Making the grade

Yale blue book with course offerings for the year

An English class

English professor, Dr Laura Wilder

Students usually earn one credit from one class. Classes in foreign languages, however, meet every day, so students get 1.5 credits for them. To graduate, students need 36 credits, approximately 13 of which fall into their major. Thus, besides fulfilling the requirements for their majors, students actually take the majority of their classes in other fields of study.

Consistent with the liberal arts philosophy, students are required to take at least three classes from each distributional group. By the end of their freshman year, for example, students must have taken at least one class from groups one or two and another from groups three or four. Then, they need to take at least two from each of the four groups by the end of their sophomore year.

Fortunately, each group offers a wide variety of classes, ranging from introductory to the advanced level, so students do not have to worry about subjects they are not talented at. Non-science majors, for example, can take relatively easy science classes like introductory astronomy or basic chemistry.

In front of Sterling Memorial Library— PHOTO BY DAVID SADIGHIAN

This wide range of subject matter students are exposed to in their first year is often a big help in choosing the major that best suit their interests. Unlike many other countries, including Thailand, students in the US do not declare their majors right away.

As freshmen, they are encouraged to try a variety of classes to get an idea of what they really enjoy, only declaring their actual major in their second, or “sophomore”, year.

At Yale, even that is not final as they can always change their majors as long as they can fulfil the requirements by the time they graduate. A lot of Yalies (including myself) have changed their majors because they have become fascinated by some of the required courses.

Changing majors several times may sound a bit chaotic, especially for the faculty who need to keep the students they advise up to speed on the academic requirements. However, since choosing a major often means picking a career, I believe the opportunity to survey several majors is worthwhile. Students should definitely be allowed to change their majors after getting into college. Unlike students in American colleges, a lot of my Thai friends have had to repeat their freshman year because they discovered that the major they first picked was no longer what they enjoy.

In addition to the freedom we get in choosing our majors, Yalies are also given a period of about two weeks at the beginning of every semester to visit clasess so that we can make the right decision on which subjects to take. We call these two weeks “the shopping period.” We have the right to walk in and out of classes (with respect, of course) in order to see which classes we want to take that semester.

My friends and I usually have about ten or twenty classes in mind, which we have to cut down to four or five. We run around and see if we like the professor or the material the class is going to cover. Although the atmosphere can be hectic, we all find this part of the term enjoyable, not the least because there are no class assignments to hand in.

Before class in a lecture hall

Although Yale is a big university, classes vary significantly in terms of size. Language classes have only about twelve to thirteen students, which are considered pretty small. Here, the professor and the students get to know each other personally. The atmosphere in the classroom is more like a meeting than a class and students have a chance to work in small groups, which creates a casual atmosphere.

In contrast, some classes are held in big lecture halls that can seat hundreds of students. These classes are usually taught by a professor who is accompanied by a few teaching assistants (TAs) who are graduate students in that particular discipline.

It is sometimes said that students in big lectures do not have the same access to their instructors that students in small classes do. But at Yale, I have found that no matter how big the classes are, students can always seek help from their instructors if they want to. Every professor and TA has his or her office hours when students can see their instructor and go over the material they find confusing. If the instructor’s office hours are not convenient for the students, they can always send their instructor an email to make an appointment.

A Chinese class taught by Prof Rongzhen Li — PHOTO BY PORF LING MU

During my freshman year, I liked my Chinese classes a lot. The classes were small, so everyone got to speak Chinese. When we made mistakes, the professor would correct us in front of the class. In contrast to my experience in Thailand, none of my classmates thought making mistakes was embarrassing. Instead, they jotted down their common mistakes in order not to make them again.

Other class activities were also interesting, such as writing about topics related to the lessons or performing skits at the end of the semester. Accordingly, the Chinese curriculum at Yale not only strengthens students’ grammar and vocabulary but also points out to students when and how Chinese can play a role in their real lives.

I liked my other classes as well, even those taught in huge lecture halls. Astronomy, for example, was a big lecture class, but we still had an opportunity to go out at night and use a telescope to observe celestial objects. Then, we needed to pick one object that interested us the most and do more research on it.

Kirtland Hall housing the psychology department

Another big lecture class I took in my freshman year was the introduction to psychology. One of the requirements for the course was to be a subject in the psychological experiments conducted by graduate students. Besides helping me pass the course, participating in those experiments also introduced me to the world of graduate work where studies mean much more than just textbooks and grades.

As a university, Yale offers graduate degrees in addition to undergraduate degrees. Since there are many graduate students doing research, undergrads have the opportunity to be research assistants if they seek it out.

My first exposure to graduate research was when I participated as a subject for the psychology experiments in my introductory class. I admit that I initially did that because it was a requirement, but it also gave me a chance to help the experimenter.

Harkness Bell Tower, Branford College

Nandita, one of the graduate students I met, asked me whether I wanted to help her with her research. I accepted her offer at once. Thanks to Nandita, I learned how to greet the human subjects, randomly distribute them into groups, answer their questions about the experiment and I learned how to make the “debriefing statement” at the end.

The debriefing statement gives the subjects information about the experiment that they are not supposed to know before participating. Yes, I was nervous to talk to the subjects, not only because it was my first time running the experiment, but also because English is not my mother tongue.

Payne Whitney Gym

As a student who had no experience in an international school, I found studying in the same classroom as English native speakers a great shock. I must say that one year at Phillips Exeter Academy was not enough to make me speak perfect English. I might have got a better idea of how the Americans used the language, but I still had a hard time understanding complicated texts or fast conversation. And of course, I could not speak or write as well as I wanted.

At Yale, I discovered that having a TOEFL score that meets the minimum requirement does not guarantee survival. I still needed more concentration in order to understand lectures. It takes me two or three times longer to read and fully understand the textbooks than it takes my American friends. Many friends of mine start their five-page paper the day before it is due, whereas I have to start one week prior to the deadline to have enough time for revisions. In the dining hall, I have to listen to jokes and conversations I cannot comprehend.

Entrance to Calhoun College

Have I ever felt discouraged? Definitely. I used to isolate myself so that other people could not hear my Thai-accented English. I used to be frustrated during my study when I did not understand the text or I could not come up with the right word for what I wanted to say.

After a while, I realised that if I still kept myself isolated, my English would remain the same. I decided to break out of my lonely world and accept my ignorance. I started to say, “I don't understand” and to ask, “What does that mean?” To my surprise, everyone was willing to explain or clarify things to me, a student from a non-English speaking country. My English is not yet perfect, but it is getting better and better – as long as I do not give up.

Yes, Yale is wonderful. But the school alone cannot make its students fabulous. Without the students’ determination, Yale would be meaningless and lifeless. In the same way, without my own determination, my status as a Yalie would become worthless too. I believe that one’s value depends upon what he or she does, not on the institution or the community to which he or she belongs.

Saybrook, a residental college

So, my first year had ended and there I was. I had finished my last freshman final. Liz, Lara, and my other eight friends had treated me an ice cream to congratulate me for being the first to be done. Now they had already gone to bed. All by myself, I cleaned up the room and got ready for tomorrow’s flight.

Liz's alarm clock went off. The sun was shining outside.

“Have a safe flight and please thank your parents for lending you to me,” Liz said, giving me a hug.

I locked the door and put the same key into the same small brown envelope. With my two Samsonites, I walked out of Bingham Hall for the last time.

Daniya Ponguntree began her education at Tungmahamek Primary School and she completed secondary school at Satit Patumwan. Her excellent academic performance earned her a King’s Scholarship. This sent her to New Hampshire’s Philip Exeter Academy in the United States for one year and then on to Yale University in New Haven Connecticut where she has just completed her freshman year.