<p>EMT-I is my EMT-intermediate class that I took with Durham Technical Community College, in addition to my course load at Duke. Those 12 hour stretches were not every week, but only every once in a while during the last 5 weeks of the semester - training shifts in the ER at Duke (don't let this discourage anyone from taking an EMT class, because the Basic class takes MUCH less time, and the only reason I was even considering doing multiple 12 hour shifts in the ER each week was because of a paperwork issue specific to my EMT-Intermediate class that made it so we only had a short amount of time towards the end of the semester to get them done, instead of the whole semester). The 8 hour class on Saturday wasn't every week, but every 2nd or 3rd. I photoshopped it in - my ACES graphical bookbag output didn't have all of that on there to begin with.</p>
<p>Also, lots of people from Cali at Duke. Pay attention if you get invited to any parties hosted by Duke alumni in your area, they're good opportunities to meet a few people before you come to Duke. Not that I talked to more than two of the dozens that came to the one in Los Angeles once I got to Duke, but it was still good to know that a few faces on campus would be recognizable.</p>
<p>Bandcampgirl: My weekend started on Wednesday. It was pretty cool. I got bored, though, and I think I overcompensated for my boredom second semester.</p>
<p>I heartily second Joe's advice about keeping time free to eat. Last semester, my Tuesdays and Thursdays often left me unable to eat until 8 PM. Trust me - that is NOT fun.</p>
<p>? I don't have any time conflicts on Tuesday. And that isn't my schedule. It's just one that someone did last year that I am using as an example.</p>
<p>Yeah, I read it wrong, there's no time conflict. Still unpleasantly packed.</p>
<p>Does the section number matter at all when picking a class (like 001 and 01R)? And Joe, why is EGR53L such a long class: I mean, it's from 1:15 to 5:15! What is Duke's point in making lab and recitation so long when we still have EGR lecture Mon. and Fri.</p>
<p>Yes, the section number matters - in the case of 001 and 01R, they're different sections entirely, with 001 being a lecture section, and 01R being a recitation section. Beyond that sort of stuff, section numbers are only significant in regards to when during the day the class is, and what teacher you have.</p>
<p>As Dr. G will attest, you'll typically get out early (even hours early most days), but every once and a while you need ALL of that time to finish the lab, and making the registration site consistently list it as that time means you can't schedule another class over the time that you'll need to finish your lab on those occasions. Indeed, if you stayed for that whole time for the shorter half-labs, you could probably finish the lab, do the writeup, and hand it in before the period was over. The point is to basically give you an introduction to computers, linux/Unix, programming, matlab, and latex all in one semester, and they assume that no one knows much about those topics to begin with, for the sake of making sure all the students are on the same level. Yes, it is a lot of time, but honestly its not that big of a deal after you go to the first labs. You're not sitting there working intensely the entire time...</p>
<p>Also, the lectures tend to be "Watch the professor explain how this works!", the recitations tend to be "Do problemsets on what the professor just explained in lecture!", and the labs tend to be "Do real data collection/analysis to see why this is relevant to you as an engineer!". It works out well in the end, though I do wish that there were an option for people who already knew how to program and were familiar with unix and had worked with matlab before and all (as was the case with me before I came to Duke) other than relearning everything.</p>
<p>So - erm - labs will actually take more of the time in the Fall than last year because we are making more of them hands-on labs...</p>
<p>And - as you will find during the hand-raising sessions we have at the start of 53, relatively few people have programmed in 53 <em>and</em> learned computational methods, which is why we have everyone take 53 versus creating some kind of EGR 153 for people with some experience, because those experiences tend to not overlap.</p>
<p>in the opinion of the people that have gone through their freshman year at Duke, is this a feasible looking schedule to transition to college? I realize that most of them are required, but should I space them out more?, put them closer together?, rework it?</p>
<p><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v502/JMAN1211/graphicschedulejpeg.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v502/JMAN1211/graphicschedulejpeg.jpg</a></p>
<p>I just finished my freshman year, and your schedule will be pretty tough. However, you should be able to manage.</p>
<p>About your classes:</p>
<p>Chinese: the only class on your list that I've actually taken. It is an outstanding class with a great teacher (Carolyn Lee - she can come off a bit intimidating but really just wants you to succeed). About your Chinese section on MWF at 1:30. The class already appears to be full so you may need alter your schedule to fit it in. However, if this is not possible, e-mail Carolyn Lee, and I'm sure she will accomodate you.</p>
<p>Chem 21 - if you have a solid chem background and typically do well this stuff, you should be fine. If you have a weaker background or have trouble with the material, you may have to work pretty hard.</p>
<p>EGR 53 - from what my engineering friends have said, the class is a programming class. Generally, it seemed that if you had programming experience, it was pretty easy. If not, it could be difficult. An engineer could definitely say more.</p>
<p>Math 107 - supposedly not that difficult. However, most engineers go into this class after having 103 so it may be relatively easy compared to 103.</p>
<p>Phy Ed - a nice way to relieve the stresses of the day, and hey, it's pass/fail.</p>
<p>thanks duke, that's really helpful. I doubt this will be my schedule though, third window :(. Do any engineers have an opinion?</p>
<p>107's difficulty depends on the prof and whether they think you need to learn proofs. Those I know who took it fall semester had a bit of a tough time because it was very proof-heavy. Most of the people who took it spring semester said the class was easy because it just focused on applications, although one girl I talked to was in a section that did proofs (and was quite jealous of everyone else :p ).</p>
