Training For The Olympics Is Hard Enough. Try Doing That While Earning A Degree [updated] Nathan Chen wants to try while attending Yale University

[el henry]

I'm not American and don't know anything about the Ivies - but I think they would bend over backwards to make an educational program work for a high profile athlete.

I’m afraid not really. Not that individual professors wouldn’t work with him, but the school as a whole isn’t particularly overwhelmed or over impressed by a Nathan Chen. They admit more than one of the Nathan Chen’s of their respective fields every year. That’s part of what makes it Yale.

And I have no desire to delve into my schooling, my majors, all my classmates’ earning potential, and everyone I ever know who went to Yale, the Ivies, medical school and my local vo-tech, so I’ll just leave here.....

 

[berthesghost]

I'm not American and don't known anything about the Ivies - but I think they would bend over backwards to make an educational program work for a high profile athlete.

it depends on the ivy. Brown for example is know for courting celebs and celeb kids. And has been mentioned already, Stanford and Harvard have been where skaters go if they want to stil compete. Sarah went to Yale and we pretty much never saw her again.

 

[becca]

I think education is important but a part of me thinks that the Kwan/Cohen example is a better one.

I.e focusing on one thing and putting your all into it and then focusing on your education and putting your all.

A class or two might work and be good however full time is another matter.

I don’t know about training at the level Nathan wants if he wants to be Olympic Champ. I mean Emily

Although one option is take year of competive skating then next year do Nationals and Worlds only. Then take a leave from school to focus on Olympics.

If you put too much on your plate it makes it difficult to do anything well.

This being said good for his parents for making darn sure studies were not neglected for skating. I just think it is different when you are attending school with some of the brightest minds in our country.

 

[Mozart]

Probably because music is an easy major and you can protect your GPA with it.

l 'm guessing you have never taken any Schenkerian analysis or other 3rd or 4th year analysis and harmony classes before? It is not an easy major at all. You have to be at a very high level to get past auditions to even be considered in a B. Music program. 6 classes with homework plus rehearsals and practicing is not an easy workload.I have a B.Music in theory from a normal university not a conservatory BTW. Gotta love elitists.

 

[Polaris]

l 'm guessing you have never taken any Schenkerian analysis or other 3rd or 4th year analysis and harmony classes before? It is not an easy major at all. You have to be at a very high level to get past auditions to even be considered in a B. Music program. 6 classes with homework plus rehearsals and practicing is not an easy workload.I have a B.Music in theory from a normal university not a conservatory BTW. Gotta love elitists.

Lol. Looks like my post(s) has set all the FSU music majors/lovers into a tizzy.

6 classes and extra work on the side is fairly normal/the baseline for many majors. At this rate and by those standards, every major under the sun is going be declared as "hard".

 

[Mozart]

Lol. Looks like my post(s) has set all the FSU music majors/lovers into a tizzy.

6 classes and extra work on the side is the norm for many majors. At this rate and by those standards, every major under the sun is going be declared as "hard".

So have you actually taken an upper undergrad music course?

 

[Polaris]

So have you actually taken an upper undergrad music course?

Did analysis&composition classes, but not during UG, and not "upper" by your definition. Am currently finishing up a final project which explores musical scales with an ~*~actual music major/musician~*~. For anymore info, you can DM me because I'm not about to doxx myself or rabble-rouse more posters to chase after me with their pitchforks.

 

[Sylvia]

From the Naples Daily News article (link is posted in the U.S. SOI thread):

Chen said that while the 2022 Olympics in Beijing is “definitely in my sights,” now that the season is behind him, he is looking forward to the Stars on Ice tour, being able to relax and have fun with the cast, and then hopefully start Yale University in the fall where the phenom is considering double-majoring in economics and pre-med.

 

[Debbie S]

Presumably, Nathan told the reporter he was considering majoring in economics and completing the pre-med requirements and the reporter translated that into "double major". So Nathan would have to take 8 semester classes of lab science, plus a semester of calculus. He could spread the science classes out over 2 years or even 3, taking 1 or 2 each semester.

 

[Japanfan]

Presumably, Nathan told the reporter he was considering majoring in economics and completing the pre-med requirements and the reporter translated that into "double major". So Nathan would have to take 8 semester classes of lab science, plus a semester of calculus. He could spread the science classes out over 2 years or even 3, taking 1 or 2 each semester.

Seems an awful lot for a young man who is a world champion figure skater and is looking towards the next Olympic winter games.

Though 1 course a semester would be doable, especially given how many hours Nathan will be spending on airplanes.

 

[Debbie S]

Seems an awful lot for a young man who is a world champion figure skater and is looking towards the next Olympic winter games.

Though 1 course a semester would be doable, especially given how many hours Nathan will be spending on airplanes.

As has been noted upthread, Yale requires freshmen to take a full load, which is a minimum of 4 courses each semester.

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

I'm not American and don't know anything about the Ivies - but I think they would bend over backwards to make an educational program work for a high profile athlete.

As others have said, it depends on the university and on the individual professor. For example, some of my classes, as currently set up, are not flexible enough to allow a student to entirely miss physical class for a week or more at a time; others I actually teach online, and so long as you meet my requirements and deadlines, you can do that from Japan or Guam if you'd like.

 

[flyushka]

6 classes and extra work on the side is fairly normal/the baseline for many majors. At this rate and by those standards, every major under the sun is going be declared as "hard".

My music major roommate/friends practiced with their instruments upwards of 9 hours a day, FWIW. That's on top of the 6 classes, homework (hundreds of pages of reading a night), labs, orchestra rehearsals and other regular college stuff. Upper level music classes met a lot more hours than other classes too. So no, not really the baseline for most college majors.

 

[Japanfan]

As has been noted upthread, Yale requires freshmen to take a full load, which is a minimum of 4 courses each semester.

Okay, I misread your previous post #159.

 

[bardtoob]

Am currently finishing up a final project which explores musical scales with an ~*~actual music major/musician~*~.

Maybe you should ask the "~*~actual music major/musician~*~" directly if his major was easy and just something he did to get a good GPA?

For what purpose did you need a real musician at all? Don't you think it is something you could have learned on your own?

Are you now able to look at a full score and diagram the chords (including the inversions, secondary dominants, etc), plus comment on the practices of the period using only an urtext?

What instrument are you using to demonstrate your understanding? I hope they are not letting you off easy by not actually making you play what you are diagramming. I always admired the organists because they play three keyboards at one time, two with the hands and one with the feet. Moreover, the organists have to hold their notes for the exact length notated (or tastefully fudge a note), unlike the piano players because of the natural decay of a tone from a striked string plus the action of the pedals. Of course, even writing in properly placed breath marks on a singer's score can show some real understanding of the structure of a piece (Imagine putting in a breath mark in the middle of a phase in Italian that is conveying love because you don't know Italian, are only considering that it is musically convenient, and it makes you uncomfortable to be out of breath. THE HORROR!)

Did analysis&composition classes, but not during UG, and not "upper" by your definition.

So like a course that meets a general education requirement? There are more fun classes than that. You could have taken courses like Introduction to Western Music or Introduction to Musical Theater or something else that teaches you how to understand the structure of a genre so you can better understand the presentation and improve your enjoyment.

 

[giselle23]

Lol. Looks like my post(s) has set all the FSU music majors/lovers into a tizzy.

6 classes and extra work on the side is fairly normal/the baseline for many majors. At this rate and by those standards, every major under the sun is going be declared as "hard".

Can't speak to music majors, but a a full course load is usually four courses. If there are more courses, some courses probably have fewer credit hours. I'm not sure what constitutes an "easy" major. Maybe Math for a math genius?

 

[berthesghost]

Can't speak to music majors, but a a full course load is usually four courses. If there are more courses, some courses probably have fewer credit hours. I'm not sure what constitutes an "easy" major. Maybe Math for a math genius?

is it? Back when I was in college many moons ago, four courses was the min requirement to stay full time, but you’d never finish on time if you did that. You’d have to take 5 or 6 a semester or not graduate on time.

Of course, back then the supposedly “easier” majors were also the ones with predominately female student bodies so, grain of salt and all that

 

[Debbie S]

is it? Back when I was in college many moons ago, four courses was the min requirement to stay full time, but you’d never finish on time if you did that. You’d have to take 5 or 6 a semester or not graduate on time.

At Yale, 1 course is 1 credit, with 36 required to graduate, so that works out to 9 courses per year, so 4 or 5 each semester. Yale is tough; most other Ivies and other colleges with the same course-credit ratio require 32 credits to graduate, so 4 courses per semester. If a student enters college with AP credits or takes classes over the summer at another college, those credits can be applied to the total based on the college's policies.

 

[PDilemma]

is it? Back when I was in college many moons ago, four courses was the min requirement to stay full time, but you’d never finish on time if you did that. You’d have to take 5 or 6 a semester or not graduate on time.

Of course, back then the supposedly “easier” majors were also the ones with predominately female student bodies so, grain of salt and all that

Nephew is in college and 4 courses (12 hours) is indeed the minimum. One reason he has not graduated after five years and won't until at least December is that he had the bright idea of only taking four courses a semester. So that has not changed. His "fiancee" took 5 or 6 classes every semester and finished a year ago in 8 semesters.

My music major roommate in college not only had to practice her own music, but was required as a piano major to be an accompanist for vocalists and instrumentalists preparing their own music for juries and recitals. She put in 15-20 hours a week on that on top of everything else between practicing their music on her own and practicing with them--plus playing for their recitals and juries.

And juries are another matter. No other major has to not only pass all their coursework with required grades but also perform for the entire faculty of the department once a year in order to stay in their program.

 

[Sylvia]

New article today (interview at the SOI show in Portland, Maine):
Nathan Chen looks foward to new chapter in his life and training
By Claire Cloutier, special to Figure Skaters Online
http://figureskatersonline.com/news...ward-to-new-chapter-in-his-life-and-training/

 

[skatesindreams]

Claire; thank you for a fascinating portrait of Nathan.
It will be interesting to follow his progress during the next few years.

 

[missing]

The Yale Daily News has an article about Nathan. It quotes Philip Hersh, whose tweet led me to the article.

 

[triple_toe]

The only "easy" major I really know of is kinesiology since anecdotally speaking some of the least bright people I know have managed to scrape by with a degree in that. I took a second year course as a bird course and it was just straight memorization, no critical thinking or creative input. Courses at that level from other departments were significantly harder and expected far more of you, with philosophy and math being the hardest.

I wouldn't ever take a music theory course, that is well acknowledged as crazy difficult 'round these parts.

 

[Sylvia]

Nathan spoke to Nick Zaccardi in NYC yesterday about his Yale & training plans: http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2018/05/02/nathan-chen-yale-figure-skating/
Excerpts:

Chen said he’s already brought up his ideal competition scenario for the fall — competing at Skate America in October and Grand Prix France in November. The Grand Prix Final in Vancouver in December starts on the last two days of classes before a weeklong break ahead of final exams. The world championships take place during spring break.
He would have to miss classes to compete at the U.S. Championships in January in Detroit.
“[Yale] said, typically, it should be OK,” said Chen, who is currently touring with Stars on Ice. “Those are some of the questions that I have that need to be answered.”
He has the option of taking up to two full semesters off before the 2022 Winter Games.

“This first year is to decide, see how much I can handle them both [school and skating], then go from there,” he said.
Chen does not plan to seek a second coach close to Yale to supplement his Southern California-based coach, Rafael Arutyunyan.
“I’ll try to get back [to California] as much as I can, slash bring Raf [to New Haven] as much as I can, but I think most of it will have to be done pretty remotely,” he said. “I’ll just stick with Raf and check in with him at the end of every week.
“I’ve spent 13 years of my life on the ice, so I already know the fundamentals of skating. Raf has educated me well to take the reins myself. We’ll try it. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, we’ll try to figure out something else.”

 

[misskarne]

Uhhhhhhhhh....yes....take the reins yourself....you mean like you did at the Olympic SP?

I can't be the only one that thinks that a skater who is known for going too hard and needing to be pulled back, training on his own without a coach for most of the time, is a terrible idea, can I?

 

[VGThuy]

I think most of us are just going to sit back and see what happens. Maybe he can shock most of us and make this work, but I expect the game plan to change from now to 2022.

 

[Sylvia]

I can't be the only one that thinks that a skater who is known for going too hard and needing to be pulled back, training on his own without a coach for most of the time, is a terrible idea, can I?

I'm sure you're not the only one.

Nathan has shown that he can and has learned from past mistakes, however. It's his life, and only he can determine what will work, or not work, as a full-time Yale freshman trying to balance academics and training/competing.

 

[skateboy]

l 'm guessing you have never taken any Schenkerian analysis or other 3rd or 4th year analysis and harmony classes before? It is not an easy major at all. You have to be at a very high level to get past auditions to even be considered in a B. Music program. 6 classes with homework plus rehearsals and practicing is not an easy workload.

It's brutal and there are zero guarantees. I've often told my students considering majoring in music, "If you're planning to major in music because you think it will be easy, become a surgeon. Do NOT become a music major."