<p>Could someone post what courses they took each quarter his/her freshman year, along with how much homework they had?</p>
<p>Freshman Fall:</p>
<p>Human Being and Citizen (Humanities Core)
Self, Culture and Society (Social Sciences Core)
Chemistry in the Atmosphere (Physical Sciences Core)</p>
<p>Freshman Winter:</p>
<p>HBC
Self
Intro to Art (fulfilled Art/Music/Drama core required)
Spanish</p>
<p>Freshman Spring
HBC
Self
History elective
Spanish</p>
<p>Overall, the courseload didn't seem all that demanding to me, and while I've taken harder classes, I've also taken better classes and easier classes since first year. </p>
<p>I would say that I'm in the hardest class now that I've ever been in, but because I'm in two other easier classes, I have more time for the harder class and I love love love the hard class. The closest I ever came to feeling overwhelmed was my winter quarter second year, where I took a pretty ambitious courseload of 4 medium/hard classes and ended up with a lot of reading to do each and every night. Though it was a struggle at times, I only have fond memories of it.</p>
<p>I have no idea how to estimate how much work I do a week... maybe 10-15 hours of work a week? 20? It depends a lot, too, on whether I'm working on a paper or not.</p>
<p>It's important to point out that YMMV in a major, major way when it comes to coursework, and a lot of it's up to you (what classes are you taking, how seriously and carefully do you take your work, how good are you at time management, etc.) The one thing that is nice to have, if you have it, is a tendency to be optimistic towards work and relaxed about doing it. </p>
<p>For example, I'm far far far from the best student here, but I feel successful because a) I enjoy learning and doing work, b) I'm in an environment that celebrates the love of learning, c) I've found activities out of the classroom that I find rejuvenating, and d) I don't feel pressured.</p>
<p>I was thinking about a chemistry major...</p>
<p>What were the 4 medium/hard classes?</p>
<p>They were all reading classes.</p>
<p>Check out this link, where they give a sample course plan for the major year-by-year:
<a href="http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/pdf_09/CHEM.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/pdf_09/CHEM.pdf</a></p>
<p>I don't feel I have an accurate gauge on the chemistry department, because a lot of my friends are taking chemistry classes because they have to (for pre-med). I know a couple of chemistry majors, some biochem majors, and even a math major who is taking chemistry for fun and they all loved the chem classes, though my impression is they're not the easiest classes you could take here.</p>
<p>S's first year schedule:</p>
<p>Fall --
Human Being and Citizen (Core)
Analysis 203 IBL
non-traditional CS course</p>
<p>Winter --
HBC (Core)
Analysis 204 IBL or Honors Analysis 208 (transfer under consideration)
Core Bio
non-traditional CS course</p>
<p>Spring --
HBC (Core)
Analysis 205 IBL or Honors Analysis 209
Bio Core elective
Art Core or Physics 14300 (has to check if AP got him out of two quarters or three)</p>
<p>He does not feel overworked at all, but I think he expected Analysis and CS would be more time-consuming than they have proven to be thus far. He anticipates being busy but happy winter and spring.</p>
<p>CountingDown-- you'd probably be specifying what the difference between "IBL" and the 207-208-209 are and how each is sexy in its own way, but one is more demanding than the other.</p>
<p>Math (203-205) IBL is analysis in an inquiry-based-learning format, where students teach themselves and the professor is there largely to facilitate. Lots of intensity, not that much work yet, though they are covering things at a rather masochistic pace. Honors Analysis (207-209) is widely regarded as the equivalent of Harvard's Math 55, which is also analysis at a breakneck pace, with bonus doses of gratuitous masochism thrown in for grins.</p>
<p>S1 freshman year:</p>
<p>Fall:
Greek Thought & Literature I
Physics 131
Calc 151
Mandarin I</p>
<p>Winter
Greek Thought & Literature II
Physics
Calc 132
Mandarin II</p>
<p>Spring:
Greek Thought & Literature III
Physics 133
Calc 153
Mandarin III</p>
<p>Worked his butt off, but had plenty of time for fun.</p>
<p>Wow, I know this contributes very little to the discussion at hand, but I must comment on how impressive/demanding that schedule seems.</p>
<p>My D's 1st year schedule:</p>
<p>FALL: Self (Sosc Core)
Media Aesthetics (Hum Core)
Calc 131</p>
<p>WINTER: Self (Sosc Core)
Media Aesthetics (Hum Core)
Calc 132
Core Bio (Biological Sciences Core)</p>
<p>SPRING: Self (Sosc Core)
Spanish 102
Visual Language (fulfill Core Art requirement)
Immigration and Its Discontents (Sociology)</p>
<p>She found the mix of classes very manageable and was very happy to put such a dent in the Core during her first year. There was definitely a lot of reading, and during midterm and finals it did become hectic, but she had a great year...For her, taking 3 classes her first quarter was a wise decision. She was able to ease into her college schedule, spend time getting to know the University and the city of Chicago, meeting with her professors and TAs and getting involved in those extracurriculars that she now loves.</p>
<p>Minor adjustment:</p>
<p>Winter
Greek Thought & Literature II
Physics 132
Calc 152
Mandarin II</p>
<p>My first year:</p>
<p>Fall-
AP5 Bio
Philosophical Perspectives (Hum)
Math 199 (Intro to Analysis)
French 203</p>
<p>Winter-
AP5 Bio
PhilPer
Math 203
Anthro elective</p>
<p>Spring-
AP5 Bio Elective
Math 204
Stat 220
Geosci 133 (part of the geophysics required intro sequence)</p>
<p>The workload was fine, not that stressful, though AP5 Bio was tough and had a lot of work and long labs to write. Math was a bit tricky too since it was my first real taste of proof based math. For me 4 classes was the way to go- I think I would be bored with 3 and there are so many cool classes I want to take that I don't want to waste a slot.</p>
<p>First of all, kudos to parents! My parents haven't the foggiest idea what classes I'm taking, much less their course numbers. When we talk they want to make sure I still have all the fingers and toes I started off with (to them, Chicago is unimaginably cold 24/7/365) and they ask me about my weekend plans as a non-subtle way of making sure I'm not working 24/7/365. They then conclude that because I haven't lost any body parts and because I do lots of things that aren't schoolwork that I'm happy. My parents and I are very different people.</p>
<p>Another thing to point out is that the objective challenge level in each courseload is different. Runnersmom's D completed the lower-level calculus track, while idad's s was in the higher-level calc and a medium-level physics. Writ placed out of calculus and started out essentially one year ahead of the 131/151 sequence. So even at these levels there's a lot of variability and flexibility due to one's strengths/weaknesses/interests.</p>
<p>Fall</p>
<p>Calculus I
Greek Thought and Literature I
Physics I
East Asian Civilizations I / "China"</p>
<p>Winter</p>
<p>Calculus II
Greek Thought and Literature II
East Asian Civilizations II / "Japan"</p>
<p>Droppd Physics II after forgetting I had a midterm to go to during the day (professor did not buy this). Started up again the next year. Never took three again - too much free time.</p>
<p>Spring </p>
<p>Calculus III
East Asian Civilizations III / Korea
Biology Topics / "Animal Sensory Ecology"
American Law & the Rhetoric of Race (technically, this is only open to upper division UG's and law students, but no one checks your enrollment too closely if you are making good grades, so if you see something you like and think you can handle it, don't hold back). </p>
<p>In general, I thought the first year was not very challenging, then again, my high school had a higher median SAT than UChicago the year I entered and was all about AP courses from the sophomore year on, so take that with a grain of salt. But a lot of AP Scholar with Distinction / IB 40+ point band / didn't sleep through boarding school people seemed to agree. </p>
<p>Second year got brutally tough (took some PhD courses) and I nearly bailed to Berkeley after becoming mildly depressed on account of the weather and the pace of the workload. But in the end I stuck around in graduated in three years.</p>
<p>I'm just worried that, with a Chem major and the Core, I won't have time to... you know... hang out.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that if you are doing Chem and plan to go on to a MS / MD / PHD, summer research positions will really help you out, and there are no shortage at UChicago given how few UG's we have compared to the scale of the biomedical complex on campus. </p>
<p>Consequentely, some students will take three each term during the year, but also one or two each summer while working on campus or downtown. You are pretty much limited to fufilling core requirements as there are few in major offerings, but if you plan ahead of time it can pan out well. I did two part time summers, and other than the oppressive heat the everything closing at 6 PM, it was not terrible.</p>
<p>There's an important point uchicagoalum made: if you see something you want to take, go talk to the prof. S was able to get into a very tough CS class as a first year in this manner. The math folks have been wonderful at advising him about the nuances of various sections of the same level course, as well as helping him develop a game plan for his goals down the road. This has been one of the best parts of Chicago for S: if you are willing to advocate for yourself, you can make things happen.</p>
<p>toastmaster, S has plenty of time to hang out. More than he expected. He anticipates this will change when he has four quarters, but he has been able to get his job and outside interests launched this quarter, so I think he'll have the time management stuff in hand. He came from a school with lots of APs and post-AP courses and whose reputation is "college is easier." Now we can see how well-prepared he really was.</p>
<p>Also, lots of people here don't take that many graduate-focued courses as an undergraduate, as you can look at the requirements for the major and the listings in the course catalog and see classes appropriate for every level.</p>
<p>I should think that if you're taking PhD-level courses as a second-year, they should scare you!</p>
<p>toastmaster, my kid is a potential chem major/pre-med, now in his second year. Last year, he sometimes felt unable to just hang out, but that may have had something to do with being involved in five UT productions, doing a club sport about 15 hours a week, sitting on some kind of student council, and serious Scav Hunt participation (both pre-Scav planning and execution). And a girlfriend, most of the time.</p>
<p>He still hung out a lot. And got decent grades, too. This year has been a little tougher, because he has a job and a LOT of lab time, and all his friends are feeling a little stressed, too. So it's harder to get critical hang-out mass at any particular time. </p>
<p>My other kid took a graduate English course the first quarter of her second year. She was one of only two undergraduates in it, but it was split between PhD students and terminal MA students. She didn't feel over her head, and one of the PhD students from the class is now the preceptor for her BA paper, so that's nice.</p>
<p>In the sciences and math, because of the range of offerings and the honors courses, the amount of time one spends can vary a lot, especially if one wants top grades. For example, my D worked pretty hard her first two years (heck, she worked hard all four years), taking honors chem, honors OChem, AP Bio series and such, but the work paid off for her big time (she graduated in June) (pm me if you want to know how it paid off). </p>
<p>Peers of hers took much lighter schedules, accepted lower grades and had a lot more play time. Of course some of them are still looking for jobs....</p>
<p>It is very hard to generalize about workload at Chicago, because so much is up to the student. Chicago has its share of semi-gut courses, and its share of killers like Honors Analysis and honors O-chem. How hard you work is really up to you.</p>
<p>It also allows kids to take graduate level courses whenever they and the instructor feel they are ready. My D took one summer after her first year. It was a mixup in a way, but worked out fine.</p>