so easy to succeed in. Its one class at a time! All you have to do is go to class and there is no reason you should get anything less than a B. However, due to the block plan, it seems that you dont retain the knowledge you gain over time. If I had to take a final from a class I just finished, I'd fail it in a heartbeat. Its so easy to succeed in and get good grades though.

I have had a great academic experience at CC. All but maybe two or 3 of my classes have been rigorous, challenging, and rewarding. Professors learn your name and face by the third day, usually, and in some cases you can become quite close to them and enjoy them on a more personal level. Workload can vary from an hour of reading a night to 4 hours of lab and 5 hours of homework on top of class. I wish CC had more specific requirements for things like Diverse Perspectives because many students take courses like Buddhism where they learn a lot of theory but no practical applications of it (not to mention it's the easiest class ever). I feel like specific requirements for race, gender, sexuality, and economics should be implemented. As part of the Sociology department, I have remained somewhat aloof from it. My class has a large number of majors, and I chose Sociology because it challenged my way of thinking about the world, but it kicks my ass. I love it, though. It's been hard to become particularly close to the professors in the department because I feel like there were so many seniors this year that it there was less one-on-one time than usual. But I do love the department. It's one of the hardest grading departments.

Very different from most schools. CC operates on a block plan with one class taken at a time. It's like summer school. You take one class, three hours a day, five days a week, for 3 and-a-half weeks. It is intense, but you learn an incredible amount. I transfered to CC as a junior after two years at one of the top-twenty national universities (according to US News). CC was much more academically challenging. I also found that I got much more into my class when I didn't have to worry about other assignments. Also, you will get used to writing 5-20 page papers in a matter of days.

Academics at CC are great, the classes are small and intimate, I've had classes with only one or two other people in them where we meet around the professors desk. Even for the larger classes (the maximum being 25), you develop a close relationship with your professors. The professors are incredibly available for help and flexible when accomodations of any sort are needed. I've often had dinner at professors' houses, or had parties at students' houses to which the professor was invited. Classes can be as hard or easy as the student desires them to be, some professors may be easy graders but if you work hard you get as much out of a class as you would from a professor which requires six times as much of you. Some professors are really hard, but as long as you're up for it you're likely to produce work which makes you truly proud. Their are probably a few too many classes (in the humanities, I'm biased as a math/science person) which you can simply bull-shit your way through. But the sciences are incredibly rigorous, requiring lab attendence nearly every day for many hours.

As I mentioned before, professors don't just know your name, they know your life story and ask you to babysit their kids. I have loved the majority of my classes from Business Law to Myth and Meaning where we traced the similarities in Jungian psychology and the development of the conscious self to the development of cultural myths, particularly Greek ones. I also went to London to study theater with a class for 8th block last year, seeing some 20 or so plays in three weeks with a former British theater director as our professor and traveling all over the country. However, my favorite class by far was my Beginning Poetry Writing class. In two blocks, we developed as poets, went to the Bacca campus to write, and became best friends with each other and our professor, published poet Jane Hilberry. Since then, our class has had three other classes together, published books, and given readings. We go over to Jane's house to have coffee and dessert, write, and just hang out. If you don't talk in class, you are penalized not only by the professor, but by your fellow students. Class discussion is always lively and for the most part, intelligent. Everyone talks about classes outside of the classroom and students often develop "block friends" or "block relationships" because the friendships you form during class are made incredibly close through your connection with the material. When that class is over, you still smile at the person you were friends with when you pass them in the Worner center, but you pretty much go back to your group of friends. Students are not competitive, but they are high achievers. No one's going to announce they got an A on a paper in class and then ask you what you got, but you can always study with another student and there's a lot of peer tutoring that occurs. The creative writing track is a division of the English major and is branched into Poetry and Fiction. We must fulfill all of the requirement of an English major and then take four other blocks of creative writing, be accepted into the program through an application process, and take a senior seminar and a thesis block to produce a collection of poems. Our department largely spends its money on brining visiting writers to come speak, like Billy Collins. Other majors, like the econ department, hold events for their majors like Port and Politics or Happy Hour at Phantom Canyon. The career center at CC leaves something to be desired and the school is much more focused on producing well rounded liberal arts students than i-bankers. While Duke brings companies in that recruit and place with jobs in October, it is rare to find a CC senior who knows what he or she is doing after graduation even in May.

top notch - some of the profs are mediocre, but most are excellent. i think the block plan is amazing and makes life a lot simpler - although i forget a lot of stuff from past blocks too quickly...