<p>What about taking both Intro to Philosophy and Theology in the same semester? Any comments about Theology for the public school kids?</p>
<p>Taking the two classes in the same semester may be a challenge due to the amount of reading required for each. I would caution against it but it can be done if your other classes are not too terribly difficult or reading intensive.</p>
<p>Theology for public school kids can be difficult pending on the prof they get for the intro class. The profs in general are assuming that the students know very little scripture in general. To get everyone up to speed they will assign loads of scripture reading and often complex secondary source texts that examine patterns and themes in the readings. Some profs require less reading and comprehension whereas others might demand substantially more. In addition, some profs assign several essays which might be troublesome for some students especially if they are not familiar with key scriptural themes.</p>
<p>MiMama-if I remember correctly, our student took both a Theology and Philosophy fall semester of Freshman year. In fact, the Theology requirement was the Arts and Letters course and the Philosophy was the University Seminar requirement. No problems at all, and our student took 17 hours that semester with Chem plus a lab, tutorials, as well as Calc with tutorials in addition to the PE, and an Intro to Engineering course. Yes, there was reading involved, but I think the seminar was a little more relaxed. It is doable with the right amount of time management!</p>
<p>And PS–our student is not Catholic, yet had no problems meeting the Philosophy/Theology requirements!</p>
<p>hawkswim09 - </p>
<p>Thanks!! I looked through the class search and found there were plenty of openings in the classes I want to take. Also, Schedulizer is a great tool in figuring out what classes fit my current schedule.</p>
<p>The problem arose when I put both classes under “Course 5” on the freshman course selection form. I only expected to get one of those, since I wanted to be placed in the Applied Math and Comp. Stats class. I tested out of Calc. I and II, and I explained in the notes section my desire to take the class, since the form wouldn’t let business majors select it. Apparently, my counselor didn’t factor that in.</p>
<p>yes sometimes that happens - counselors can be hit or miss – but i would just give them the benefit of the doubt and go in and talk to them and explain the situation – usually a face will help them visualize things better – haha – sounds weird but usually until people actually see you they may not realize what they are doing – as long as there are spots, you should be fine – and i also just heard about this schedulizer thing but haven’t tried it yet.</p>
<p>I took theo and an existentialism (philosophy) seminar at the same. Theo can be hit or miss depending on your professor. Mine made it less demanding than the theo course I took in my freshman year in high school. Check out [url=<a href=“http://www.ndtoday.com%5DNDToday.com%5B/url”>http://www.ndtoday.com]NDToday.com[/url</a>] to see prof. reviews.</p>
<p>Keep in mind if you get put in one of the huge intro to philo/theo classes your grading is entirely TA dependant.</p>
<p>I’d be more concerned about piling on Science/Engineering courses than Arts and Letters courses in terms of work.</p>
<p>NDFan41-</p>
<p>I took 18 credits my first semester as well, but I did not take both Bio and Chem. However, I knew many classmates who did. Assuming you’re a Bio or Chem major, there are plenty of people who will be in your position. It is definitely better to take Bio with Chem rather than with Orgo second semester.</p>
<p>I would say there really is no point in dropping a class because 15 credits is pretty low (again, especially if you are a science major). Also, there really won’t be an “easy” semester to fit an extra class in if you drop one now.</p>
<p>Well I was thinking about dropping one of my Arts and Letters classes. I just don’t want to feel like I have to catch up right away.</p>
<p>if you come in with AP credit then you should be able to drop one of your arts and letters classes. if you do not have any AP credit then I wouldn’t advise it</p>
<p>If you want the Bio or Biochem major (why I assume you’re taking bio as a frosh) You take bio both semesters freshman year, both forming a sequence. (So you can’t just take it semester 2) It’s pretty normal for bio and biochem majors to take 18 credits freshman year. Just for perspective, in Bio your first semester will be by far your easiest at Notre Dame. I wouldn’t worry about doubling up on theo and philo.</p>
<p>How does one access the Schedulizer?</p>
<p>I know this is probably better suited for a FYS advisor, but it’d be nice to get some student input:</p>
<p>I have AP credit for Chem 10171, so technically I can get out of first semester of chemistry. On the other hand, they say that if you’re doing pre-med you have to take the class, regardless of whether you got credit for it, as most med schools require the class. I’m not set on med school, I’m just undecided and don’t want to rule med school out as a possibility this soon. Should I take it?</p>
<p>Reasons for taking it:
- It’s a med/dental school prereq.
- It won’t be too unmanageable since I’ve already taken an AP class (although it was back in junior year)
- It will help me out so that the second semester of the chem sequence doesn’t destroy me
- It will be a nice introduction to science classes at ND (says my advisor)</p>
<p>Reasons against:
- It will give me 19 credits (I’m taking intensive italian, which is 6, and intro to engineering, which is 4), and I really don’t want to be buried in books this semester.
- Med/dental school aren’t my primary focus. (but at the same time I’m very undecided and don’t want to rule them out as options)
- It adds a lab section to my schedule
- I can use that slot to take out a theo/philo/lit requirement</p>
<p>What are your thoughts? If I take, say, a theo req. instead, could I always just go back and take this class a following year since it’s an intro class and doesnt really have size limits?</p>
<p>Also, I saw the College Seminars on the class search, and they sound pretty interesting. I’m guessing those are a really good way to fulfill your lit requirement. Agree?</p>
<p>I apologize for writing a novel…</p>
<p>Most med schools require the following core classes:
2 semesters of Intro to Chem with lab
2 semesters of Orgo with lab
2 semesters of intro to Bio with lab
2 semesters of Physics with lab
2 semesters of Calculus (but some med schools are not too high on this requirement)</p>
<p>If you are serious about medical/dental school you need to find time in your schedule to take these classes. If you delay taking intro to chem you also delay orgo. Ideally you should have these requirements finished by the second semester of junior year for application to med school.</p>
<p>It sounds like you definitely want to keep the possibility of med/dental school open. My advice is to start at least one of the above. Yes, taking intro to chem with lab may be difficult and it will push you to 19 credits but it really isn’t that bad. As a Bio major freshman year I was pushing 20 credits and taking an intensive language class as well. And honestly, that wasn’t terribly difficult. Trust me, it’s not impossible even with a class like intro to engineering.</p>
<p>As far as Theo, Philo, and Lit requirements are concerned you can honestly do them any time you want. At this point I wouldn’t be too concerned about fulfilling these. I think it’s a bit more important right now for you to find a feasible way to fulfill some med requirements while following an engineering path. It may be a good idea to speak with an advisor about this so you don’t follow a needlessly laborious road to graduation.</p>
<p>First of all, thank you so much for such a quick response, this is incredibly helpful.</p>
<p>It sounds like I should definitely either start chem, or at the very least another pre-med req. just in case. I will still have a chat with my adviser about it, but this was a huge help. thanks a lot.</p>
<p>Hey no problem. When you are a freshman it seems like you have so much time to accomplish all your dreams and goals at ND. Unfortunately time really does fly. So it is really helpful to plan ahead of time.</p>
<p>It may also be a good idea to get the advice of a few others on the forum and your advisor before you set anything in stone. I think BioDomer said he was in the process of applying to med school so he might have experience with your situation. I am currently in med school so if you have any questions about that or the road in general I will be happy to help.</p>
<p>I will definitely talk to an advisor about it. What I might actually just do is take Calc III instead of chem because the calc I will need for basically any of the fields I’m considering, whereas the chem is really only necessary if I do med… i don’t know, i’ll figure it out.</p>
<p>A few more quick questions if that’s okay…</p>
<p>Language classes don’t cover the Fine Arts/Lit requirement, do they? It would be sorta cool if they did.</p>
<p>How does the whole “change your schedule when you get to orientation” process go down. The advisors I’ve spoken to make it seem like it’s fairly easy to mix up your schedule once you get down, but how does it all work? Does everyone get a certain time or is it just a rat race to do it before classes fill up. The seminar I really want has one opening, but I’m thinking the likelihood of me being able to squeeze into that spot is very small.</p>
<p>When you mentioned Calc III I kind of got nervous because I know that most med schools only really care about Calc I and II. Calc is the kind of thing you can get by with AP credit and most med schools would probably care less if you used AP credit to bypass it altogether. But then again you do need it for engineering. You situation might best be handled not by you first year studies advisor but by one of the health professions advisors on the second floor of Jordan.</p>
<p>You are correct, language classes do not cover the fine art/lit requirement.</p>
<p>The whole orientation schedule change deal is a fairly recent process. When I did all this I was able to just make schedule changes by e-mail or phone. I am sure others on the forum might have a better idea of this process.</p>
<p>I believe that it was basically a rat race - there were walk in hours and you went and tried to get some things changed. i would not think you would get that one spot in the class though. the process is easy but can be frustrating because so many changes are being made that spots open and close so quickly. your advisor will have a meeting during orientation where s/he will tell you how s/he will plan on running the changes.</p>
<p>Hi – just wondering if it’s okay for the students to keep their current bank’s ATM, or would you advise putting money in the ND Federal Credit Union?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>This is totally just my opinion because it obviously varies from student to student based on how often he or she travels off campus.</p>
<p>For me, it was important to have an ND credit card because I frequently need cash in order to take cabs to the airport and pay train fare to Chicago to visit my boyfriend. However, for most people I definitely don’t think it is necessary to get an account in the NDFCU. Just be aware that using the ATMs on campus will cost a fee to use otherwise ((…how much, I think, depends on your bank? I’m not sure- someone else here prob knows)). If you take flex points and domer dollars into consideration you probably won’t be spending much money from a bank account anyways.</p>
<p>Most people I know only used cash for the cabs to off campus parties or the (rare) trek to the mall. Oh and if you’re a guy-- probably having to pay for alcohol at parties.
I think most of my friends just used their normal credit cards and would just stock up by getting cash back at Meijers or Target without paying fees. And also borrowing $$ from me when they didn’t have any for cabs. hah</p>
<p>So yeah, what I was trying to get off with that rant was just think about how often you will need cash and base it on your own personal needs. But it is definitely okay to keep your current bank’s card.</p>