<p>a. Race & Ethnicity Requirement
b. Quantitative Reasoning (QR) Requirement
c. Area Distribution (Natural Science, Social Science, and Humanities, Mathematical and Symbolic Analysis and Creative Expression)</p>
<p>I was looking through the course catalog and was seriously overwhelmed by the large selection of courses for each requirement!! Over 180 just for QR!!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What courses would would be recommend for each area (a, b, c)? What classes are "most-liked" or you heard good things about? What are some of the easier classes? Any recommended professors? </p></li>
<li><p>I suck at math and I want to take a QR class that's fairly easy. What clases would you recommend? Is stats easier than math? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Also, any tips on how to schedule classes wisely??</p>
<p>I wouldn’t obsess over distribution requirements. You have 4 years to take classes and some of that will resolve itself over time. I would focus on courses that sound interesting to you and have the potential to inspire you. Good core classes also make sense at the beginning.</p>
<p>The first year writing requirement is something to look at. Also look at the first year seminars. While not required, some of them may interest you and many fulfill distribution requirements. Stat 250 is a popular class to satisfy the QR requirement. Math, Econ and Physics are other alternatives.</p>
<p>There is also a foreign language requirement and you may need to take classes to satisfy this or you may want to take the next level if you place out.</p>
<p>ratemyprofessors.com is also a good guide for evaluating professors.</p>
<p>It’s hard to say what is the best because that depends more on you than the class.</p>
<p>Astronomy and Geoscience also have some QR-satisfying class. Like res ispa said, don’t worry about these things just yet. The only thing you should rightfully be thinking about going into your first semester is satisfying the first year writing requirement, because that actually does have to be done. Keep the language requirement in the back of your mind, because it might be a good thing to start it right away. But as for the other things, they work themselves out. After a full year, I’m done with R&E, FYW, QR, and most of the distribution stuff, and I didn’t really think about it that much.</p>
<p>It’s just very difficult to recommend you classes and professors because 1) they’re always changing 2) not every class is made available every semester or even every year 3) there’s just simply so many solid classes to choose from. Introductory classes are good to look at. If you know you’re majoring in a science, for example, you’ll probably have to take something like BIOLOGY 171 or 172 as a prerequisite. Give yourself a nice time slot one day and use the course guide to find classes that may pique your interest. Like res ispa said, use ratemyprofessors.com to weed out the bad from the good. Dull classes can be made amazing by a good prof and interesting classes can be made a nightmare by a bad one.</p>
<p>My only suggestions for scheduling classes are 1) try not schedule more than 2 classes per week at 9 AM or earlier. No matter who you are you will get sick of this and halfway through the semester you’ll start rationalizing not attending class to yourself and it just becomes bad. Even a class starting at 5 PM is better than one at 8:30 AM. And 2) try as hard as you can to get Fridays off. Having a three day weekend feels like a godsend.</p>
<p>For social science, take SOC 101 with Robert Jansen if you are interested in sociology. One of the most inspiring professors I’ve ever had. The readings are interesting and it’s not that hard to get an A if you try hard.</p>
<p>@res ipsa thanks for the reply~ yeah, i guess it depends more on what I like…my sis graduated from u mich and she told me to get my science/math requirements out of the way if you’re not strong in math/science before junior year because the math/science classes you take as an underclassman are easier (is that true?) and even if you don’t do so well, it’s your junior and senior grades that matter more…</p>
<p>@entenduintransit thanks for the reply~ i just wanted some insight from a current student at umich and your opinion on the classes you took. I already looked at ratemyprofessor.com and found some professors that have stellar ratings! right now i’m choosing classes based on professor ratings, rather than the class itself. also, i would LOVE you have a 3 day weekend but my parents are really pushing me to graduate a semester early =( so i don’t know if I’ll be able to…but i’ll def discuss this with the counselor…</p>
<p>I’m taking 18 credits next semester and I have a three day weekend. So it’s definitely possible. For the most part the only way it’s unavoidable is if a class you need to take has Monday-Wednesday-Friday lectures or if your only option for a discussion section is on Friday either due to time conflicts or everything else being full. Taking a single noon lecture on Friday or something like that isn’t bad, either.</p>
<p>Really, graduating early and ya haven’t even started… There’s no rule that you can’t take an intro QR as a Jr/Sr if you want to put that off. Consider prereqs also, for example a lot of majors or classes require calc, while a few you need stats. NS also, as someone said Bio 171/172 is needed for some science degrees. Try to plan ahead if any idea what your interests are.</p>
<p>@steellord321- I never said anything was official…I only said that my parents really wanted me to do it because it would save money…And I know what my interests are, obviously, which is why I’m trying to plan early and be as on top of things…I have a sister who GRADUATED from U-Mich so I’m not completely clueless…she explained a lot of things to me already as an ALUM so I think I do have a good idea of what I’m doing…</p>