<p>Teachers DO teach, it’s called lecture. TAs DO teach, it’s called section. In some of the larger classes, professors do rely on TA’s to do most of the grading but it really depends on the department I think. it’s really impossible in some classes of several hundred for the professor to grade every student’s test/paper.</p>
<p>@spaceneedle Which classes would you say have the largest number of students?</p>
<p>^A lot of intro classes have several hundred in them. For example intro to Biology is the largest class on campus with 700 people. Chem 142/143, Physics have around 450 or so, same with CSE 142/143 (java programming). PolSci 200s, Econ 200, and maybe some history sureveys have a couple hundred. Math 124/125/126 have around 100. </p>
<p>I think once you get past those (others, feel free to add other large classes), you’ll see a lot smaller class sizes, especially in the less common foreign languages and other smaller departments. for example, my first year russian class has 6 people in it.</p>
<p>UW Student, your answer have been very helpful so far.</p>
<p>Questions: My goal is to become a neurologist so I would like to do as much research as I can alongside school studies. Are there enough research opportunities that professors make available to freshmen students? How are these researches administered? Also, I know this is on a total different subject, but is there any way to choose my roommate? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up @spaceneedle. By the way, how’s the scene? Chill? Hippy? Artsy?</p>
<p>With the frequent rainy/drizzly weather, what is the most common way of staying dry? (ie. raincoats, umbrellas, etc?) Thanks!</p>
<p>@theamzingrace It depends. I have lived in the Seattle area most of my life and I never carried an umbrella. Only when I go out for long walks I put on boots and wear something to cover my head. If you are a guy then hooded waterproof jacket is sufficient. (We don’t have to worry about messing up makeup or anything like that :p)</p>
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<p>Well, it’s true that intro classes at UW are fairly large (as is true with all large universities). However I wouldn’t say that makes them “awful”. And I wouldn’t say that the teachers don’t teach. Like spaceneedle said, the teachers will normally control the lecture while the TAs teach during the quiz sections. As for the grading it really depends on exactly what class and subject we are talking about. A lot of times in larger classes, the tests will be on scantrons, so that isn’t exactly subjective grading there. Generally, a lot of times the TA will grade your work but then the instructor will actually assign the course grade. And class sizes will really shrink once you get past the intro stuff.</p>
<p>Something I do want to say — TA doesn’t necessarily equal an evil, horrible person. Honestly I haven’t really had any bad experiences with my TAs, a lot of times they are younger and more in touch with the students than the course instructors. </p>
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<p>The intro stuff — for more on class sizes you can check out the time schedule. That will tell you the class sizes for a specific department that you might be looking for.</p>
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<p>Hmm, I don’t really know about research opportunities for freshmen. Once you get into the upper level science stuff, the professors often actively try to recruit their students for research, but I don’t know how many opportunities are open for freshmen. That’s something you might want to email the department you are interested in about.</p>
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<p>Yes if you want to room with a specific person, you can put that person on your application and they would also have to put you on their application. However it isn’t guaranteed that you will get to live together, as far as I know.</p>
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<p>I am a girl — I personally own an umbrella, three pairs of rainboots, and three raincoats (one heavier one and two lighter windbreaker things). UW has a lot of brick walkways — they are nice but they really retain the rain. Even when it isn’t raining all that hard, the walkways will be one big puddle — you will want something to keep your feet dry. I wear my rainboots all the time when it rains, even if it isn’t raining all that hard. </p>
<p>Almost everyone I know has a little pocket umbrella that they keep in their backpack. That way, you can be prepared…a lot of times the weather will be fine at the start of your class, and then it will be pouring by the time you get out of class. I don’t use my umbrella every single time it rains but if it is raining relatively hard and I know I have a long walk, I will get it out. A lot of kids, especially boys, just make do with a rain jacket though.</p>
<p>I looked through the posts and I THINK this hasn’t been asked… sorry if I missed it!</p>
<p>I have a question about merit scholarships (as opposed to financial aid that we get after submitting FAFSA). Do you know when people start getting letters for those? For example, the Honors program scholarships? Some of the scholarships for full rides or for room and board would make a difference in whether I am able to dorm or not, so it would be nice to get those before March 1.</p>
<p>@BubbleTeaChibi did you get a chance to talk to your peer mentor about this?</p>
<p>@Maxxwell - yes, but he’s not completely sure. He didn’t get any scholarships as a freshman, but he got some as a sophomore. Their deadlines for ‘returning Honors students’ is mid-March for their scholarships though, and I’d hope that freshmen get their letters before then</p>
<p>I don’t expect to hear from UW before March 15th. I know that decisions on a few of the scholarships listed at [UW</a> FA site](<a href=“Student Financial Aid”>Student Financial Aid) will be made around mid March.</p>
<p>First of all, thanks for taking the time to answer questions. I have a few of my own. I’m (hopefully) transferring from Bellevue College next fall, and majoring in mechanical engineering.</p>
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<li><p>I’d really like to get a single dorm, I don’t really care where it is. Do I have a decent chance at getting one as a transfer student? Is there anything I can do to improve my odds? I was thinking of applying to hansee hall since they have all single rooms, and that might improve my chances at getting one. I don’t have access to the housing application, so maybe this will be self explanatory when I see it.</p></li>
<li><p>I have some nice electronics I’d like to bring(desktop PC, 40 inch samsung HDTV, couple games consoles, etc.). Are these kind of things out of the ordinary, and should theft be a major concern for me?</p></li>
<li><p>Will I need to purchase any furniture (basically, would IKEA gift certificates be a good graduation present)?</p></li>
<li><p>I applied to join UW this summer, but I’m also applying for mechanical engineering. The engineering department hasn’t even opened their applications yet, and they only accept in the fall. Can I be admitted to U.W. before I’m accepted to the engineering department, and can I still be admitted to U.W. if I’m denied by the engineering department? I seem to remember the advisor I talked to saying that I wouldn’t be accepted to U.W. if I was rejected from my major, however on their website it seems like I will get a response back from U.W. before the engineering department has made a decision.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t know if you can answer this, but I’m a little bit worried about my application. During my first few quarters at BC, I really screwed up and failed/withdrew from a bunch of classes. Since then, I’ve had straight As for over a year, and currently have gotten my GPA up to a 3.6. Like I said, I’m not sure if you have any experience with this, but do you have any idea about my chances?</p></li>
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<p>Thank you again for your time.</p>
<p>^as far as your dorm questions go, no, there’s really no need for additional furniture in your room. You have a limited space to begin with and you could really be cramped if you added a bunch of furniture. Maybe it’s different with a single, I don’t know, but I know in my double, a lot of space was taken up just for our fridge.</p>
<p>Your electronics won’t be out of the ordinary I don’t think, well maybe your 40 inch tv will, that seems a bit large. I know some people who have their gaming systems and desktop computers and it’s fine. I myself only have a laptop and and a 21 inch tv. One thing about HD though is that you won’t be getting an HD signal with the cable in the dorms, just standard low-def. And some channels are better than others picture-wise.</p>
<p>@Maxxwell (and anyone else who knows the answer) - I was told before that to apply for scholarships (merit, not need based, because my family probably wont qualify for need based for UW… low tuition) all I had to do was apply at Dec 1 or before then. Now the website says I should submit the FAFSA, was I supposed to do that too? Even for merit scholarships?? I thought I was done with applying for scholarships (click the submit app button)!</p>
<p>@BubbleTeaChibi Now the website says I should submit the FAFSA, was I supposed to do that too? Even for merit scholarships?? Yes, I think so. I know it doesn’t make sense but …</p>
<p>Here is additional related info I want to share. Sorry if I end up creating confusion. </p>
<p>I heard from another university that they need Selective Service System registration to go along with FAFSA. This also doesn’t make sense. I just called UW FA office and the lady who answered told me that they have not yet uploaded FAFSA and that she couldn’t tell me if they need SSS Registration or not. My bet is that they are going to ask for it.</p>
<p>[SSS</a> Registration site.](<a href=“https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx]SSS”>https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx)</p>
<p>Bottom of this page has this statement:
Men who have registered remain eligible for federal student aid, most federal jobs, and federal job training. Male non-citizens living in the U.S. who are 18 through 25 must register to remain eligible for citizenship.</p>
<p>@Maxxwell, this is really confusing! Perhaps I should send in the FAFSA just in case. My friend got a full ride last year and didn’t send in a FAFSA though… He just told me that for merit scholarships, the FAFSA is not needed. However, it seems like the website says otherwise. Perhaps it is a new thing?</p>
<p>My guess is that universities require FAFSA to make sure that they don’t give out merit based aid when a candidate is eligible for need based aid. I have heard that sometimes the package is a combination of the two. The person I spoke to at FA office told me that people will start hearing about FA in about two weeks or so.</p>
<p>Alright, thank you! I also found some scholarships (Honors Program) that specifies that the only application for Honors Scholarships is the actual UW + Honors Application. Although it’s super competitive, perhaps I’ll just hope for one of those! The only scholarship under the Financial Aid website I would be eligible for is probably the Mary Gates one, and only 1-2 people get it.</p>
<p>There are also Washington Scholars awards given to three students from each legislative district. These are not handled by UW. Each school nominates approx. top 1% of graduating class. Applicants from rural WA have some advantage.</p>