First year seminars

<p>This might seem like a stupid question but I had to ask. Do the first-year seminars count towards the "three" classes that students take in a quarter, or are they considered as a non-class?</p>

<p>im pretty sure they count as a class. does anyone know if we have to take it in the fall if we place out of writing 5, or can we wait until the offerings for the winter/spring are offered?</p>

<p>Freshman Seminars do count towards your 3 (or 4...if you're one of those silly ambitious '12's) classes. If you placed out of Writing 5, you'll have to take your Seminar in the Fall.</p>

<p>And I know what you guys are thinking. I too think the Writing Program is a waste of time (I believe Dartmouth students shouldn't require remediation). But the Seminars can be a hit or a miss. Try to get a good professor there.</p>

<p>Aw I was hoping to wait till winter/spring but i guess i'll have to take it in the fall >.< thanks for the help :)</p>

<p>i didn't think you could place out of writing 5 anymore... did they change it?</p>

<p>770 reading sat score for writing 5 exemption</p>

<p>I thought it was 730 writing or 770 reading + 720 writing....</p>

<p>770 reading
or
760 reading + 780 writing</p>

<p>I placed out of Writing 5 (770 reading + 800 writing) but I feel like I really <em>should</em> take it because I have minimal minimal minimal experience with research papers. I never took an AP history class (in fact, I took all of my history courses in summer school, and the courses were dumbed down for the sake of the students who had already taken and failed the classes), and my AP english classes were somewhat lax with regards to the way we cited sources. I don't want to leave myself unprepared for future humanities classes by diving straight into a freshman seminar.</p>

<p>So the question is, can I opt to take Writing 5 even if I've placed out of it? Will I be wasting my time?</p>

<p>i got 750 verbal and 790 writing and it says "According to your test scores, you do not need to take the online placement test" on the BannerStudent link.</p>

<p>does that mean i placed out?</p>

<p>buffalo, I recommend that you do take Writing 5. I also placed out of Writing 5 and took my freshmen seminar in the fall. My seminar was with the History department, and we did several research papers. </p>

<p>I went to public high school. I wrote essays in my English classes on the themes and rhetorical devices in novels and essays. I never wrote one essay in my History class. I had never heard the word "thesis." I had no idea how to approach writing history papers. I didn't know what primary v. secondary sources were. I didn't know how to do research using Dartmouth's many research systems. </p>

<p>Basically, I really wish I had taken Writing 5. I got a 790 on my Verbal and a 780 on my Writing. I know grammar and syntax and all that. But my SAT scores were no indication of my ability to write essays on any topic besides novels.</p>

<p>
[quote]
does that mean i placed out?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No...it means you're in Writing 5.</p>

<p>Yeah I know...so close...</p>

<p>I thought they made Writing 5 mandatory?</p>

<p>VanillaExtract where did you get the info that getting >770 for reading exempts you from writing 5?</p>

<p>I got the same message as postitnote where it says "According to your test scores, you do not need to take the online placement test" on the BannerStudent link.</p>

<p>I just assumed that meant i was going into Writing 5...(my reading score is above 770)</p>

<p>apologies. i found it, google to the rescue.
Advanced</a> Placement and Course Exemptions</p>

<p>i guess that means i placed out even though i got the same message as postitnote.</p>

<p>
[quote]
"According to your test scores, you do not need to take the online placement test"

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The message pertains to whether you will be placed in writing 2/3 or writing 5.</p>

<p>
[quote]
</p>

<p>THE ON-LINE PLACEMENT PROCESS</p>

<p>Any student who has scored lower than 620 on the Critical Reading SAT is asked to take the on-line Writing Placement exam and to complete the on-line Writing Profile. (Students for whom English is a second language may be tested even if their Critical Reading SAT score is higher.) </p>

<p>The exam and profile are read by instructors in the Writing Program, who recommend a placement in the appropriate writing class - Writing 2-3 or Writing 5. Students can accept these recommendations or refuse them. No student is required to take Writing 2-3.</p>

<p>Placement</a> and Enrollment Policies

[/quote]
</p>

<p>the message means that you do not have to take the online test to determine if you need to take writing 2/3. However, you did not meet the requirements for a writing 5 exemption (they would have told you straight out).</p>

<p>Well it clearly says that to qualify for exemption from Writing 5 for '12s</p>

<p>"The criteria is as follows:
770 or above on the SAT I Critical Reading test"</p>

<p>I scored an 800 on the CR test so doesn't that mean there's no further review of my case and im automatically exempt. They don't really have to tell you "straight out" because it's not like some people who get over 770 would be exempt but others wouldn't then what would be the point of having a boundary</p>