<p>I'm hoping to get some opinions here..... I'm a science major (physics, to be exact, with a minor in organic chemistry), but I have a LOT of "core curriculum" requirements to get out of the way this semester. Three of them are liberal arts type courses, 300 level, and all require a significant amount of reading. It's 6 weeks before my semester starts, and I just got the book lists. One course has 11 books (each ~250 pages and of the novel type), another has 7 books, and another has 8 books. It's simply not realistic to think that I can read that much during the semester in addition to courses like p-chem and other physics and chem courses I'm enrolled in. </p>
<p>Do you think it's a good or bad idea to get working on reading the books NOW, 6 weeks before the semester starts? Do you think it'll be disadvantageous because I'll have to skim/review them again come the time we actually begin reading them throughout the semester? What would you do?</p>
<p>Yes it is advantage, you get familiar with the material for a longer period of time. The issue with people who attempt this is that they usually are not focused and eventually school starts before they actually get anything done. Even if you do not go through all the material in the class it is never a bad thing to learn more.</p>
<p>Yes, I don’t have books to read but I’ll try some of the math/science problems (the basic ones) so at least I have an idea of what I’m gonna face once the course starts.</p>
<p>Are you sure its not a situation where you pick 4 out of the 10 or something like that? Additionally, is it possible for you to spread those classes out so you don’t have to take all 3 of the classes the same semester, cause like you said reading that much and taking challenging classes is gonna be hell. </p>
<p>But if you can’t change the schedule it probably be advantageous to start the readings.</p>
<p>I read my books ahead of time if I can, but it is with the understanding that I will probably have to read them again during school-- not skim, but completely read again. Comprehension just seems to come better on the second time through. Chances are you will not touch some of those books until November, December and you will not be familiar enough with the specific material of a particular book after three or four months to get away with just skimming, in my experience.</p>
<p>Chances are, you are not going to have to read every page of all of those books, or if some of them are smallish books (like 200 pages or fewer) you may concentrate on one book for a week and read the whole thing in that time and then never touch it again. I tend to have anywhere from 15-20 books a year and while it is difficult it is not impossible, and I am not a fabulous reader. However, my major is political science and I am not taking any other kinds of classes anymore.</p>
<p>I absolutely think it’s a good idea, it’s what I do myself. If you can get a syllabus in advance and know precisely what you’ll be covering in class, then all the better. We science and engineering majors need any edge we can get, learning physics or something similar is like getting a drink of water from a fire hose. In fact, I recommend reading more than just your textbook, get supplements. If you’re taking a calc-based classical mechanics class, then get a non-calc book on mechanics and read that. Know the concepts before you go in, it is an ENORMOUS boon. Do practice problems and grade yourself. I studied virtually every major topic that comes up in calc I, II, and III all from pre-calc and calc self-study guides off Amazon. Believe me, it’s an enormous benefit when you’re taking a unit on polar equations and you’re already familiar with them (and the calculus thereof). If you can go into physics and already know the high-school-physics explanation of things like work and torque, then the more intense 3D-vector calc-based versions of those same concepts aren’t as difficult. Evidence: my 4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>Do you have to take all three of these classes at the same time? That does seem a bit much for someone who’s not a humanities major. See what you can find out about the professors who teach these classes. Each professor has a different style of leading discussions. Some may be okay with just discussing the books in general terms (in which case you could just read the books now for plot and major themes), while some prefer to work closely with the text and pick apart specific passages (in which case you should probably wait to read the books). I’ve often thought of reading books way ahead of time but then I remember that my professors like to point out things to pay attention to, and I can’t really anticipate these pointers - so sometimes reading ahead really doesn’t accomplish much. </p>
<p>What I usually do is to read the first book on the syllabus a week before school starts. I take some notes and mark important passages. I review my notes before the first class discussion. While my class is still focusing on the first book, I start reading the next book on the syllabus and do the same thing. That way, I’m always slightly ahead of the class but not so far ahead that I forget whatever I’ve read. </p>
<p>Also, with such a heavy reading load, you’ll have to prioritize your readings, and I guess that depends on how much effort you’re willing to put into each one of these classes. It sounds like these core requirements are survey classes, so I’m sure that you could get away with skipping a couple of books and still be fine. (This would never work for me because I feel terribly guilty whenever I don’t do the readings, but it definitely works for some people.)</p>
<p>If your books are shrinkwrapped, do NOT open them! In many universities, professors sometimes change the book requirements. In one of my freshman classes, our professor told us not to buy a particular book because she would e-mail us photocopies of the readings. Students who had opened their books were not allowed to return them in the bookstore for a full refund and had to sell them for much cheaper once the semester ended.</p>
<p>Long story short, wait until the first week of class to open new books. If the book is thick, I seriously doubt the professor wants you to read everything inside of the book.</p>
<p>You will never have to read the entire list. I’d just wait until the class actually starts – actually, wait until a few weeks in. You won’t use half of the stuff you buy.</p>
<p>Or, just read the sparknotes as already suggested.</p>
<p>Some of my HSTY classes would list 8-12 books, but you don’t use them all. You would need to write a couple of papers 5-7, so you don’t actually need every book. I made the mistake freshmen year of buying every book for a class (12), and only needed to read 6. You also may not to read the entire books. In many classes we only read parts of the book, with the exception of English classes.</p>
<p>If you DO decide to read now, take notes! Take Cornell notes (love them or hate them, they’re extremely useful), take notes in the books, highlight, etc.</p>
<p>Writing in, out and about the books will help you with not having to reread them later. If you highlight the important bits (consistently, throughout) (and you can say you may not know what’s important, but most likely you can tell) you can just reread your highlights.</p>
<p>For me, rereading the important bits is enough of a memory jogger to not have to completely reread.</p>