Do a lot of CP participants take classes?

[Heartless Pirate]

This sucks.
Although my college would accept the credits I get down there, there's absolutely no classes down there I need. I don't understand how Disney can welcome Journalism majors, Education majors, and even Bio majors and have such a limited course selection. How many of you guys that have done the CP or are doing the CP actually take classes? And for those who have done it multiple times, how do you manage not to fall behind?

[ZoeDisney]

Why don't you take it as an elective? I'm graduating so I definitely don't need the classes, so I'm taking the leadership seminars.

[Heartless Pirate]

A lot of my AP classes in high school counted as my electives so I'm not in need of them. It's good that they have seminars and one-day course things but I don't know if it'll be worth going.

Are a good majority of CP participants Hospitality majors? Or do Journalism and such go down as well?

[Yes,IStillLoveDisney]

No, it is just that these courses are taught by Disney and therefore they are teaching things that they know about and they add a lot about how Disney approaches these topics. It wouldn't necessarily make sense for them to be teaching Bio classes.

[Heartless Pirate]

Yeah but Disney really shouldn't be inviting all these different majors and saying you can come down and take all these college credit classes when they offer very little.

[Toffy]

^Well, Disney isn't really doing this so we get credit... it's more to fill the front line roles and get us into the company then anything... I think the offering classes for majors is simply icing on the cake

[DisneyAngie]

I don't know if this was their motive for offering classes, but by doing so Disney is making it easier for students to get credit from their schools to do the CP, which in some circumstances can allow participants to keep scholarships (many scholarships and financial aid programs require students to remain full or at least part time students) and health insurance if they are covered under their parents' policy.

So, in a sense, offering classes helps Disney recruit many students who otherwise wouldn't do the program. If I were to lose my health insurance and be a semester behind credit-wise, I wouldn't do it either, but right now, it is my plan to participate. While classes in hospitality aren't very relevant to biology or journalism majors, many of the classes would be applicable to a wide range of careers. The classes in leadership, in particular, would benefit you wherever you go (even if you are going into biology).

Also, Disney offers a Communications course, which I would think would be useful to journalism majors. Plus, if you were an education major, just the everyday work experience of interacting with so many children and families would be immensely beneficial. I would imagine education majors would benefit from taking the Disney Experiential Learning, which deals with the values of adult education, the values of continuing education, education through the work place, etc.

You've probably seen this site before, but just in case, this explains a lot about the classes, and if you really look through it, you could probably find a way to make almost all the classes relevant to your future plans (remember, employers want well-rounded employees): http://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap...abi/ACEDoc.pdf

If you're really concerned about taking classes that pertain directly to your major, you can always try to take online classes. Your own college might offer them, but if not, many others do. I seem to recall hearing that some CPs take online classes from the University of Central Florida, and then transfer the credits.

[NicoleRose]

I'm sure everyone else's school is different, but at my school, in order to do the CP i have to take one of the classes. It doesn't matter which one but I get this internship or business credit. If I dont take a class, they unenroll me or w/e of the term is.

[Pure_Imagination]

I agree, the communication and business classes should be beneficial no matter what your major is. It's not really major specific, it's more about learning how to build your resume. It seems like they teach you a lot about marketing your skills and learning how to use them to your advantage during job searches. The leadership classes should also help for future college classes, projects, research, etc. and could benefit you in your future workplace.

The Disney College Program is all about learning how to communicate and work with others- co-workers, guests, management, etc. I agree, this is beneficial no matter where you go.

[Heartless Pirate]

One semester won't kill me. But I feel like there's so many people on this board that have done it multiple times, how do you manage? Online courses? I know you can only take 2 courses at disney, do online courses from your college at home count as this?

[AgentGabs]

On my program I was able to take two on-line courses and one disney course that wasn't worth a credit with my school.

For that first half of the Spring Advantage program I was completely swamped with work and hw.
Being in entertainment I was able to do HW during my rest breaks, and then finish it when I got home.
The school's work was a lot harder than the disney work.

The second Half, I pretty much said screw it and spent the summer just working and playing..

In the end one usually figures out what works and what doesn't.
I just took it all like a big learning experience and if i were to do it again....I would take the Disney classes even if i don't get credit for them. They're not that expensive and you learn some pretty interesting stuff.