For Incoming UW Freshman: Tips and "Secrets" for Class Registration

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Washington
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<p>Since many of you entering UW as first-year students this year will be attending your Advising & Orientation (A&O) sessions later this summer, I thought I’d share some tips for class registration and for making the most of your UW experience. Some of this info you’ll learn at A&O, so if you don’t want to read all of it, just pick the parts that are relevant to you. When I attended my A&O a few summers ago, I had no clue where to start—I had no idea what classes I needed or even which courses I wanted to take. I walked into the computer lab to register with no preparation, no research, no guidance. But since then I have learned a lot through my own trial and error as well as the guidance of advisors and mentors. Hopefully, these tips will help give you a better sense of how to pick the right classes for you.</p>

<p>I should first note that, as an incoming freshman, you will not be able to register online until your MyUW registration account is unlocked the morning of your registration date at your A&O. You will learn the process for registering online and get a general overview, as well as helpful tips, of how to register for classes. Once you’ve registered at your A&O, you will be able to make any changes to your schedule online anytime after. The tips detailed below are relevant not only for your A&O but also for your entire UW career.</p>

<p>1. Know the basics—At your A&O session, you’ll learn the basic requirements for graduation from UW—otherwise known as the Areas of Knowledge. There are different colleges (i.e. College of Arts & Sciences, College of Engineering, School of Business). You can find more at The</a> UW's Undergraduate, Graduate, and Professional Degree Programs. Generally though, you’ll need:
• 75 credits in three major categories:
o Individuals & Societies (I&S—20 credits)
o Visual, Language, and Performing Arts (VLPA—20 credits)
o Natural World (NW—20 credits)
o 15 additional credits from any of these three categories
• You’ll also need:
o An English composition course (5 credits)
o A Quantative and Symbolic Reasoning course (5 credits)
o foreign language through the third quarter/103 level (0-15 credits depending on placement)
o Additional writing courses (10 credits)
You can find this info through MyUW in “General Catalog” under the “Student” tab. If you’re an honors student, you replace the 75 credits in the Areas of Knowledge with the 47 credits of Honors Core, comprised of 30 credits in Western/World Civilization, 15 credits in Natural World, and 2 credits in an Honors seminar. The Honors Program is flexible too. For example, if you’re in the College of Engineering, you may be able to take 30 credits in Natural World and 15 credits in Western/World Civilization. It’s worth asking the Honors advisors if you’re unsure.</p>

<p>To be considered a full-time student, you have to take 12 credits per quarter. Most students take 15 credits per quarter which is generally three 5-credit courses. To graduate from UW, you need at least 180 credits--which include the 75 credits from the Areas of Knowledge, the additional requirements, and then your major(s). </p>

<p>2. Do some research—If you have an idea of what you want to study, find out what the requirements are ahead of time. Do you need pre-reqs to apply to your major? Is there a certain time-frame in which you need to complete certain requirements? For example, if you are planning to apply to the Business School as an Early Admissions Group (EAG) applicant, you will need to complete your math course, English comp, and Microecon by the end of winter quarter to meet the EAG deadline during the part of spring quarter. </p>

<p>If you know the departments you're interested in, it’s worth taking a look at their requirements so you can fulfill ONE or maybe TWO but not all of them in fall quarter. The reason you don’t want to take all pre-reqs is because you’ll be adjusting to college classes still—they’re not like high school classes. You may also have to adjust to living on your own, perhaps feeling homesick, and doing the exciting things that incoming freshman do. You don’t want to start of college with a poor GPA in your major--have some fun in your schedule.</p>

<p>One thing that you might think about doing is creating a four-year plan that is broken down into quarters. The purpose is not to figure exactly when and where you will take which classes, but to give you a visual sense of what requirements you need to fulfill and any openings you might have to take fun classes outside of your major (like Astronomy 150: The Planets if you're not an Astronomy major). Then take a look at the list of available courses for that quarter on MyUW. You can find it under “Time Schedule-Seattle.” The time schedule for Autumn 2008 will be available in early May, but you can browse past time schedules to see what classes have been offered before. You will be able to see which classes are still open and available—make a list of all your top choices for fall so you have back-up plans in case any of them fill up. </p>

<p>3. Find out about the professors—UW is a big school, and there are tons of professors. Some are great at teaching; others not as much. Your goal should be to take classes from as many great professors as possible. Just because a class sounds great doesn’t mean the professor for that class during that particular quarter is an effective teacher. Once you’ve selected the courses you’re interested in, find out which professors are teaching them and then do some research on the professors teaching the course. You can do yourself a big favor if you check ahead of time. There are several ways to find out more about professors:</p>

<p>• Check the “Course Evaluation Catalog” on MyUW under the “Student” tab. At the end of every quarter, students in every class fill out a course evaluation rating the professor and the course as a whole. The stats are compiled and made available so you can see how your peers graded their professors and TAs.
• Even better than checking Course Evaluation Catalogs though, is checking ratings, rants, and recommendations on [RateMyProfessors.com[/url</a>]. You’ll be able to find out what students have written about past courses and the professor’s teaching style. Very useful in saving yourself from 10 weeks of a dreadful class.
• Talk with older students who have taken lots of classes. They’ll provide you with much more honest insight on a professor’s class and teaching. It’s also a great way of meeting people when you’re eating lunch at By George or the HUB.</p>

<p>Sometimes, taking classes with great professors may require a sacrifice like having a class on MWF from 9:30-10:20 am instead of 12:30-1:20 pm. However, waking up a bit earlier three times a week can go a long way in ensuring that you enjoy your classes and are inspired to learn.</p>

<p>4. Consider a Freshman Interest Group (FIG)—If you’re still unsure of what courses you might want to take or need to take, FIGs are fall-quarter, freshmen-only programs that places you in two academic classes and a two-credit seminar with the same group of freshman students for all three courses. It’s a nice way to get integrated to college classes when you meet and study with the same people. You can find out more at [url=<a href="http://depts.washington.edu/figs/openfigs.php%5DUniversity"&gt;http://depts.washington.edu/figs/openfigs.php]University&lt;/a> of Washington Freshman Interest Groups](<a href="http://www.ratemyprofessors.com%5DRateMyProfessors.com%5B/url"&gt;http://www.ratemyprofessors.com). Many people consider the two-credit seminar to be a waste of time, (and yes, it can be sometimes) but in a few years time after you’ve been in a FIG, you’ll run into someone on campus and remember that you were in a FIG together. It’s also worth noting that some academic classes are only available to freshmen through a FIG--another incentive for taking one. The nice thing is that most of the FIGs will also be a way of knocking out some core requirements (e.g. English comp, math). </p>

<p>Choosing classes in college is exciting and a nice step away from choosing the same old courses in high school. You have much more freedom in choosing the types of courses to study and when. A nice schedule that allows you to sleep in until noon every day but that bores you when you get to class because you have lousy professors may not be the best schedule for a great college experience. If you do some research and are willing to invest a little time into finding great professors, your learning will be much more enjoyable and you will get much more out of your college experience (you are paying for it, after all). In the meantime, for all of you coming to the U next fall, enjoy the remainder of your high school career, have fun over the summer, and get ready for an awesome four years ahead of you.</p>

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<p>Fantastic information. Thanks for sharing. I have printed it out and will give it to my daughter.</p>

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<p>Great info.! Thank you! My only concern is that my A&O is on 9/11,12 since I'll be gone for the whole summer. Does that mean it is very possible I will not get the classes I want if they are popular?</p>

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<p>Glad the info is helpful! Regarding your concern, magicalchris, yes, it is very possible that your top class choices will be filled by the time you register on Sept. 12. However, that is not to say that there still won't be great classes available. You'll be able to see which classes are still open and which ones are full if you check the Time Schedule during the summer. That way you'll have a better sense of your choices by your A&O.</p>

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<p>Hey, thanks for the information! It will give me plenty of time to prepare and plan for registration.</p>

<p>One question though - how are AP credits counted if I plan on doing FIGs? Say, if I get placed in a higher level math or language class than the ones that the FIG offers.</p>

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<p>@ thewu</p>

<p>speaking of placement tests, does uw offer other subject tests besides language and math?</p>

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<p>thewu--You may need to check directly with First Year Programs to find out. FIGs are created with the intention of having the same group of students take the same classes. The only situation where I see your question being an issue is if you really wanted to take a particular course, but the other part of the FIG is a level of math/language that you've already completed. I should note that it is possible to get into some FIG courses without being of the FIG, but you'll have to check with First Year Programs to confirm. I hope that helps. Let me know if you need more clarification.</p>

<p>magicalchris--Yes, there are placement tests other than math and language. The other tests are chemistry and music history and theory. You can find out more info at UW</a> Advising - Placement Tests.</p>

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<p>This is very helpful. Thanks a lot!</p>

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<p>my advice - don't take a fig
they kind of waste time in my opinion because i felt like a didn't have ENOUGH homework first quarter, since most figs are only (2) 5-credit classes plus a 2-credit fig class that requires no effort at all to pass.</p>

<p>plus this fall i will still be a freshman because i'll have 43 credits instead of 45, meaning i'll be registering last. plus, my fig in particular wasn't very friendly, so there were no real benefits for me in the end.
AND i didn't get to pick my professors, so i got stuck with the worst calculus professor in the school, dropping my gpa considerably.</p>

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<p>While I don't disagree that there may not be as much homework in your FIG classes, the academic component is not the only reason for taking a FIG. The point of the 2-credit seminar is to help incoming students get integrated to college life by exploring the resources UW have to offer and to network with speakers/leaders from different university activities/departments. Having said this, I have to admit that I complained about how useless my own FIG seminar was too; but if I hadn't taken it, I wouldn't have found out about the major extracurriculars I'm doing now. Of course, it's definitely feasible to maximize the resources on campus without taking a FIG, so consider it a possibility.</p>

<p>It is possible though to take another 5 credit course in addition to a FIG if you wanted to fulfill more credits. My freshman fall quarter I took a 12 credit FIG and added Math 124. I also took a 5 credit Discover Seminar during Early Fall Start, so I finished fall quarter with 22 credits total--without having to pay extra tuition for going over 18 credits because of the Early Fall Start component. </p>

<p>If you're not familiar with Early Fall Start, it's a 4-week, 5-credit course that you can take from late August to late September before the academic year begins. It's designed just for freshman so it's a way of getting integrated to campus before the rest of the student population shows up. It does cost extra tuition and housing though, so it'd be good to do some research to figure out if it's right for you. You can find more info at Discovery</a> Seminars 2008 Program.</p>

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<p>most useful information!</p>

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<p>i’m bumping this so everyone can see it</p>

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<p>thanks fried rice (for bumping it). this is awesome.</p>

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<p>bump. </p>

<p>very useful advice everyone bound to UW should know about!</p>

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<p>super helpful. thanks for bumping it =)</p>

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<p>thank you so much!</p>

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<p>thanks for bump</p>

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<p>also, the language requirement was recently modified so that if you took 3 years of a language in high school, the language requirement for the UW is waived (I think)</p>

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<p>^ yup that is right</p>

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<p>Just wanna say: every single one of my friends who joined a FIG complained about it. They thought it was stupid and pointless.</p>