<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>I was wondering what people's thoughts were as to whether it's better to ease in to Vandy and take 4 classes or is 5 classes a more appropriate choice. My son is a poli-sci major who wants to take Math 140, Spanish 201W (based on placement), Poli-Sci 102, and one of the first year writing seminars. The question is whether he should take Philosophy 100W also? Of course, it's very important for him to get his degree in 4 years!</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses. :)</p>
<p>Your son and I have similar class choices! I also plan to take PSCI 102 and SPAN 201W. And I’ll be taking a math class and a 1st year writing seminar. I was contemplating taking Psych 211 or Soc 102 as well but I’ve decided to leave it at that personally because it’s 13 hours which is a little below the average 15, but I wanted to take it easy my 1st semester of college. Also, my AP credit makes it so I would have to average just under 13 hours each semester to graduate on time. I will probably take more than that most semesters anyway, but the 1st semester of college can be a rough transition time and I don’t think I’ll be bored, so I’m sticking with 13. But if he does take another class, I wouldn’t do a writing class because he’ll already have the 1st year writing seminar and spanish 201W. He’ll only need one more writing class to graduate anyway and it might be a lot to take 3 writing classes in one semester.</p>
<p>I think he would be fine with 5 courses. I am definitely taking at least 15 hours first semester - maybe that’s against a lot of advice for freshmen, but I don’t particularly want to “take it easy,” lol. The only problem is that he’d have 3 writing courses, which is… kinda crazy.</p>
<p>At D’s Accepted Student Day presentation, the profs suggested 4 rather than 5 classes for first year students. D didn’t end up attending Vandy freshman year, but she transferred in sophomore year. She enrolled in 5 classes & when she met with her advisor he encouraged her to drop one … she didn’t need 5 classes to stay on track & he told her she should just ease into the whole experience. As it turned out, she enjoyed having only 4 classes & had time to get involved in some activities. </p>
<p>Second semester she took 5, which was fine … but she had TONS of reading, which kept her very busy. She had a writing class, an architecture class, a Latin American studies class, and two classes in her major (MHS). She had a pretty amazing number of papers to write, reading to keep up with, etc. It was certainly do-able, but why not use the first term to get acclimated before dealing with more than necessary? It’s nice to have breathing room while you develop your life outside classes.</p>
<p>Momofkknowitall,
I wouldn’t suggest taking that many writing classes in the first semester in. Perhaps something other than PHIL 100W would work for 5 classes. However, it’s important to note that some “writing” classes can be as little as 3 papers throughout the semester. It depends entirely on the section. I would suggest enrolling in the class and getting the syllabus. This will give your son an accurate depiction of how much work will be involved.</p>
<p>Generally, I suggest starting with 4 (especially if you have labs). Five is do able if you have no lab work, or research; however it may not be a good idea for first semester. I strongly recommend taking 3 or 4 if you also have a full time research commitment (15+ hrs week).</p>