Hi, I just think there’s A LOT to take in when it comes to graduation requirements and such, so I need a little help clearing that up–and some other questions too. I’m just going to run through them in no particular order so if anyone can help I’d love ya’ 
- What is the difference between a "first year seminar" and some of the other classes? I'm the first in my family to attend college so I'm not quite sure what a 'seminar' is in comparison to other classes.
- I have a 5 in AP Psych and Lit, and a 4 in Euro/US history... so what classes does that make me able to take 1st year? Can I immediately start with classes labeled as 200 levels? Or can anyone do that... or what? And in what areas can I take those classes; for example, I was interested in taking either a solid Political Science class or there was one class called 'History of Evolution of Hip Hop Culture' which was a 200 level class. So I could use a little help there.
- How should I go about completing distributions and such? Honestly, I'm most interested in social science classes and it's not that close for other areas so I'd like to go as social science heavy as possible. Would economics and/or statistics count for a math requirement the same way calculus would? I've already taken calculus in high school so I'm more interested to learn 'subjects' than to learn more math, if you catch my drift. I don't mind doing math like in econ but a strictly-math course I'm not very eager to take.
- How do people generally divide up course loads? Is it all 100 level courses in year one then progress? Or do people take a mix? And how many classes, at how many credits per class?
- And on that same topic, is a higher level course extremely difficult without the preceding course? For example, if, in theory, I could take 200-level political science courses, would I still want to have taken 100-level because 200 is too difficult without 100?
- I'm a very talented writer and interested in creative writing as a minor... I have a 5 on AP English whatever, so what first-year writing do you all recommend? Are there many options or is there kind of like a couple catch-alls?
- I believe it's required to take courses in almost all distributions, right?
(update to 7: I see it’s required to take Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences for 7 credits each… could someone just enlighten me a little on what types of courses count for each of those? I see ‘evolution’ and ‘astronomy’ among others are listed… do those count for natural science, and if so, what types of classes am I eligible for?)
- As of looking at the courses available, a lot of the classes I'm interested in are like 'Intro to econ," "intro to political science," "intro to psychology" --> am I able to skip any intros? I feel as if, if I'm not able to, the first semester will be bland until I'm, y'know, at the point where I can move on... and I'd rather jump into interesting things right away, you know?
And yes I recognize that I can get some of these answers from the school’s website but I feel as if past/present students may have “better” answers since they’ve been through it themselves… y’know? Just trying to make sure I’m prepared for orientation in a week! Anyways, I appreciate the help! Go blue!
- First year seminar should be treated like any other class. The only difference is that those classes are just about unique topics that aren't going necessarily going to be offered every semester.
- So the great thing about college is that everything is open-ended and up to you. The 5 in AP Psych gets you out of the intro level Psych class (Psych 111) and you can go onto the 200 level Psych classes if you want (you can talk about this with your advisor). The Lit and History APs actually don't place you out of anything but you will still get credit for them.
Anyone can take a 200 level provided they meet the pre-requisites for the class (for example, 200 level psych classes for the most part have a pre-req of Psych 111). It doesn’t necessarily mean it is harder or anything beyond that. It just means that for the most part, you are most likely to encounter a majority of sophomores in that class. So if you want to take that History class, go for it!
- For completing your distributions, DONT WORRY ABOUT IT. You have 4 years to do it and honestly 99% of classes you take here will count for something.
Specifically for the quantitative reasoning requirement, Stats and Economics will fulfill that requirement.
- So what they recommend at the advising center is that you generally have 1-2 classes that go for your major/intended area of focus, 1-2 classes for requirements (i.e. First Year Writing Course), and 1 class that's just for fun (i.e. exploring a minor or just a cool class). In total it should be 4 classes and the credit hours should be around 14-16.
The level doesn’t matter. It generally is either 100 level or 200 level classes but I mean it’s not that out of the range of a freshman to take a 300/400 level course (of course run it through your advisor before trying to sign up for one).
Most courses are between 3-4 credits.
- It really depends. A lot of courses that build upon previous knowledge will ask that you have taken the intro level classes. Classes within each department are so broad that the knowledge needed before taking each course varies.
- You will see a list of FYWR courses available to you at orientation. You can also take a creative writing class if you want! (in addition to the FYWR classes b/c creative writing doesn't count as the FYWR).
- It's such an extensive list that it's not worth diving into. For a broad generalization, Humanities are things like Art, Culture, History, etc.
Social Sciences are like Psychology, Anthropology, Political Science, etc.
Natural Science is like Biology, Evolution, Chemistry, etc.
But a large majority of departments have a blend of classes that can cover multiple distributions (i.e. there are psych classes that count as NS and some that count as SS).
You are eligible for any class that you meet the pre-requisites for. It’s as simple as that. So any subject, any field, if you meet the pre-requisite requirements, then you can take the class if you want.
- For the most part, a lot of (if not all) upper level classes require you have taken the intro level before you get into them, and for good reason as they assume you have a basic foundation within the field before you get into the "interesting" things. With that being said, there are definitely some upper level classes that don't have the requirement of the intro levels, but for the sake of your convenience and not being restricted for upper levels classes that you are interested in, it'd be wise to take the intro levels. However, with the Psych you can skip the intro since you do have the AP Credit!
Let me know if you have any further questions! Hope that was all clear 
I mean all these questions are things you will go over at orientation and you shouldn’t worry too much about it beforehand if you are feeling overwhelmed! Its nice you’re getting a head start though
@hailbate
Thanks for all the answers! I found that quite thorough and helpful. I’m driving to Michigan from OOS for orientation so I’ll gather some course selection materials and have plenty of time to figure out what I’m interested in–and back-ups for my interests once, inevitably, some of them are filled lol
But yeah, I did want to get a head start by asking some questions some place like this because, while I’ve always performed well in school obviously enough to get into somewhere like Michigan, I’m a bit clueless to the inner-workings of college so I needed a little bit of info up front. I was unsure if I’d be able to take mostly courses I’d enjoy given all the several different requirements and such but your answer was pretty comforting. Thanks!
Definitely try to get as many requirements done as you can without destroying your GPA.
@YaBoyTony Yeah totally understandable The advisors there will make everything clearer for you and hopefully meet a lot less overwhelming than it seems.
@yikesyikesyikes Just my 2 cents, but I actually think most students should schedule without thinking too much about requirements. Having 4 years to do them all is definitely more than enough time and doesn’t have to be done as soon as they get here. One or two classes that go towards requirements should be more than plenty.
@hailbate
I see what you are saying, but just 1 or 2 classes going towards requirements during the first year is kind of risking graduation within four years. Look at the LSA Requirements:
College-Wide Requirements
-FYWR
-ULWR
-Race and Ethnicity
-Quantitative Reasoning
-4th semester language proficiency (four semesters worth of a foreign language)
Area Distribution
-7 credits of Humanities
-7 credits of Natural Sciences
-7 credits of Social Sciences
Additional Distribution (3 additional credits in 3 additional areas)
-Humanities
-Natural Sciences
-Social Sciences
-Mathematical and Symbolic Sciences
-Creative Expression
-Interdisciplinary
-Additional Interdisciplinary
-Addition Interdisciplinary
Major Requirements
-varies, but you can expect 50-60 credits of coursework
If you are going for a BS, at least 60 credits must be “BS-eligible”
Transfer credit (like AP credit) cannot be used towards College-Wide Requirements, Area Distribution, and Additional Distribution.
There are various other requirements concerning coursework as well.
Of course, you can have coursework that satisfies or works towards multiple requirements at once, but this requires planning. Even with such methods, the requirements are a heavy burden.
@yikesyikesyikes You make it seem more extensive than it actually is.
The double dipping is what makes it seem a lot less than it seems. Plus pre-requisites for your major will count towards distribution (as do minor classes/double major classes if one decides to go beyond a single major). Because of that one of your 3 distribution categories should be filled out just from taking classes towards your major.
Also, every class you take counts for something. Students are not going to be taking major classes their freshman year. All the classes that they take will take a HUGE chunk out of this no matter what they take. If they resort to check boxing, then it restricts the amount of freedom that they think they have.
Even from personal experience as a pre-med student, just from doing pre-med classes, I’ve already am done with 2 of my 3 distributions, (as well as all 3 of the 3 additional distributions i have to cover), my FYWR, the quantitative reasoning requirement, as well as the BS credit requirement. The same can be said for students of any major.
I agree that it can’t be 100% ignored, but that’s why I’m saying that only 1 or 2 of their 4 classes should be concerned with “requirements” as the main focus should be on classes that they are interested in taking, not check boxing like a lot of students like to do in high school
@hailbate
How “extensive” it is depends on what kind of credits/experience you had coming in along with what your major + major/minor is. I am pursuing a BS in Computer Science with a minor in Applied Stats. My Computer Science/Stats classes only count towards BS, Mathematical and Symbolic Sciences, and Symbolic Analysis. My FYWR course gives me some humanities and my ULWR gives me some Natural Sciences (I double dipped there). I need to take FOUR semesters of foreign language and fulfill the rest of the distribution/college requirements outside of my major/minor classes. This means that although I came in with 30+ Transfer Credits AND I am taking on average more than 15 credits a semester, I am virtually forced to stay in college for four years. If I did not fulfill a good amount of requirements my freshman year, there is a good chance I could not have graduated in four years with a Computer Science Major and an Applied Stats minor (even though I came in with a boatload of transfer credit).
@yikesyikesyikes That’s true, it is totally circumstantial, but I think your case is more unique since you are a Comp Sci major. Comp sci doesn’t really fall into the Humanities/Natural Science/Social Science realm that a majority of majors fall under, and so it’s understandable to see why it would be more difficult for you in your circumstance to fulfill all the requirements.
For most students though (and I do feel for Comp Sci majors cause I know it can be a pain in the butt), most of them are coming in with either a placement out of a few semesters of a language, or are taking pre-reqs for the major/have a minor that will be counting towards the Distribution/Skills requirements. And for those students, they really shouldn’t have to worry about requirements since most/if not all the classes they take freshman/sophomore year will count for something.
My bad though, I definitely didn’t take into account that some majors like Stats, Math, and Comp Sci don’t really have components that fall under HU/NS/SS.
@hailbate
Yup, it is definitely circumstantial. I do not know what the OP is doing as a major - but I think this thread can serve as a great resource for future LSA students with both of our perspectives.
Go Blue!
I’m planning on a major in Political Science and a minor in Creative Writing, but I fully acknowledge that’s subject to change and in all reality it likely will. I am pretty confident I’ll major in a Social Science though even if not necessarily Political Science.
Awesome - a lot of your major-oriented classes will likely fulfill Humanities, Social Science, and Race & Ethnicity requirements.
Oh that’s really good then, filling out the rest shouldn’t be too difficult at all
You will meet with the counselor during the orientation and he/she will help you to pick classes. Most of your question will be answered at that time with your specific situation. For AP credits, look up the AP credit policy table and it will show you what class/level you have reached. Then you will see if you have fulfilled the pre-req of the next level classes.