<p>Guys, I have a few concerns about the impact of CULPA and course load for new students. I have an upcoming academic planning session and I know some of these questions will be addressed, but I would like the perspective of students who have gone through it. After having spoken to Mr. Bailey regarding financial aid he advised me that, like for most other incoming students, the ideal number of credits to start with should be no more than 12. I am fine with this.</p>
<p>My preliminary "scheme" looks something like this: Introduction to latin, literature humanities, introductory chem, BIO II (or whatever its equivalent is). I will be conducting an intensive search of Culpa for recommended professors.</p>
<p>Is this a good courseload or will I be overwhelmed?</p>
<p>How difficult was the transition for students, specifically those coming out of community college? This is probably my main concern.</p>
<p>And how much credence, or weight, do students give to Culpa for registration? Does it serve as a be all end all or just as general guidance? </p>
<p>Thanks, from a neurotic pre-med.</p>
<p>A few technicalities… You can’t take lit hum starting in the spring semester. It’s a year long sequence, starting in the fall. You must take University Writing your first semester. This is a hard, but rewarding, class.</p>
<p>CULPA is very useful, and very flawed. (Almost) Everyone reads the reviews, but you should really avoid making decisions based solely on culpa. Remember that most professors are teaching anywhere from 20 to 500 students a semester. How many reviews are on CULPA per semester? 0? 2? So read it, see if a professor matches the style you want (paper vs exam heavy; entertaining vs serious lectures; for example). If someone is pretty universally disliked, I would definitely suggest shying away. If someone is universally loved, sure, try to get into that class. Take it with a big grain of salt, just as you would the advice of any classmate, your adviser, other professors, etc.</p>
<p>One thing I’ve noticed throughout other people’s first semesters is that everyone underestimated the workload required for languages. I’ve not really talked to anyone about Latin, but I would expect it to be tough too.</p>
<p>The thing everyone (rightly) recommends is balance where appropriate. UW will be reading + writing. Latin will be lots of memorization/long hours. Intro chem plus bio II sounds really tough, but I’m not premed/science. Do they have labs? Maybe do something that comes more easily to you, although I can understand that you’ll need to be cranking out on 2+ science courses a semester if that’s your major.</p>
<p>What APS are you going to? I’d love to meet you in person. :)</p>
<p>EDIT: I should say that basically every student I know has been humbled, seriously, in there first semester. Myself included. The work is harder, the workload is much greater, the expectations are higher. You’ll feel like if you study 24/7 you can MAYBE not fall too far behind. Even knowing to expect it, I was still surprised.</p>
<p>I’m going to the one on tuesday. You’ve just confirmed my worst fears, lol. I expect a large work-load, but I guess I’ll start by getting accustomed to studying long hours every day. How did you do GPA-wise your first semester?</p>
<p>Word of advice:</p>
<p>Core classes WILL consume more time than courses for your major. Some weeks, you may feel like you are majoring in Lit Hum. The task of rewriting parts of a University Writing paper can last an ENTIRE day of your weekend. </p>
<p>My advisor told me to avoid Calc III this semester, because I was told most of my course load was too much analytically… instead, I was informed to take Music Hum… this course turned out to be my hardest class compared to everything so far… </p>
<p>At Columbia, DO NOT assume the Core classes are similar to General Education requirements at other institutions… The Core is the hallmark of Columbia and it is probably the most rigorous in terms of writing and reading. Some courses you couldnt read all the reading assignments even if you wanted to .</p>
<p>By the way, if you are going to be majoring in Econ, Math, Philosophy, Computer science, enjoy your weekends before you arrive at this institution because you wont have a weekend to spare here. Butler library is open 24/7 for a reason…</p>
<p>@ Iggs I can almost guarantee that your easiest courses are going to be chem and bio because they are lecture courses. Lit Hum is probably going to be more time consuming than the rest, and intro latin ( assuming your not latin speaking already ) can probably be an issue as well. Like I said, Core Curriculum is a challenge because the courses are meant for you to discuss with other classmates in the school.So if you want to do well, make friends and take the classes together. Believe it or not, CC and SEAS kids do well in these courses because they live ON campus ( GS students live next to campus, but their peers in the student housing are mostly graduate students…), and thus have plenty of peers to consult with. This can cause a huge dilemma with GS students. But you can certainly make friends with people and take core courses together and form study groups.( this is what I am doing next semester. )</p>
<p>Obviously you can do well without doing this, but why not make life easier on yourself and spare yourself some pain and misery.</p>
<p>When you have your orientation, make LOTS and LOTS of friends. Write everyones phone numbers, and make contacts. Because out of 50 people you meet, probably 5-10 will end up keeping in touch with you on a daily basis.</p>
<p>I dont think it matters which school you come from. I am taking a computer science course with a Yale transfer to GS, and he just dropped the course. There are GS students in my UW writing class that are from Cornell, and our writing is on par with each other. </p>
<p>Its all about time management, really. Start working on assignments as you get them, and prepare for tests starting from day one.</p>
<p>I can’t say I’m the friendliest person; inevitably, I will make a few friends here and there through circumstance, but going out of my way to make lots and lots of friends at orientation is, unfortunately, probably not going to happen. I hope then that I have realistic expectations in just being a dedicated student, studying very diligently, and doing well. I’m not timid, and I will have no issues on following up with professors and seeking feedback. I can’t say that during yesterdays APS anyone was especially chummy, maybe it was the weather. I had to leave before the meet and greet because I was there from 11 am to 5 without having eaten, and that was just about enough for me. Maybe I’m just weird, but the meet and greet seems kinda redundant? During the semester you will find classmates that you’ll like, and establish friendships then. Anyway, if any of you guys wanna get together over a coffee, I’m in the city most days and will be there for the orientation Jan 9th 
.</p>
<p>what do you guys think of
intro to Latin
uw
calc1
chem 1</p>
<p>So, your taking Latin as your core language requirement? </p>
<p>Your schedule looks good, tough, but managable. The only class I took on your list is UW, which wasn’t “hard,” but it was a lot of work.</p>
<p>Yeah, Latin will be my language. Two of my professors aren’t on culpa so i guess they’re new to Columbia or are ta’s?</p>
<p>You can definitely take the second half of lit hum without having taken the first. It is, technically, just two separate courses that SHOULD be taken together.</p>
<p>To be honest, I wouldn’t take Latin if I were you. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s an intriguing language, but I would go for something that’s in use today. I say this because the language requirement here is quite extensive, and when you complete it you will have a working proficiency in whatever language you choose. I am a few weeks away from completing Elementary Spanish 2 and I can now hold basic conversations with people in Spanish. Needless to say, I have learned a lot thus far. If this pattern continues I will, by the time I finish Intermediate Spanish 2 (after the summer), be able to speak spanish quite regularly. This is quite an exciting prospect. And learning a modern language is, in my opinion, the most tangible thing one can take away from Columbia. </p>
<p>If I recall from your previous posts, you are pre-med. This alone should factor into your decision on which language to choose. There are a lot of Spanish speaking people in the world and your being able to communicate with them on a professional level will be an invaluable commodity. </p>
<p>Latin is a wonderful language, but it’s just not as useful in the context of modernity. I am only saying this because when you graduate, more than likely, you will leave Columbia with the ability to speak/write/read whatever language you choose. If I were you, I would take this opportunity to learn a modern language that is in use today.</p>
<p>I appreciate your suggestion, and your points make a lot of sense. My reasoning behind taking Latin is two sided. First, if I’m not mistaken, Latin is rooted is much medical vernacular. Secondly, I’m really big on writing and hold publishing fiction as one of my “life goals.” I’ve read that Latin is a great asset to one’s command of language, in that language is understood in the context of structure, and one is more keen to detail. Understanding, and making intelligible, arcane texts and references is also appealing.</p>
<p>Don’t let anyone talk you out of taking Latin. Tsar’s advice is just nostalgia disguised as practicality. </p>
<p>Learning Spanish at Columbia is probably the most expensive and impractical way to learn it in New York City.</p>
<p>For Calc 1, a good tool to use is wolframalpha. I wish i knew about this engine when I took that class, it would have helped tremendously. Basically you can plug in any complicated derivation or integral into the engine and it will calculate it for you and give you a step-by-step breakdown of the entire process. Actually it will help you throughout all your calculus classes! Control yourself and don’t use it for every problem. But it can help when you get stuck and need a hint! It’s every physics/engineering major’s best friend! (I think it does chemistry too but I don’t really know the format for inputting problems…)</p>