<p>I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what a typical CAS freshman schedule would be like, in terms of what classes, and how many classes per semester a student takes, for say a bio major, or any major. I'm trying to get a feeling for what classes i want to take next year, but the CAS website is so ambiguous and difficult to decipher.</p>
<p>From what I've gathered, everyone needs to fulfill "foundational approaches" and "sectional requirements", but i have no idea how that translates to classes that are "core".</p>
<p>This makes it especially difficult to determine if anyone could skip out of "core" classes by taking AP Exams. I have to let my teachers know by the end of the week if I want to take them, but I don't want to waste my time if they don't get me out of any particular credits.
Could anyone just explain to me how the required classes work and if any of my current or TBA AP scores will get me out of required classes?</p>
<p>Current AP Scores:
AB Calculus- 5
Biology- 5
English Lit- 4
US History- 4</p>
<p>To Be Taken:
BC Calc
Psychology
English Lang</p>
<p>Should I even bother taking them?</p>
<p>Thanks anomaly, i checked out that page before, and i understand that i can get credit for AP’s, but i don’t want to take AP’s, such as the English Lang AP unless it gets me out of required criteria, but that’s hard to figure out when i don’t even know what the required classes are.</p>
<p>There are no required classes per se, just requirements which certain classes fulfill. AP credits cannot be used to fulfill these requirements, so they are in affect only useful for placement or if you want to major in that subject. If you are going to take math here, definitely take BC Calc and definitely get a 5 on it. Everyone I talk to says Math 114 is easier than Math 104 (in terms of exam difficulty).
I came in with five AP Credits. These classes count as “credits” and show up on my transcript as “Penn equivalent credit,” but I can’t use my AP Euro credit to get me out of the History requirement. (The only exception is the language requirement, which can be fulfilled by an AP test or SAT II score). </p>
<p>The required courseload for College students for Freshman year is 4, and the recommended amount is 4.5 (which really is only applicable if you take a lab or something like that which is only worth half a credit). My adviser told me (and will probably tell you) to use the first semester or two to explore your options and the classes that are available, without thinking about requirements. It was good advice in my opinion. </p>
<p>My first semester I took four classes (all the Wharton kids and engineering kids made fun of me for the number of hours of class per week I had, but it was tough work and a lot of reading). This semester I’m taking five. I believe your first semester you need special permission from your adviser to take five classes, and in any case several students do this. </p>
<p>So my advice to you would be to check out the classes, choose one or two that you think you might want to major in, and for the rest choose anything that seems very interesting to you, even if you are completely unfamiliar with the subject. Let me know if you have any other queries, or if this didn’t make sense at all.</p>
<p>that was very helpful, fightingquaker.</p>
<p>Math 104 has a reputation of being a difficult class.
Is that because of tough material or deflated grade curves?
I’m assuming that Math 114 is Calc 3 and I’ve never seen that material before in my life.
Do most people go into that class with a Calc 3 background, or are the curves generally more tractable?</p>
<p>Thanks for the help</p>
<p>It’s because of the ridiculous exams. Apparently in 104, some exams have “supplementary questions” that even the TAs have trouble doing, yet they put them on the exam anyway. Anybody who has the BC credit goes into 114, so you definitely won’t be alone if that’s the path you take. </p>
<p>I must admit I haven’t taken math at all here (or for the past two years and a half), but this is the info. that I’ve gotten from my peers.</p>
<p>Most APs need a 5 for credit. Trust me, the more AP you take, the better. Every school at Penn has liberal arts, math/sci, humanities requirements, so your AP credit will count somewhere.</p>
<p>whats the diffference between a placement and a credit?</p>