Bunch of questions before I go..

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Massachusetts - Amherst
1

<ol>
<li>I couldn't attend orientation, but I took my math placement exam and I'm doing the financial aid forms. Oh, and I did the housing forms. Is there anything else I need to do? What else do I need to do before I come to the college to start the fall semester?</li>
<li>What's the highest possible mathematics course for the first year? </li>
<li>What kind of clubs are there? I have nerdy interests.</li>
<li>Is Facebook necessary in order to keep in touch with people?</li>
<li>Do the showers in all dormitories have privacy?</li>
<li>Is there any way I can bring a monitor or a small TV into my room?</li>
</ol>

<p>That's all for now. Thanks for the help!</p>

2

<ol>
<li><p>Sounds like you’ve done all the paper work. Make sure to do the online health insurance waiver if you have health insurance from your family.</p></li>
<li><p>Math 131 (Calc 1) if you are math, science, or engineering. Math 127 (calc 1 for life and social sciences) if you won’t ever be going past calc 2. You can place up to Math 233 (Multivariate calc) If you scored well (4 or 5) on the AP BC calc exam, or into 132 if you scored a 4 or 5 on AB. I am not sure if 4 is the real cutoff, it may be 3, but 132 and 233 can be challenging and are frequently used as the weed-out classes. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>3.<a href=“- UMass Campus Pulse”>https://umassamherst.collegiatelink.net/organizations&lt;/a&gt;
There are tons of clubs for just about everything, and if there isn’t a formal club you will likely meet enough people with similar interests anyways.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Yes and no. My friend still doesn’t have one and has done just fine with out. Having one makes it easy, not having one makes it slightly more difficult but not by a lot. Just a phone should still suffice.</p></li>
<li><p>They are all individual stalls with at least curtains and sometimes doors. </p></li>
<li><p>Most buildings have elevators, and there are cable hook ups in the room. Your desk should have enough room for the monitor, but I suggest finding a cheap table to put the TV on depending on where you live.</p></li>
</ol>

3

<p>Thanks again for answering my questions. I want to join the debate club. I have a couple more if you don’t mind answering?</p>

<ol>
<li>What’s the internet connection like? Is it fast? I require fast internet connection on my laptop as I download a lot of things.</li>
<li>Is there any advantage to getting a perfect mark on the math placement exam? It’s what I got. I’m an international student so no APs for me, and my A-level certificate won’t be officially released until late October, and I’ll likely only get my hands on it by early November.</li>
</ol>

4

<ol>
<li><p>It’s the fastest money can buy. The only problem is that most of the buildings are made of thick concrete and steel, so the wireless signal can be low in spots, however they have been getting better at placing more access points around. The only time you’ll notice is in a select few classrooms, but you should be taking notes anyways right? :wink: I think most of the dorms have wireless now, but they all certainly have Ethernet connections. You won’t have to worry about speed. </p></li>
<li><p>I should have been clearer before I suppose. Math 131 or 127 (the calc 1 classes) are the highest you can place into off the math placement exam. Anything beyond requires some way of proving you’ve taken a college level calculus class before (eg. AP exams). Congrats on the perfect marks. In any case, 127 is really a total joke of a class, so if you want to challenge yourself, then sign up for 131, which may require instructor approval depending on your major.</p></li>
</ol>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>Ehhh… I have no way of proving I have…</p>

<p>Would my school marks suffice? I got perfect marks on all of them and I can show them my syllabus.</p>

6

<p>At summer orientation we (the S and I) were both told that all of the dorms were supposed to be wireless by the start of the fall semester.</p>

<p>You will want to make sure that your computer has the proper hardware for accessing the UMASS network. Here is a link from the OIT website that you can check.</p>

<p>[Hardware</a> Support Articles | Office of Information Technologies](<a href=“http://www.oit.umass.edu/support/hardware]Hardware”>http://www.oit.umass.edu/support/hardware)</p>

7

<p>Sounds good, have all the requirements, thanks.</p>

<p>By the way, what’s all this crap about a UCard? Do I get one when I go there?</p>

8

<p>Regarding the calc, if you covered</p>

<p>“Continuity, limits, and the derivative for algebraic, trigonometric, logarithmic, exponential, and inverse functions. Applications to physics, chemistry, and engineering.”</p>

<p>in high school to some rigorous extent, and think you are prepared for </p>

<p>“The definite integral, techniques of integration, and applications to physics, chemistry, and engineering. Sequences, series, and power series. Taylor and MacLaurin series. Students expected to have and use a Texas Instruments 86 graphics, programmable calculator.”</p>

<p>then talk to whoever will be teaching the section of Math 132 that you want and they may, or may not, let you in. Likewise, if you covered both those things in high school, then talk with whoever will be teaching the section of 233 that you want, though that may be a tougher sell.</p>

<p>Regarding the UCard, it is your official university ID card used to attend student only events, to get in to your dorm, to check out books from the library, to swipe in to the DC, and to use as a debit card on campus (if you wish to). Basically, you can’t live without one. Normally, you get it at oreintation, but since you couldn’t go you’ll just have to visit the UCard office AS SOON AS you get on campus. You’ll probably still be able to check into your room and unload your stuff, but really the UCard office should be your next stop after that. Here is a link to the UCard Q&A [UMass</a> Amherst: UCard Office](<a href=“http://services.jsatech.com/faq.php?cid=119&]UMass”>http://services.jsatech.com/faq.php?cid=119&)</p>

9

<p>Thanks for all your help again. Another question:</p>

<ol>
<li>How exactly do I pick my courses? Do I talk to a staff member so we can decide my major and my courses? (undecided major)</li>
</ol>

10

<p>I was going to edit. Oh well.</p>

<ol>
<li>How bad is a priority order of 4263?</li>
</ol>

11

<p>I forgot how the housing priority works, but I think you should really call housing services.</p>

<p>[UMass</a> Amherst - Residential Life: Housing Assignments](<a href=“http://www.housing.umass.edu/hao/index.html]UMass”>http://www.housing.umass.edu/hao/index.html)</p>

<ol>
<li>You pick your courses on spire. once logged in, go to enrollment > add classes. Some classes will have restrictions, so you’ll need to talk to the professor and possibly the department advisor, or some other academic advisor, to make sure you get enrolled.</li>
</ol>

<p>[Undergraduate</a> Advising Undergraduate Advising](<a href=“Student Success at UMass Amherst”>Student Success at UMass Amherst)</p>

<p>that’s the link to the academic advising department. you’ll want to talk to them about choosing a major when the time comes.</p>

12

<p>I know that I can add classes on SPIRE, but to be honest I don’t know what to pick. I’m thinking of a major in psychology followed by law school. Should I just pick classes that are most suitable for law school? I think it’d be smart to talk to an academic advisor before picking my classes, wouldn’t it?</p>

<p>Also, there’ll be a chance for me to take the writing placement test when I go, right?</p>

13

<p>I picked Math 132 because 131 would a joke for me. I noticed something though, I looked at my class timetable and although the class is Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the class on Monday didn’t show up, only Wednesday and Friday did.</p>

<p>Is this a mistake or?</p>

14

<p>Pick what ever interests you. Here is the link for the international students orientation, which may or may not be useful: [UMass</a> Amherst: New Students Orientation - For International Students](<a href=“http://www.umass.edu/newstudent/aboutnso/international/]UMass”>http://www.umass.edu/newstudent/aboutnso/international/)</p>

<p>and here is the link to pre-law advising: [University</a> of Massachusetts Amherst - Welcome to the Pre-Law Advising Office](<a href=“http://www.umass.edu/prelaw/]University”>http://www.umass.edu/prelaw/)</p>

<p>It may not be showing up because that Monday is likely labor day, which is a holiday. The first say of classes is September 6th. If that’s the day that is missing, then don’t worry.</p>

<p>I’m hesitant to say that Math 132 is a good idea if you’re thinking of a psychology major and law school. Unless you plan on taking more math or stat classes, then 128 would be the better choice. It’s a bit easier, and more geared towards non-science majors. That would allow you plenty of time to focus on other classes that may be more pertinent to your studies. However, I think it’s great that you’re challenging yourself, so I hope you stick with it!</p>

<p>It would be a good idea to pick 5 classes that you want to take before talking with an advisor. That way you at least have a full semester if it turns out that other classes you want to take fill up or otherwise don’t let you in. Though, you will have plenty of time to meet with an advisor and change classes before the end of add-drop.</p>

15

<p>Yep, that was why they weren’t showing up.</p>

<p>I’m picking my classes now, thanks to your advice. So far,</p>

<p>Math 132 (131 would be a joke for me because I’ve already done advanced calculus, I’m not too sure about my major and career, by the way, this school does weighted GPA, right?)
Psychology 100
Political Science 101
Chemistry 111 (physical sciences requirement, is this the highest possible for a freshman? I got 780 on the SAT subject test)</p>

<p>I think I’ll wait for my writing placement exam result for the last one - but that’s interesting - nothing about the writing placement exam on that international orientation schedule…</p>

<p>This is ridiculous, though. So many timetable conflicts… how irritating that timetable conflicts can affect someone’s future.</p>

16

<p>Oh, and one more thing. I searched Japanese and I clicked the most basic possible one (Japanese 120) and says it requires Japanese 110. I checked spring as well but I couldn’t find it there either. I wonder what’s going on?</p>

17

<p>If you mean weighted like in high school, then no, and I am not aware of any college that does. Each course is weighed by the credit hours. Thus, a B+ in a 4 credit course hurts you more than a B+ in a 3 credit course. ([UMass</a> Academic Services](<a href=“http://www.umass.edu/sas/html/grading.html]UMass”>http://www.umass.edu/sas/html/grading.html))</p>

<p>Since you’re not sure about major and career, take 132. Chem 121 is the highest possible for a freshman, but it may only be limited to chem and related majors, so you may need an override for it, though with your SAT subject test score you should have no problem getting in. Chem 121 is a lot of work though, so unless you really think you may end up as a major that needs it, I suggest keeping 111 then. Also, Astronomy 100 is an easy PS requirement, particularly with Katz. You may be bored if you already know most of the basic science stuff they introduce, but the astronomy part is interesting if you’re not familiar with it, and a lot easier than Chem 121 if you’re just doing it for a requirement. </p>

<p>Timetable conflicts are a fact of life. However, I think you may be agonizing too much over them. I agree, they were, and still are, fairly annoying, but the good part is that you’re just a first semester freshman, and you have plenty of time to take all the classes that you want. Things will work out, don’t worry. You look like you have a pretty good schedule lined up so far. There will be less conflicts when you pick a major.</p>

<p>Japanese 110 is a spring class, it was listed as full in spire (I just checked) so that’s probably why you didn’t see it (you probably had the box checked that says to exclude closed classes from from the search).</p>

18

<p>Okay, thanks a lot for all of your help. You saved my life!</p>

<p>I dunno about Astronomy… I think I’ll feel stupid if I take that.</p>

<p>I’m going to probably just email the writing department or something and ask when I can take the exam. And once I take that I’ll have 5 courses, which I hope will be enough.</p>

19

<p>It sounds like you’re doing a good job of getting ready by remote control. It can’t be easy doing it from the other side of the world! You’ve got some good advice here from people in the know. I can’t add much, but I was in a similar situation back in the day, so I’m cheering you on! It will all come together, maybe with a few bumps orientation week, but before you know it you’ll be in class, meeting friends for lunch, and hanging out in the dorm. I went to the parent orientation and one thing that impressed me was the amount of resources that are available for advice and guidance, especially for freshmen. You may have to seek them out, but someone has an answer for every question. You’ll be fine.</p>

20

<p>^ Thanks for the boost in confidence. I’m mainly just worried about being lonely.</p>