How should I go about choosing classes?

<p>Do you guys have any tips on how to select classes? What criteria are more important than others: class sizes, interest, class timing, prof? Any advice?</p>

<p>well, i'd put them in the following order of importance starting with the most important.</p>

<p>interest - first and foremost, take stuff you want to take!!</p>

<p>professor - can be difficult to judge, but if you have it on good authority that a professor is good, take the class.</p>

<p>time - sounds superficial, but it can make your week go by so much quicker!</p>

<p>size - for non seminar or lab type classes, the size of the class does not matter much. Listening to a lecture with 200 others or 24 others is about the same. Sometimes, large classes are more organized because they have to be, but they typically have harsher grade distributions.</p>

<p>When making your schedule think about the lifestyle that you think you will have at college. I know I dislike early classes, so I try to avoid them if possible. Think about what the schedule means, would you rather have 15 minutes between classes or have an hour break to review some notes before the next class. When and where do you plan to eat your meals. These things are important, and if you are taking courses that are offered at several times, consider all of the options.</p>

<p>*from an engineering student, whatever that means</p>

<p>right i agree with this. out of the original list, i personally view size as the least important. most classes at duke are small, if they're not lectures. and you can't get around certain major-requirement lectures-- but just know that they will break down into weekly discussion sections. and outside of lectures you'll have either small seminars or there'll be classes with 25 or 30 kids that everyone can speak and be heard... both are great.</p>

<p>i think at least initially, choosing based on prof is a little hard unless its a class like math103 where everyone hears about the profs to take it with way in advance. take things like ratemyprofessors.com with a grain of salt-- sometimes they're completely DEAD ON, but sometimes they're far from the truth. i like to go to those sites if i'm stuck deciding between classes... it acts as a nice tip factor.</p>

<p>obviously interest should be your first thing to look for, as well as how is this course going to help you graduate? is it going to count for a major/minor/certificate or is it counting for one of the areas of knowledge/modes of inquiry?</p>

<p>time is important to me personally, since i don't really like cramming three back to back to back classes (some people enjoy it) and i also refuse to take a class before 10am.</p>

<p>I'd also look to see if a class is a pre-requisite for other classes you want and/or need to take. That's a good incentive to take it sooner rather than later.</p>

<p>i am taking math 103. where and how do i find out which profs are great? so far all i have to rely on is ratemyprofessor, unless i just ask about every course on cc.</p>

<p>look through CC-- there's always threads about math103 profs... honestly, i see people flipping out about not getting into one of the Hodels' classes all the time. (well, maybe not flipping out, but people want to be in those classes)</p>

<p>picking based on profs is hard as an incoming freshman is hard, since other than ratemyprofs theres really nothing to tell you, unless you know upperclassmen. i've only started to do it recently-- i know great profs in departments either through word of mouth or having had class with them already, and either through experience or word of mouth, i know who to avoid. i mean, if you're really really debating between two or three classes and it's coming down to the prof, then ask us, because someone on cc should know</p>

<p>Hey would you guys tend to shy away from a class that apparently only seats 5 people (and for which only 2 so far are signed up). Its a contemp latin america class, the course description sounds interesting and says that grades are based mostly on class discussion and participation (what a shock). Is there a reason the class is so tiny and is this something to be avoided?</p>

<p>i think that class is crosslisted in another department. typically they put like X-5 spots in the main department, and then 5 spots in another department. so like 25 in history, and 5 in whatever.</p>

<p>check to see if its crosslisted</p>

<p>Yea, do the above. And if it turns out that it actually is just a class of 5 people, you may want to be weary doing it your for your first semester. In my experience, ultra-small classes can be really great, but the thing is, you have absolutely NO room to sit back and relax. When it says the grade is based on participation, this is typically professor-speak for "you better read every last damn page I assign you and be ready to expostulate on it for at least 10 minutes at a time." If it's a History class, there will definitely be alot of reading. That's not a bad thing if you like the subject; however, if it turns out that its a really boring class/professor, an entire semester can be torturous!</p>

<p>that's what i thought when i started to take small classes, and then i realized it wasn't entirely true.</p>

<p>yeah-- you really shouldn't be slacking on your reading (in any class, but in a class that small esp.), but if you're quiet for a day every so often, it's not going to hurt your grade. bad days happen. busy nights happen. it's college. but i think in a class that small, more so than being able to talk about the reading for 10 mins straight (in all of my experiences, the prof would cut someone off if they tried), you have to know the reading well enough to be able to respond to what other students are saying. it's not a discussion if you have some seemingly prepared speech about the reading, but it's a discussion if you're perceptive enough to hold a conversation about something new and interact with everyone in the room.</p>

<p>it will be a lot of reading, but in every seminar class (at least all the ones that i've been in), there's a bunch of day when the prof just "lectures" and teaches us the beginnings of a new topic (something i can easily see happen in a class of this nature)</p>

<p>You were right it is crosslisted. Thanks.</p>