<p>Hi guys! I'm going to be a freshman at U-M this fall and I wanted to have a head start with scheduling before orientation. I'm going to be in engineering and as of right now i'm considering majoring in CS or IOE. Generally, I'm very math, science oriented and have always been. English/History honestly aren't my strengths. But I need to take the IB classes to fulfill the 16 credits. I took the AP Comp Sci and AP Chemistry tests last year and I got a 4 in both, so I get credit for both. Also, I had a 100 in calc AB with a wonderful teacher, and on the practice AP exam she gave in class I got a 92/108 so I'm pretty sure I'll get at least a 4 on the exam to get credit for math 115. Right now it looks like my basic schedule for next year will be:
Math 116/156
Physics 140
Engr 101
My physics background is fairly weak, CP Physics was the only class that fit into my schedule this year and my teacher pretty much sucks. So I'm scared about how hard that class will be. I feel like I'll do fine in the programming class and obviously i'm freaked out about U-M math. What would be a good class to fulfill an intellectual breadth requirement. I'm most interested in Econ and this one Amcult class called History of American Pop Music. But I don't have much of a Econ background and I'm scared of all the Ross-hopeful kids and since I'm not very good at history I'm also kinda scared about taking the other class too.
Also, theres this scholarship for engineers that you can qualify for after your first semester called the 1931E scholarship, and in order to be eligible you need to get a 3.5. (I recognize a 3.5 won't guarantee the scholarship- I just want the ability to qualify so hopefully by chance I can get it)
Is there any classes that you guys would recommend that are pretty easy so I can get the GPA to qualify for the scholarship? Should I even take an intellectual breadth class this upcoming semester so that I can focus on these main classes and get a 3.5? I feel like 13 credits is too few but 17 credits seems daunting lol. If anyone has any suggestions that would be appreciated!</p>
<p>1) I wouldn’t pick classes based on how well they set you up for that scholarship. You most likely won’t get it, the odds are very slim. Don’t worry about that now.</p>
<p>2) Why do you want to go in to CS or IOE? Just curious.</p>
<p>3) I only took 13 credits my first semester at Michigan. I had enough credits coming in that it wasn’t a big deal. It also is a good way to get used to everything about college. Just a suggestion.</p>
<p>4) The difficulty of Physics 140 really depends on your past physics experience. </p>
<p>5) Engr 101 should not be hard at all with past coding experience. It is set up assuming none of the students have any coding experience. I didn’t take it (I took an alternate programming class) but I helped people on their assignments. I’d also definitely take this in the Fall because it opens up the Gaming For The Greater Good section of Engr 100 for you in the winter.</p>
<p>6) Lay out your 4 years at Michigan in excel. See how crucial taking an HU/SS class would be this semester. </p>
<p>Also, I took two classes of the summer at a local community college to help get them out of the way. Definitely consider that too.</p>
<p>well CS always was interesting to me because I always had a natural knack for computers when i was little, and then i became super fascinated with them throughout middle school, and then in high school I started taking CS courses and I recognized that programming was somewhat natural to me. Some of the hardest projects that others couldn’t get in my programming classes I was able to do pretty easily, and whenever people needed help I acted as the teacher. I also found the challenges of programming really fun which sounds stupid but it’s true haha I just ended up liking it a lot. And IOE is kinda more of a backup than anything. The idea of consulting sounds kind of interesting and if I’m not cut out for CS, then that would probably be another choice. I honestly don’t know much about it, but it seems like a solid backup. Thank you for your help though!</p>
<p>Watch out on the Econ. Most of the Econ classes don’t count as the intellectual breadth classes. I did like Econ 401 though, and generally its considered pretty easy for engineering students (though not trivial) because the engineering students usually have a stronger math background which helps. But if you’re trying to plan out your schedule such that every class you take counts towards some requirement, make sure you confirm that whatever econ class you want to take counts for the intellectual breadth. </p>
<p>If you have any specific questions about the IOE and CS programs at Michigan let me know. </p>
<p>As ThisIsMichigan said, I wouldn’t count on getting the scholarship. It’s very unlikely that the difference between you getting it and not getting it was because you choose to take the wrong class. </p>
<p>You might look to take EECS 203 if you’re pretty sure you’re gonna be looking at CS. It’s another math class that you have to take for CS. </p>
<p>Since you’re already proficient with at least the basic programming concepts, Engr101 will probably be pretty trivial for you, you can kind of disregard it as a class. The class is made for those with no experience at all. As such, I don’t think you should be worried about adding another class. </p>
<p>You could take Engr 151 in place of 101 if you want and are very interested in programming. That’s what I took. Honestly though, looking back I wish I hadn’t. Sure, I had a better grasp of programming concepts than most MEs, but that doesn’t matter much at all in my degree. I should have just taken 101 and received the easy A. </p>
<p>yeah I completely understand the scholarship is no where near guaranteed or necessarily possible, but in theory it sounds nice. and regardless a 3.5 GPA sounds nice, so even if it doesn’t result in a scholarship, i’d be pretty happy for myself to get a 3.5. Do you happen to have any humanities classes that you liked and recommend?</p>
<p>and I was considering taking 151 but it appears that the professor that’s teaching the section this year on rate my professors is pretty crappy, and there’s a section with Ringenberg for 101 and supposedly he teaches other EECS classes so it would be good to take a class as soon as I can with him.</p>
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<p>The class is big enough that you’re not going to form a relationship with him, in case that was your thinking. </p>
<p>I took Philosophy 443 and really liked it. It was kind of IOE-ish in a way. The professor, James Joyce, is really good. I don’t think there’s any prerequisite, and it doesn’t require any knowledge going in, despite its high number. I don’t know if it’s being offered in fall (you can check) but when it’s offered, that would be a good choice for someone who is interested in IOE stuff. </p>
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<p>Ah, History of American Pop Music is a Bruce Conforth class. He’ll throw a lot of information at you, but it’s pretty easy to digest, and the man is amazing. He was the curator of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he knew people like Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, and (I think) Andy Warhol personally. He’s probably the most interesting professor in all of LSA, and there are some very interesting ones.</p>
<p>History and AmCult classes at Michigan aren’t like the classes you took in high school. It’s not mere fact regurgitation so much as synthesizing new knowledge into a narrative of a place or time. With people like Conforth, history becomes mind-blowing. </p>
<p>tl;dr: If you can take History of American Pop Music in your first semester, do it! </p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your help! @Vladenschlutte I’ll def look into 443 and @Finnlet I’ll look into that class too! I’m definitely hoping i have better experiences with humanities at U-M!</p>
<p>“The class is big enough that you’re not going to form a relationship with him, in case that was your thinking.”</p>
<p>That’s debatable. You can see him in office hours. He’ll recognize you. In case you are wondering, I had him my freshman year. Would he recognize me today? That’s another question since I major IOE instead of something in EECS. However, at least one GSI for that class has acknowledged me outside of class once I finished Engr 101.</p>