New College of Florida - Academics

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

New College professors are amazingly accessible and qualified. All hold doctorates or terminal degrees and have come to New College for the love of teaching. Mini-classes are held at the beginning of the semester to give students the opportunity to sample courses before committing to them. While there are no grades at New College, tests are still scored numerically, and a lot of feedback is given to assess strengths and weaknesses. The month of January is devoted to students completing Independent Study Projects. These range from internships to seminars, and they tend to be open-ended.

While New College promotional literature gives the impression that the curriculum is free-form, it often isn’t. There are no general education requirements, but students must fulfill liberal arts requirements along with the necessary courses in their areas of concentration. The workload is high, and the reading load is even higher. Outsiders presume that the lack of grades makes for a relaxed, easy lifestyle. This is untrue. While the evaluation system reduces competition among students, it holds students accountable for everything they do. The result of initial poor performance will remain on the evaluation and will serve to inform the professor as to what your weaknesses are. At New College of Florida, academics reign.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

The competition to get into... The competition to get into classes is fierce and pits students against each other, which does not do well for friendly relations on such a small campus. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

The whole point, mission, and... The whole point, mission, and meaning of New College is that there are no set curricula for majors, and students are expected to navigate their education according to their own interests and perceived needs. What that means is that the coursework is as difficult as you make it. At New College, you can actually invent classes if you don’t see what you want in the course catalogs. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

It’s very nice to not have to... It’s very nice to not have to compete for better grades. New College helps you realize what you’re good at. My evaluations have always told me what I needed to work on. They never praise you as much as you’d like because they’re trying to make you better. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

Basically, you get a lot more... Basically, you get a lot more personal attention here, and it really shows in the coursework, evaluations, and the number of students who get into top graduate schools. Most people even get so close to their professors or advisers that they know each other on a first-name basis. They become partly your professor and partly your peer and friend. The relaxing atmosphere helps discussion by allowing the student to not feel intimidated. 12345 Academics Report

Anonymous says:

The majority of classes, I feel,... The majority of classes, I feel, are not inherently impossible. I don’t think that professors will ask students to do things that are completely impossible. At the same time, the overwhelming reaction I hear is that this place makes students into workhorses. I think that is more of a reaction based on time-management problems. Professors are so intelligent and specialized that often they will refer you to other professors to help you if you need it. 12345 Academics Report

Facts

Did You Know?

In 2005, New College of Florida placed third in the nation among all liberal arts colleges for Fulbright recipients by per-capita  percentage.

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