Advice for freshmen (MCS and other colleges too)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Carnegie Mellon University
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<p>Hi all. if you are reading this you are probably going to attend cmu next fall-- welcome :D
I'm a sophomore in MCS and I hope what I say here helps you in the tiniest bit possible to a better freshman year. </p>

<p>Although you should not be grade-obsessed freshmen and should enjoy your first year in college, freshman year does play a big role into how easy your subsequent years will be. Things I am about to say here comes from MY personal experience and does not represent the idea of the entire school body. But i hope I can help you all achieve a better future in cmu. </p>

<p>Here's couple general advice for students in all academic (non-CFA) colleges:</p>

<p>1) Do not overload. The unit for overloading varies depending on colleges, but generally you should take below 50 units.
--Why: No high school can prepare you for the amount of work and pressure you will face in college. That seems to be the general fact. You probably heard this many many times, so I will give you another reason why not to overload. In college, you have the option to "drop" a class, meaning that if you are doing really badly in a class, you can choose to drop the course from your schedule (and thus your GPA).
This generally means that you will have to retake it the next semester. << This is what you should absolutely avoid. This is a big waste of money for you--both in terms of $$ and time (time is money, right?). As freshman you will probably be taking intro classes and if you end up having to retake these courses, you will miss out taking unique classes only offered in colleges. Not only these classes are "fun" (fun as in academically challenging and interesting, and you are going to CMU to be challenged right?) but useful to get internships and job in the future. If you don't overload first semester and focus on passing (with a good grade i hope!) you will be able to build a buffer for your GPA (which you will face hardship if you are trying to raise it later on with upper level courses)</p>

<p>2) Do not take intro programming course, unless you have to**
**For most of you, programming classes will be difficult and TIME CONSUMING. Although I am a programmer myself and believe that everyone of you should get some high level CS experience before you graduate, you really need to watch out for CMU-CS. For natural science majors and engineering majors (exception of ECE), I recommend you take this spring of your freshman year
--why?: CMU CS curriculum is has gone (and is still going) through alot of changes. 15-110 is constantly being changed, and I hope you guys don't become the guinea pigs to the fury of CS department. I hear 15-110 is getting easier and non-CS focused (while 15-112 is being developed for CS-oriented students). My advice is, unless you are a CS major, wait until the school has a better control over the intro classes and then take it.
For CS majors who will be taking 15-122, please know that imperative programming is no easy task either. That along with 21-217 you will be taking, get ready for some hard core work! (its really not THAT hard but you still need to work on it!)</p>

<p>3) Watch out for professor Mihai for Calc 3D!
--why?: She is generally considered a bad teacher. If you can avoid her, do so! I do not know how well she teaches calc 3D, but the past classes she taught, she didn't do so well teaching. Most MCS students do not have to take 3D calc (bio majors) but other MCS majors do. If you can avoid it, avoid her! </p>

<p>4) Take advantage of the "freshman only" classes
--why?: This should be fairly self-explanatory. They are freshmen only classes-- meaning you wont be able to take them ever again in your college career! Some of these classes are also offered only in fall or only in spring. Maximize your intellect by taking advantage of these courses!</p>

<p>5) Be wary of 33-111 Physics for Science Students with professor Stephen Garoff and Kristina Woods
OH DEAR LORD. This class is tough tough tough. Not only 8:30 lectures will test your ability but also the exams. Oh my.....
If you can avoid taking physics in freshman year and take physics 1 for sci students in the spring with a different professor, I highly recommend doing so.
**I don't know if Kristina Woods is teaching physics 1 in spring like last year. I pray to god she doesn't, for all your sake..... The prof for spring is not determined yet, so not taking garoff freshman year hoping for a better teacher spring is a gamble. Follow this advice at your own risk. </p>

<p>6) Modern Chem II is difficult
--I hear this class is difficult... but I did not take chemistry so I cannot comment on this personally. sorry :[
MCS specific advices:
03-115 Phage Genomic Research Course: Should I take this or no?
Yes and No. If you are looking for research experience with alot of personal interaction with great professors (Dr. Jarvik and Dr. Lopez) and MCS bio advisor (Dr. Braun) you should take this class. This class will teach you alot about research, and it is a very easy course with very little extra work. You will do some very cool and advance research stuff that most freshmen will probably not do. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND for students interested in biology-research (either for med school or phD purposes, this class will prepare you for it!)
Cons: If you are coming into CMU with lots of research experience already, this class will be a joke to you. For me, I really liked the class because you get to interact with other MCS students, and I got to know the faculty really well. However, I felt like it did not challenge me academically. I really wanted to take other freshman only bio classes (like cellular response during fall or how biological experiment works in fall) but this is a ONE-YEAR commitment which you will not be able to get out of. Also this class is held at the most awkward time for scheduling: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 to 4:30. This conflicted with couple classes I wanted to take spring sem, and it really frustrated me. </p>

<p>I will add more as I think of them. Feel free to ask about 1) courses or 2) research opportunities at CMU 3) anything! I am currently in Pittsburgh doing biology research at CMU.</p>

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<p>oh my god… this is exactly what i needed lol.</p>

<p>i have a few questions!</p>

<p>so i’m planning on taking modern bio and modern chem first semester (good idea/bad idea?), so then i think i have to take modern chem II second semester, leaving a spot for another science core course. i have no experience with physics or programming, never took either in high school, so i know i’m screwed either way. but which would you recommend i take second semester? i heard that physics is hard for everyone from everyone, but i heard different things about programming…</p>

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<p>If you don’t have any AP credits, your schedule wont be that flexible. you must take modern bio and modern chem 1 fall semester and i guess you are stuck taking modern chem 2 spring. </p>

<p>Physics 1 is not a prereq for anything except for physics 2 (and possibly some high level chemistry courses). If you are majoring in bio, physics 1 can be pushed until your sophomore year (technically) because it wont conflict with your schedule. I dont recommend taking physics 1 in fall and if physics 1 during spring is taught by Woods, I suggest you “cheat” the system by taking physics 1 + other course (and overload). Drop physics 1 later if it becomes too hard and affects your grade too much. This way even if you drop, your units will fall somewhere between 45~50. I recommend taking physiology in spring. (p.s. physio takes alot of memorization. Its not “hard” but its stressful bc of shear amount of information)</p>

<p>** What do I mean by “cheat” the system?
Your target unit for each semester should be minimum of high 40s or as many units as possible without killing yourself. What MANY students do is that they

  1. overload with the hardest class in your schedule. calculate your units carefully so that if you take that class away, you still have high units.
  2. assess your performance mid sem. If your hardest class is too tough and affects your grade way too much, you drop that course
  3. focus on your other classes. now you are not taking too few units for that semester (which is good) and try that hard class next semester</p>
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<p>hmmm i see…</p>

<p>i did get a 5 on ap bio, and i will major in bio on a premed track fyi.</p>

<p>so modern bio and intro to modern chem first semester is pretty much indisputable; how difficult will that be?</p>

<p>so second semester, i have to take modern chem II, so you’d recommend that i take physics I along with that? idk, i was kinda planning on taking programming (i heard from some that it’s not as bad as physics…) and leave physics I and II for soph year after taking a physics course over the summer for enrichment</p>

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<p>you are forgetting about organic chem 1 and 2 which you will have to take with physics 1 and 2. Orgo doesnt have bad reputation here at cmu. but as bio major you will have to take Chem analysis: lab 1 (commonly called “chem lab 1”, not to be confused with 3 unit chem lab u take with modern chemistry). This class is also time consuming too (just because its a lab, and that’s what labs do to you… sorry). Physio is required for bio majors and premed students anyway. Take honors bio, if you really wish to. Idk anything about honors bio. I hear its a good class and I can ask my friends who took them. “good” doesnt imply difficulty or anything… I APed and placed out of bio so I can take other (CS) courses</p>

<p>–okay I keep saying a class is time consuming and hard and yada yada yada… students here have the tendency to design course schedule around your hardest and most time consuming class. At any given semester you will have at least one of these type of time consuming classes. You learn to manage this very quickly though. I opened this thread not to scare you or anything. I just wanted u to have the know-hows that might be helpful</p>

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<p>dang, there’s so much to take into consideration haha…</p>

<p>so final word: taking into account my situation (bio major, premed), what combination of science core courses would you recommend me take for first and second semesters of freshmen year?</p>

<p>again, thanks so much!</p>

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<p>Fall:
Honors Biology or Modern Biology
Modern Chem 1
Calc 1 (? did u place out?)</p>

<h2>Interp</h2>

<p>Phage 1 or Cellular Resp. Environment*
Intro to Psych or Cog Psych**
stat?</p>

<p>Spring:
Physio
Modern Chem 2
physics 1</p>

<h2>Calc 2</h2>

<p>phage 2 or How Biological Exp. Work* (limited to one of either Cell Resp or How Bio)
H&SS requirement</p>

<p>courses above dotted lines are required. I added extra classes bc idk if u take calc</p>

<p>**recommend this for bio/psych or bio/neurosci track. look below</p>

<p>go look at [Department</a> of Biological Sciences](<a href=“http://coursecatalog.web.cmu.edu/melloncollegeofscience/departmentofbiologicalsciences/]Department”>http://coursecatalog.web.cmu.edu/melloncollegeofscience/departmentofbiologicalsciences/) and see what classes u need to take.
Also explore different options within BS in bio or other interdisciplinary degrees available. I am currently doing BS in computational biology, but you shouldnt do this track if u are premed (u probably won’t graduate in time unless you overload every semester)</p>

<p>ps i didnt know where to put programming… its up to u really. i just put the most basic classes u should cover as bio major.</p>

<p>also its hard to get into those freshman only classes sometimes… really depends on your luck during scheduling</p>

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<p>My situation is similar except with premed & chem major. What courses do you recommend for me in the fall and spring for freshman year?</p>

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<p>um same thing pretty much except psych classes might not be as useful as chem majors as they are for bio majors. Though you do need to take gen ed classes so go look up different options. There should be some interesting chem major-oriented fresh classes, i think</p>

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<p>Thanks I figured the classes would be similar! I might try keeping the psych too in case I decide to change my major to psych, which is what I considered doing. Also are there any professors you recommend having?</p>

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<p>You are a godsend. THANK YOU!</p>

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<p>I don’t know about psychology classes. I have not taken them, and I probably wont take them because my schedule is pretty packed already. I don know that if you want to take Intro to Philosophy, you should take prof Norman. Norman seems to be the teacher with better reputation for Intro to Philosophy.</p>

<p>Check out [Faculty</a> Course Evaluations - The HUB - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/hub/fce/index.html]Faculty”>Faculty Course Evaluations - The HUB - Division of Enrollment Services - Carnegie Mellon University) and FCE results on the right side of the page to view faculty reviews. They don’t give you that much information, but its better than nothing. RateMyProf doesnt seem to be very active for CMU</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for this!</p>

<p>I’m an incoming Freshman in SCS and am wondering if Calc I is the lowest math course offered. I took pre-calc senior year (and ap stat) so I really, really, really would not want to be placed in Pre-calc if i dont do well on the placement test. </p>

<p>I am taking Calc I and 2 over the summer though, but i take the placement test before the summer semester starts :(</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>My friend who is a CS major took calc 1 and 2 her freshman year as well. If you are taking Calc over the summer (in a different school, I presume?), that is a great start. If you do get credit, you may wish to transfer the credit to CMU. But for your case you have different options.</p>

<p>1) Take Calc 1 and 2 your freshman year. Since you will be familiar with the subject already, you will have (relatively) easier time with the hw, exams etc. Hopefully you will be able to get As on both classes and boost your average, which will become really useful.</p>

<p>2) Transfer your Calc credits, and start your CS math requirements early. Many of your CS colleagues will already have calc credits. Whether this is a disadvantage or advantage is really up to you. If you want to do CS research, which is very math intensive, it may be good to take higher math classes early. You should check out math requirements for CS majors in the CMU catalog. </p>

<p>What you really should be “worried” about is Concepts of Math 21-127. All CS majors are required to take this class. This class introduces you to proofs, some discrete math etc. Some people have easy time with this, but many people struggle with this class. As a CS major you will also have to take 15-251 Great Ideas in spring. This is considered one of the hardest classes offered in all of CMU, especially with prof Von Ahn.</p>

<p>As I said, college is about challenging yourself and getting education you can only get in college. You may wish to be well-versed in high level discrete math, linear algebra, combinatorics, and/or graph theory to be a great CS major. Although taking Calc 1 and 2 in your freshman year wont severely limit your chances to do so, you will have to struggle little bit more than your peers (just to meet the prerequisites for those classes).</p>

<p>And no, I believe there are lower level math classes than calc 1, but I don’t know of anyone who takes such classes.</p>

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<p>have you heard of anyone taking 15-101 programming with alice to fulfill their programming requirement?</p>

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<p>I believe 15-101 fulfills MCS programming requirement only. <<< NOT SURE
I maybe COMPLETELY wrong on this one though. You should check with Christine Gilchrist when you are scheduling (Christine is MCS freshman scheduling advisor. She’s really nice so ask her and she will help.) I do know people who took Programming with Graphics to fulfill MCS requirement, but I think graphics isn’t offered anymore (This, again, I am not too certain).</p>

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<p>Do you know if Modern Biology uses the “Mastering Biology” online course that comes with the textbook? Just wondering; it’s a lot cheaper to buy the book without the access code in it.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>not too sure. For those kind of things you are better off directly asking the prof who teach the course. send an email</p>

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<p>If the teacher is ettensohn then no.</p>

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<p>It lists Ettensohn and Lanni, do they both teach the class?</p>