First year schedule (also, how popular are these seminars)

<p>do you know your chemistry? I mean if you really know your chemistry people have told me that you don't need to take it. Btw celestial how hard is chem 33 and where does the organic end? I mean chem 33,35,36 are all organic any more?</p>

<p>131 and 130 are also organic.</p>

<p>Uhhhh how hard is chem 33? Most people find it quite difficult because it's very different from what most people have studied. I advise flashcards.... know what you can make with what reactants, what reagents are needed. I found Chem 35 worse.... I didn't understand it until 2 weeks before the final, when it suddenly clicked. So good luck, study hard =] be ready to memorize and puzzle, and you'll be fine.</p>

<p>Thanks :)
I really like chemistry and I don't really know why Stanford has so many organic chemistry classes at the very beggining. Really I like chemistry now but I don't know how enthousiatic I'll be about it after 5 organic classes after each other. Luckily I have some basic knowledge about Ochem (very basic-alkanes alkenes alcohols alkanoic acids alkyl hylides esters and a bit about polymerization). Hopefully that'll help in Chem33</p>

<p>31 is useful to take even if you know your chem -- i had a 5 and a 800 with chem and i still found it useful to go back and review. you'll def need the acid/base stuff when you get into the orgo series. orgo is ok -- it's just very different from anything i had done before in chemistry, but once i figured out what was going on and got in the right mode, i was fine. about the 5 orgo classes one after another.. usually 35 and 36 are taken at the same time, as are 131 and 130.
strange thing about 131 is that it meets for the same amount of time as 31, 33, and 35 but is less units. sneaky</p>

<p>Indeed... totally agreed with megaho.</p>

<p>Oh. Try to take a chem class with Wray Huestis. She's awesome. The nicest and clearest chem prof I've ever had.</p>

<p>Thanks megaho! I'll rethink my decision about taking 31X but I don't know... I want to take at least one seminar my freshman year and fall is the best time for me to take it. Does 31X teach you anything more than AP Chem? Cuz really I really know AP Chem by heart (got an A+ in every school exam I took about it)</p>

<p>Well, I don't know where you went to high school, so it's hard for me to judge. In my experience, Stanford goes into more detail and greater depth about everything, and they want you to think in a way that's far beyond plug and chug. I think I did learn a few extra things in Chem 31X, but a lot of material was old. However, the tests were sill challenging because they asked questions we never had in homework; we were expected to deduce the correct method by the foundations we had learned. So, while the content is largely similar to AP Chem, I found Chem 31X more thought-provoking, I guess. I did get an A in 31X, but I wouldn't say it was easy.</p>

<p>Thanks maybe I'll shop around and then decide (that is what its called right?)</p>

<p>Yup =] shopping is indeed popular.</p>

<p>The best advice I would give, having come into Stanford 3 years ago thinking I would do mechanical engineering.........is........better not to be overly ambitious about planning out your first year. Take the time to explore different areas, Stanford is one-of-a-kind in the flexibility it offers in that regard. Don't risk pigeon-holing yourself in a field that you may realize you don't entirely enjoy a year or two into it. In short, EXPLORE.</p>

<p>^what are you majoring in now??</p>

<p>Well, I was no superwizard in AP Chem, but I still did well and understood the material. Even if you know the material, is it still a lot of work? I want to take another class, and I could and stay under the unit limit, but I kind of wanted to take it easy first quarter.</p>

<p>I guess my question is this: would it be worth the extra work to take the class and get the review, or should I skip it (to have a lighter schedule) and hope I remember enough for Chem 33?</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
Well, I was no superwizard in AP Chem

[/QUOTE]

Hahaha
sorry I can't answer your question I haven't even decided myself...</p>

<p>well, you need to satisfy the 31x/31a-b requirement somehow, if you're going to major in chem or are doing pre med and stuff. so you either need AP credit or you need to take the class. </p>

<p>i would say if you have credit you should skip.</p>

<p>thanks current_student!</p>

<p>Here's my schedule:
Autumn:
IHum
Math 51
CS 106X
Seminar (Experimental Instruments)</p>

<p>Winter:
PWR
IHUM
Math 52
CS 107?
Spring:
IHUM
Math 53
CS103a??? not really sure
Some other seminar?</p>

<p>does this sound reasonable
How many seminars are you supposed to take, can you take as many as you want (say one every quarter) ?</p>

<p>just curious - why did you pick cs 106 before 103?</p>

<p>also - does anyone know how hard the cs courses are? for someone with little/no cs background, would it be best to take them A and B instead of X? thanks</p>

<p>It is generally not possible to take as many seminars as you want because students must apply for limited spaces. Stanford wants as many students as possible to be able to take introsems. Therefore, if you have already taken a seminar in fall, you have a lower chance of being accepted in winter. However, there are always seminars that have leftover space; perhaps the ones you want will fall into this category =]</p>

<p>i want to take Experimental Instruments too. it sounds like a blast</p>

<p>Hey everyone quick question: Can you take two Seminars at the same time? And what are the chances that you'll get accepted to them (how many can you apply to anyway)?</p>

<p>ETA:checked online and the answer seems to be no:
Q. I’ve been admitted to more than one course. Will it be possible for me to enroll in both?</p>

<p>A. Students who are admitted to more than one course will automatically be enrolled in their top choice and dropped from the class list of their lower preference. The only exception to this rule will be when space is available in both courses–that is, when enrolling in a second course will not deprive anyone else of a spot.</p>

<p>Also what are the chances if I put it as my first choice to get into a Soph. Seminar?</p>