<p>So for the FYS, I unfortunately didn’t get placed into any since I applied to the BIO ones, and they’re extremely popular.</p>
<p>Now most/all of the sciences are filled, and I’m a Chem major. Is this a setback? I really want to take Chem, Bio, and Math my first semester. Are the regular classes just as fine? And should I just apply to other ones during the second round of FYS? I would do an English or History, but I don’t know which ones.</p>
<p>Don’t feel as though you are obliged to take a FYS. Many of us (myself included) didn’t and our freshman year experiences are not diminished in any way. It’s better to take a regular class you’re interested in rather than a FYS you’re half-hearted about.</p>
<p>I presume you plan to do CHEM33 and a calculus class. If you have AP Bio you can jump straight into the whole range of Bio courses numbered in the hundreds. Some of them are not big classes, so you might consider one of those in place of a FYS.</p>
<p>I’m not too familiar with the English or History FYSes, so maybe someone else can help out there.</p>
<p>If you are a “science” person and planning on taking lots of chemistry, biology and math classes, then strongly consider taking a FYS in the humanities or social sciences. Remember that the Brown curriculum is designed to encourage you to taste lots of different subjects. To satisfy your concentration you’ll be taking the science classes, so FYS are the perfect opportunity to take a class in a different discipline. Also, there are other classes that are not FYS that have fewer than 20 students in them that you can take, even freshmen year.</p>
<p>^I second fireandrain. My FYS was a “science-ey” literature class (Into the Machine, we discussed automatons in fiction, i.e. Asimov’s Robot stories), and it was a ton of fun. Your first year you probably should have some balance in your classes. And FYSes don’t count for your concentration anyways (usually), so it means you’ll have one less option in taking non-science classes.</p>
<p>OMG Biotech in Medicine. Prof. Zielinski. Fun, sorta silly, medium-sized class. Take it.</p>
<p>There is also a list of unfilled FYS classes that comes out around orientation. If one suits your fancy you can register for it just like any other class on banner. I found my history FYS that way - it ended up having a grand total of 4 students, and was a lot of fun.</p>