<p>So my good friend, Poseur, from the Brown forumz started a thread like this over there. I've personally been having some issues deciding what classes I should take and I'm sure you guys do to. Soooooooo I stole her thread title and here we are!</p>
<p>List the courses you're thinking about!!! Current students, please tell us if we're going in way over our heads!!! <3</p>
<p>ENGL 127 or 129 I cannot decide! It seems like the latter would be better for my major/my interests... but I also love the books they read in 127 and plus, 127 is one semester whereas 129 is two.</p>
<p>THST 110 required for the Theatre Studies major + looks like fun... although I haven't really heard anything about how difficult/easy this course is.</p>
<p>ECON 115- Intro Microeconomics I've heard that micro fall semester is pretty good?</p>
<p>PHIL 178 - Intro to Political Philosophy</p>
<p>FILM 350 - Screenwriting I was thinking about taking this course pass/d/fail... and then maybe switching it to a graded course if it turns out I'm doing alrighty.</p>
<p>What do you think? Would that be too much to handle? Give me your thoughts!</p>
<p>I would strongly recommend against taking 5 classes first semester freshman year. Adjusting to college life is tough, and a somewhat lighter courseload will make the transition easier for you. I’m very glad I only took four classes my first semester, and balanced out levels of difficulty. We all took a zillion tough classes at once in high school, but Yale is in an entirely different league – better to err on the side of underestimating what you can do first semester.</p>
<p>Intro to Micro is an awful class, though Stephen Berry (who often teaches it in the fall) is less terrible than the rest of them. But take it if you must, haha. Also, 129 doesn’t have to be two semesters long – you can just take one, if you want to. Make sure you check prerequisites for Screenwriting, since that’s a class that might mandate that you have taken Intro to Film Studies, or something.</p>
<p>Actually, though, I recommend waiting until the Blue Book for 09-10 comes out to start choosing your classes. Classes at Yale vary a LOT from semester to semester, especially in terms of when they’re offered. So there’s def. a chance that, for example, THST110 could conflict with PLSC178. Wait until the end of July/beginning of August, when the classes for next year are published online, and then start looking for your schedule. If you spend too much time thinking about it now, it could just be wasted effort! Also, many organizations hold “Blue-Booking parties” for freshmen at the beginning of the year, where upperclassmen can give you advice on your courses. Don’t get too set on one schedule too early – if I were you, I’d build up a shopping list of a dozen or so classes, ask upperclassmen for advice to narrow it down, and then shop the rest until you settle on 4. But get excited – Yale is awesome!</p>
<p>I’ve also heard terrible things about intro to econ. People have basically called it the worst class offered at Yale. I have heard about these seminars that are supposed to be harder, but more intense. I’d be interested, but does anyone have an idea how much more intense those seminars are? I really don’t want to be too distracted from DS, but would also like to actually learn something.</p>
<p>Hmm… HUMS 347: First Amendment & Literature of Rights looks interesting to me! :)</p>
<p>My plans for first semester and freshman year in general is keeping it well-rounded… Calculus, Physics, English, and Humanities/Foreign Language. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Agree with mochamaven. Four classes is plenty for first semester. Back in the day you had to get a certain score on the SAT or petition in to get into English 127 or 129 (as opposed to 100-120 level English classes), so you might check and see if that’s true today and if you qualify. 300 level classes tend to have prerequisites or be junior seminars, so do fact-checking on the availability of these courses to freshmen. Listen to what upperclassmen have to say about the professors and put a lot of faith in that. Don’t try to challenge yourself with too rigorous a courseload first semester, the transition to college in terms of academics, time management, and social life (as in too much partying) can be dramatic and everyone in my suite had a lousy academic first semester (although fantastic socially).</p>
<p>This is still true today. Apparently if you get a 5 on an English AP, get a 710+ on the Literature SATII, get a 730+ on the CR then you can take ENGL 120-129.</p>
<p>It’s unfortunate about Intro Econ… does anyone know what makes it so bad?</p>
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<p>haha, my list is DEFINITELY a lot longer than the five I listed, but I’ll keep this in mind :).</p>
<p>Here’s the link to Yale’s site for English Language and Lit placement:</p>
<p>[English</a> Language and Literature | Programs of Study | Academic Information | Yale College | Class of 2013](<a href=“Yale College”>Yale College)</p>
<p>In case you didn’t know… you can look up course evaluations and check out specific teachers and what former students thought of the course by clicking on “Search Yale College Course Evaluations” on the left side of [Yale</a> Online Course Information | Search Courses](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/oci]Yale”>Yale Course Search | University Registrar's Office). (You can only access it once you have the ability to login to the Yale student information system.)</p>
<p>I agree with only doing 4 first semester. That’s what i did and was recommended by my froco. second semester you can take 5. But there is so much going on your first semester here–new activities, new friends, new environment, living on your own, such that you don’t want to make the work load too bad.
If you do decide to take 5, its good that you have one credit/D/F. that would definitely be my suggestion, and if you are doing well, you have until the 7th week i believe to switch it to a letter grade. </p>
<p>Besides that, though, eating food, your schedule looks good. my advice is to try a lot of different types of classes to get a feel for what you like/dont like (which may be different from what you thought coming in).
Also, if you aren’t so sure that your writing meets college standards, i suggest taking an english writing seminar (114 or 120) first semester. You will have to write in a lot of classes here, so taking a writing seminar can help a lot in your other classes as well. </p>
<p>Take advantage of freshman programs like DS, perspectives on science, and freshmen seminars. You are only allowed to take these classes as freshmen so if they look interesting take them now. but don’t take a class just because it is a freshman seminar–only take it if it looks interesting. And don’t be afraid to take classes with upperclassmen in them. </p>
<p>Also, use shopping period. During shopping period this semester i had classes pretty much back to back the entire day to figure out what i wanted to take. i ended up taking one that i didn’t even shop the first day of class, but went the second. Even if a class looks interesting, if you shop it and don’t like the professor or the workload seems too much, don’t take it.</p>
<p>For people who have previously done very well in college-level economics courses, is intro or intermediate recommended? I’m pretty strong in mathematics, but I don’t want to be completely overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Could somebody explain freshman seminars to me? Do they count towards distribution requirements, and are they included in the class count? Thanks!</p>
<p>I know you’re excited about yale, and that’s good. Indulge that. But stay flexible with your course schedules. There are lots of classes that you won’t know about until the blue book comes out, and you should do yourself a service by reading the whole book, even in departments that you think you’d never be interested in. </p>
<p>Some of the best classes i’ve taken were fun random classes that i hadn’t planned… like Latin and the Romance Languages (discontinued… a romance linguistics course), US Lesbian and Gay History, and Roman Architecture. There are lots of random gems that you’d miss out on if you set your course schedule now.</p>
<p>Not that i think you’re doing that… i think you’re just excited, which is good. But the best thing you can do with blue booking and shopping is to explore as much as possible. It’s ok to shop 15 classes (just not for more than a few days…).</p>
<p>They always count for credit, and they count for distributional requirements as long as you take them for a letter grade (not Credit/D/Fail, Yale’s version of Pass/Fail). The same is true for any other class. </p>
<p>Space is limited in freshman seminars, so at the beginning of each semester you can list your preferences for a few and hope you get sorted in by a random lottery. If you don’t get in, email the professor to let them know you’re interested (and maybe why if you have a compelling reason), and show up to the first few sessions. People will drop out, and if you’re persistent you’ll have a good chance of getting in anyway. </p>
<p>Preference for freshman seminars goes to students who aren’t taking DS or PoS, and who haven’t taken a freshman seminar already (ie, in the spring semester).</p>
<p>I’m keeping my schedule for the fall semester VERY flexible. The only class I’m 100% sure I’m taking is chemistry, I just don’t know what level yet. Then, I’m considering PSE, English, some language (haven’t decided whether I want to continue French first year, or start a new language), math, and a bio course.</p>
<p>From students who have any idea: how much of a bad idea is it to take PSE, chemistry, and three other classes (for a total of 5 credits first semester)? Also, how much of a bad idea is it to take two science classes (w/ labs) first semester, freshman year (assuming I don’t also pursue PSE)?</p>
<p>if your classes are perspectives + chem and lab + 3 other classes, i think you’d be good as long as your other classes arent super super intense. because honestly, perspectives is really no work at all until the 2nd semester paper. </p>
<p>but 2 sciences with their labs is a baaaaad idea. don’t underestimate the work effort required in a lab classes. it may be only 1/2 a credit but several students for several years have complained that it’s just as much (in my experience, more in some cases) than a regular class. so i would strooongly advise against 2 labs first semester freshman year</p>
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