<p>Im sorry for being a complete idiot... but my mind seems to have skipped this little tidbit... or large tidbit... ;_;</p>
<p>how many classes should we be taking first semester?</p>
<p>4's a good number.</p>
<p>really?? only 4? are we allowed to take more? and is it recommended??</p>
<p>Four is the norm. Check out this thread:</p>
<p>if you take four courses and one with a lab, you will have your max of 18 credit hours because FAME counts for one. after the first semester though the amount of hours allowed goes up to like 23 or so.</p>
<p>my freshman yr i took 4 regular classes, Health 101 (1 hr) and FAME for total of 18 hrs. </p>
<p>Also, labs usually dont count as separate units (Chem and Bio lab did not count), except for Orgo lab.</p>
<p>registration is today for first year students and i wanted to shed some light on the process. we have a bidding process here at emory and it is a little confusing and i wish i had head something about it before i came. when registering, we are given 36 points to put on our classes. at the end of the day, the registrar decides which classes based on how many points you put on a class. so if you really want a class you can but anywhere from 14 to all 36 and expect to get it. the 36 go for all of the classes so if you put a lot on one or two, there won't be much left for your others. just wanted to give people a heads up for next year.</p>
<p>IMO, you don't want to put too many points on one class...there are many "popular" classes that are hard(er) to get into or at least the time slot you want and if you don't get your other classes, your whole schedule is messed up in terms of class times.</p>
<p>Yes, this bidding system looks a bit bizarre to the parents looking in from the outside. Son had to put a chunk of points on a beginning language since the sections are small and he is considering a major. That meant fewer points for other things. </p>
<p>The one thing that seems to help is the "alternate" option where you can list a second choice. He was able to come up with a backup for each class that fit the same time slot and GER and seems to have a good prof. Crossing my fingers that this all works out.</p>
<p>Emory profs are really good about overloading, though. And especially in the first week, a lot of people drop classes, so 9 times out of 10 you can get into a class even if you don't initially.</p>
<p>Should you also assign different point values depending on the course size. For example, if I want to take Multivariable Calc, would I need to put as many points on it as Biology 141 if I feel equally passionate about both?</p>
<p>Just heard that son got into his first choice classes. Hope others had similar good fortunte.</p>
<p>Cami, same with my daughter... she got into all her first choice classes, with all preferred times, of which there was only one good combination. Get this, she bidded 20 of her 36 points toward a freshman seminar: Psych: Science & Myth of Baseball. It was THAT important to her. ;)</p>
<p>My daughter got all her first choice too. They weren't my choices for her...but I guess I have to grow up too.</p>
<p>NorCalDad -</p>
<p>20 points! Wow! She must love baseball. Actually, my son looked very seriously at that seminar, but signed up for Dana White's couse on Atlanta. Son is crazy about baseball and noticed that a book on Hank Aaron was part of the required reading for that class. He did a little more digging and found out the prof helped set up the museum at Turner Field and that he team teaches another course on the history of baseball. So son is now thinking of doing his required paper on something related to Atlanta baseball. :o</p>
<p>The lion's share of his own points went into beginning Arabic, since nearly so many upperclassmen had aready registered for it.</p>
<p>ShesOnHerWay - I commiserate. It's a learning curve for all of us.</p>
<p>D got three of her four top choices. Not sure what will happen on the fourth but some good advice on how to get into the fourth class in any event. D also spent a good portion of her points on the seminar she wanted and the three classes she got have profs with great ratings so she is pleased. Everyone warned that kids never get their top choices so it seems our kids have fared well.</p>
<p>In the middle of my complimenting my daughter on one of her choices--a choice that both impressed and suprised me--she interrupted to inform me that the reason she picked that class was it met on the first floor of her dorm. And here I thought she'd carefully chosen that course based on its content and value added to her education, while instead she'd picked it based on the commute time and convenience. She happily espoused the virtues of being able to roll out of bed 10 minutes before class and racing down two flights of stairs to class.</p>