I had a similar experience as Bostonian with my engineering math and science courses.
The first year was mostly a repeat and required no actual class attendance or work.
I have read several posts here on this site reporting how good grades on AP this or that allowed people to qualify out of course X in during the first year of college or that course Y in their first year was basically a replay of their AP class. Only now has the penny has finally dropped on why a bachelor's takes a full year longer year here than in England and Wales. The academic level of a typical US high school leaver at 18 is apparently a full year behind its peer, an exiting 6th former, in England and Wales.
I have been having unrealistic expectations of what a typical exiting high schooler in the US is supposed to have under their belt. Good to know, thanks!
I have read that outside the U.S., students apply to college to study a specific subject. American colleges have distribution requirements requiring you to take classes outside your major, and you may not need to declare a major until the beginning of the sophomore year. These differences may explain why a BA takes 4 years in America. Quoting the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undergraduate_educationIn many other, particularly continental European systems, an "undergraduate" degree in the American sense does not exist. Because students are expected to have received a sound general education at the secondary level, in a school such as a gymnasium or lycee, students in Europe enroll in a specific course of studies they wish to pursue upon entry into a University. In the US, students only specialize in a "major" during the last years of college. Specializing in a field of study upon entry into a university means most students graduate after four to five years of study. The fields available include those only taught as graduate degrees in the US, such as law or medicine.
