<p>i hear alot of ppl get a low GPA first semester, mainly because its such a transition... do u think its a smart idea to take all intro / easy classes first semester , to kind of adjust before moving up to more advanced stuff</p>
<p>yes. (ten char)</p>
<p>I've heard some intro, weeder-type classes have tough curves. Is this true?</p>
<p>Yes, it is. Furthermore, if you're at all intellectually engaged, you'll hate not taking any higher-level courses, which will actually encourage your procrastination and depression.</p>
<p>Not that I've had. Well, I havn't taken any "easy" classes, I've just taken clases in which I had a substantial background, so for me they were easy but they wouldn't be easy for someone who knew nothing of the subject (Intro Econ, for example, they wouldn't let me pass out of even though I had a 5 on both the micro and macro AP's, so I took it). That is probably where the weird curves come from--people taking intro classes who already know the subject. Take classes you know a little about. If your at a good college that suits your level none of the classes should be "fluff classes."</p>
<p><raises hand=""> My name is Bigredmed and I got a low GPA my first semester.</raises></p>
<p>Yeah, my lowest GPA was my first semester freshman year, well until my 2nd semester senior year when I got accepted to medical school in January and just stopped caring, add that to only having 9 graded hours (I was taking a 5 hr class pass/no pass). That ended up making the "bookends".</p>
<p>Anyways, yeah it is a tradition, and most of it is partly because your away, you have all this freedom and you want to try to go to every party. I mean, I aced my first intro to soc test, getting a 110% (yeah it had extra credit) screwing the curve for everyone else, and i ended up with a B+ in the class. My 8:30 MWF I never made it to friday's because I was always out on thursday night. </p>
<p>It happens, and it's really not that big of a deal. I mean, that first semester was the most fun semester of all of college (again, except for that last semester when I was at the bars 5 nights most weeks). I look at my little brother who is going to be a freshman at my alma mater and envy him a lot in that respect. </p>
<p>The thing is, unless you have a good background in something and the AP scores to prove it, then you'll need a little bit of time to adjust not only the social scene and the freedom, but to the actual speed of classes. I mean my entire HS chem course was covered in about the first 8 weeks of the semester, that's a jump. </p>
<p>I'd reccomend taking about 13 hours - 4 courses max (unless you have some intro to library or intro to your pre-professional area class that's like an hour pass/no pass, then you could take 14). Mainly because that is managable while having a good social life. Really, you need to make those social connections in this semester, so that your next 3-4 years are everything that they can be. Look at the greek system, join a club sport, get involved in a bunch of clubs, meet people outside your classes and your dorms and you'll be better off. It will also help in establishing the balance between school work and social life.</p>
<p>For me, it was actually the opposite. My first semester was only 16 units with some 0-unit classes and an audit, so it was relatively easy. I took 100 and 200-level courses and got a 3.94. The next semester I had 1 300-level and mostly 200-level and got a 3.85. This last semester, I had almost all upper division (300 and 400-level), and I got a 3.76. Hopefully this semester will bring that back up, but those are all actually quite good so I'm not really afraid. A lot has to do with how much other stuff you're doing and the difficulty-level of the courses (and how many you take). I'm averaging 10-12 classes/semester plus working 3/4-time (including a managerial job) plus private studio recording/audio engineering and keeping a social life going plus other extracurriculars.</p>
<p>A lot depends what your ability level is academically.
I would strongly disagree with Bigred about only taking a maximum of 13 units/4 classes. At that rate, you're not going to ever get to learn beyond the minimum and if you're paying thousands of dollars to go to school, you may as well get all the "free units" you can (i.e., most schools have a set rate for "full time" students--those taking 12-17 or 18 units--that doesn't change by # of units). I bet you can take AT LEAST 15, and if you've done some AP and/or community college work, I'd go ahead and try 16-18 units right off. If you don't think you'll do well once you see the syllabi for a class, strategically drop one of your classes during add/drop (usuaally ~the first 2-4 wks of each semester, varying by school of course)</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>too bad that now to be eligibile for TAP you have to take 15 credits/semester</p>
<p>I only reccomend 13-14 for the first semester. After that 15, but sometimes schedules just don't work out that way. the difference between 14 and 17 if you're classes put you at 14 hours is alot...again BALANCE. You can always make up a few hours in summer school.</p>
<p>No matter what, a lot of you on here are either way too worried about academics (ie needing to bring up a 3.76), or don't understand that graduating in four years sucks (unless you go to school some place that is not fun).</p>
<p>Seriously, May 7th 2005, the day I graduated, was the saddest day of my life. I have other friends who graduated and got great jobs (80k+) and are quitting to go back to school for MBA's and other Masters degrees. Taking 4.5 or 5 years is not the worst thing that can happen to you</p>
<p>I took 16 credit hours and got a 3.75 (basically, all A's and 1 B)</p>
<p>I think it's because I have no social life. :-X</p>
<p>my second year was my worst by far.</p>
<p>Bigred,</p>
<p>Going more than 4 yrs can be a lot of fun; however, I'm thinking from a monetary point of view. My school is around $30k/yr right now, so even without the inevitable inflation, it will have cost me around $120k for 4 yrs. A 5th yr would increase my debt to $150k--not something I really want to spend my life climbing out of!
As far as making something up in summer school, you're right--assuming you have that many units to spare. I don't (I'll graduate w/ over 160 units--virtually all in my majors).
A lot depends on how busy/active you're used to being. If you're someone who watches a lot of TV, plays video games, gets drunk nightly, etc. then you probably won't want to take very many units, but if you're a good student, hard-worker, etc., I see no reason to not capitalize on your abilities. I want to learn all I can while in college, that's why I'm taking a lot of classes AND a lot of responsibility in terms of student leadership and so forth as well as keeping a social life and building last relationships.
Balance is important, but it will vary from person to person.</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>It's really up to you. People typically fail their first semester at college because they are there only to party. If you want to get the most out of your education and actually care about the field you're going to be in (unlike many students), then I would say take the standard 15 hours for the first semester. Yes, you might as well get the boring intro classes out of the way and other requirements that require basically no thinking or engagement in the classroom. I did that and, like some others said, I ended up being bored of these classes because of how simple they were. It almost discouraged me from wanting to take more classes, but as I moved up to higher levels, I started meeting more people who actually liked the field they were in.</p>
<p>I can't emphasize this enough to people: choose a major you have a very genuine passion for. If not, then you will be miserable in college academics-wise and even worse, you will be miserable during your entire career because you didn't find a field that you actually loved. No wonder so many people go back to college later on. They were miserable at their jobs! They didn't find something in life that they loved to do because they were too busy not caring about it the entire time. I absolutely love the field I am in and actually, to be honest, I am excited to enter the work world in another year. I guess the social environment here is really not for me and plus I love the idea of getting to contribute to society and the world my best strengths (and getting to do what I love to do while being paid).</p>
<p>Then again, it is also important to meet a lot of people during college too. I wish I would've done that more so far. Others are right: get very involved on your campus the first semester and I'm sure you'll meet some great people to interact with. Don't just settle for your immediate neighbors.</p>
<p>I couldn't agree with you more adconard. Passion is the biggest thing. When I meet someone for the first time, that is one of the questions I always ask. </p>
<p>It sounds cliche, but really the key to being truly happy is find a passion and get someone to pay you for it.</p>
<p>not true tiss...</p>
<p>TAP requires that the student studies full time (at least 12 credits per semester) at an approved postsecondary institution in New York State</p>
<p>Those were the old rules, pataki just switched them on us in his new budget.</p>
<p>I second whoever first suggested that the thing to do is take fewer classes, not "easier" ones. The best way to get a good grade in a class is to actually be interested in the subject, and so you're better off with a class that's got slightly harder material as long as you want to learn the stuff. In a general intro class, where you feel like it should be easy, it's waaaay to easy to justify not going to class and not doing the reading, and that's a dangerous trap.</p>
<p>Accept a lot of schools you dont get to vary the number of classes you take. I know where I am all classes are 4 credits and everyone basically takes 4 classes a semester.</p>
<p>After a horrible first semester in which I got a pathetic 2.98, I am looking at anywhere between 3.78 to 4.0 this semester depending on if I get an A or A- in English.</p>
<p>The big key is adjusting to professors. If you get awful professors who aren't good about transitioning like I did, you'll struggle. I recommend going to Rate My Professors or the rater on MySpace and looking for easy profs your first semester.</p>
<p>As far as classes, you'll probably want to get some gen eds out of the way that won't be that challenging. Knock out something like College Writing or Public Speaking, maybe add a Psych or History course if it's an intro level one. If you're taking a math, take Algebra, not Calculus, as you'll want to adjust to college before using all your brain power.</p>
<p>Make sure you take 15 credits though. 12 will probably require you to take a summer class or take 18 credits another semester.</p>
<p>don't stress about first semester... take what you want, and learn from your experience. A grad school is not going to deny you acceptance because of your first semester in college.</p>