<p>My son attended SOAR last week. There were so many closeouts that he ended up taking only 12 credits. I was wondering if anyone had opinion (HA HA) on advanced Economic classes. My reasoning is that the classes will be smaller. I was reviewing Economics of Healthcare, International trade and Finance, and Economics of Real Estate (open for just about anything). My son has AP credits for both Micro and Macro. I rather him take these classes than the junk that he ended up. Can a first term Freshman take these classes?</p>
<p>He could take Econ 301/302/306</p>
<p>301 and 302 requires Calc1. 306 is awesome.</p>
<p>If he tested out of math 211 (meaning he would be taking 221 this semester) he could try taking 301 or 301. If not, try Econ 100 (current issues).</p>
<p>My son tested into 221, he received a 3 in calculas Ab. I am not sure about 301 or 302. I am trying to find small classes that are not super advanced.</p>
<p>Don’t let him worry about class size. He should consider all sorts of breadth courses not heard of in HS. For example- Linguistics/Anthropology 101/301 (crosslisted in 2 depts, and 2 levels for same lecture, discussion sections may/may not vary in content). There are many less known courses that won’t have huge lectures.</p>
<p>If he’s doing Econ…a 3 in Calc AB is not good enough. Retake 221 and get a better foundation for Econ. Econ has a huge emphasis on calculus. You might sneak through 301/302. For those advanced classes he would regret it.</p>
<p>And just to make sure your understand that Econ301/302 has an enrollment of about 120 students. But again you have sections of about 20 people (usually like 14-15 at most…you know sometimes ppl just skip sections). You have plenty of time to ask questions and interact with TAs. I admit that some TAs explain concepts better than professors. So don’t worry too much about finding “smaller classes”. Smaller classes doesn’t necessarily mean that he would have a better experience.</p>
<p>My son is taking 221 in the fall. He wanted to take the required writing, but it was closed. When my daughter was a freshman at UCONN she had no problem registering for classes. UW should have required freshman classes. When I started college there was required one year of writing, every freshman took it their freshman year. My son is taking classes where he has to write papers, what a shame.</p>
<p>Do they not keep some spaces open for students who are attending later SOAR sections, especially for classes like composition that all freshmen need to take? Your son’s situation is what worries me the most about the large state schools. Is this typical?</p>
<p>My son, who is finishing us his masters at Madison (went there undergrad as well), almost never registered for a full slate of classes, becuase stuff he wanted was closed. However, within the first few days of the semester, he got into almost everything he wanted. Lot’s of switching goes on and slots open up. There are all sorts of tricks and tips the students learn and getting the right classes never was an issue. Once, we got a bill for his tution and it was for a part-time student, because he had signed up for so few classes.</p>
<p>Calm down! The key here is to be patient.
- Talk to the advisor and English dept’s staff. Ask what your son should do.
- Keep an eye on the wishlist EVERYDAY. People are still swapping classes.
- If you still can’t get into the class before class starts, go to that class and talk to the professor.</p>
<p>I am a rising senior. Yes. I faced this kind of situation before; but never failed to get into the class I wanted. </p>
<p>I guess you don’t want so many seats open for every single class. This will not be economic efficient.</p>
<p>Be patient!</p>
<p>beth’s mom:</p>
<p>They don’t because the school knows there will be students dropping and swapping classes at the end. Safe to say, over 80% of class which is full before semester starts turn out to have some open spaces afterwards. </p>
<p>So no. Don’t worry about state schools (including Madison). People who blame that they can’t graduate in 4 years because they can never get into the class they want is simply bs.</p>
<p>…Why don’t you let your son pick his own classes? I’m sure he knows what he’d like and is capable of finding it (or the closest he can find to it).</p>
<p>“Required” writing class? Huh? Son never took one- is it based on the placement test score? Ditto on son picking his own courses. You hopefully will be told his schedule- interesting to find out what is chosen and helpful to know when not to try to reach him.</p>
<p>I was assuming that the required writing class OP is talking about is the Comm A requirement (English 100, etc.).</p>
<p>An English placement test score of 605-850 means the student is not required to take a Communication A class, such as English 100.</p>
<p>Thanks. Son at 16 was too independent to let us interfere with his college courses. Current parents- trust your child. S/he has a lot invested in this and will seriously choose what works best for them at the time. We have to let go and pass the reins of responsibility to our emerging adults. So what if they make a mistake in our eyes- it will be a learning experience and they will be better able to make future decisions. They, not us, are taking these courses and living the college life. It is their life, not our dreams. btw- the precise courses taken as a freshman don’t really matter- any course will enrich them and help them in meeting requirements.</p>
<p>The writing requirement was for the Pre-Business. I gave my son this boards advise and he kept checking until he finally got into his writing class. My son and I discussed taking Accountting his freshman year and he decided that even though he had accounting in HS and found it easy it would be better to take it his second year.</p>
<p>Good to hear justwaiting1! People therefore should stop blaming “I CAN NEVER GET IN THE CLASS I WANT IN MY FRESHMEN YEAR AT WISCONSIN”</p>