<p>Hello everyone. I'm an incoming freshman planning to major in Biology (neuroscience track). As required by the Neuroscience Track and my interest in psychology, I will take some psychology courses. I've got 5 on AP Psychology, so according to the AP Policy I can waive the Psych 100B-Intro to Psych prerequisite for other psychology courses.
However, as the undergraduate psychology in WUSTL has a good reputation, I feel it possible that the Intro course to psych is also very special (like GenChem maybe?). So I'd like to ask: is the Intro to Psych particularly good? What's its difficulty level compared to the AP Psychology? Is it a loss for me if I skip it to gain more time for more advanced courses?</p>
<p>Also, though the Psych 100B prerequisite can be waived, will the advisor or the system let me take courses like Cognitive Neuroscience as an incoming freshman?</p>
<p>Your time is appreciated.</p>
<p>I’d say if they’re willing to let you test out of it then it’s not totally necessary to take. I got credit for it too and jumped right into sensation and perception stuff.</p>
<p>I dunno about taking upper level courses as a freshman, but you could definitely try for it and see what happens.</p>
<p>I don’t know about Psychology, but I know as a freshmen I skipped the first year Econ classes (I got 5s on both micro and macro), and took the advanced intermediate (400 level) classes right away. It was a lot more work than the intro class would have been, but I’m glad I did it. I’m going to assume its the same for Psych…if you’re confident that you know the material from your AP class go ahead and try taking upper level classes. You can always drop them and switch to 100 level in the first couple weeks if you feel you have to, so perhaps leave your schedule open for when the intro classes are taking place.</p>
<p>As for your second question…the registration system doesn’t actually check to make sure you have the correct prerequisites. It is assumed that you won’t register for classes that you don’t feel you are ready for. Prereqs are more of a guide, telling you what you should know before you take x class. You will be expected to know all the material from the prereq course, and you’ll have a rough time in the higher level class if you don’t know the material, but nothing will actually stop you from registering.</p>
<p>I got a 5 on the AP exam as well, but this was before you could place out of it (grumble…) - I’m part of the 2012 class.</p>
<p>I have taken psych 100b, and honestly, there was nothing special about it. It was a joke, and with minimal studying I got an A (but I did go to every class, and do the readings). The tests are all multiple choice, btw.
If you feel you have a solid understanding of basic psych, it would be completely legit to skip it.</p>
<p>This is coming from someone who has taken 300 level psych classes, for what it’s worth.</p>
<p>Here’s a solid suggestion: enroll in whatever upper level class you want, BUT take the intro psych seminar (psych 102). It’s incredibly easy (if you show up and do this one tiny task a week, you’re pretty much guaranteed an A; there is a paper, but it’s only 4-5 pages, so that’s super easy).
I feel that I actually got more out of the seminar than I did out of 100b. The only thing I got out of 100b is that it allowed me to take the interesting 300 level classes. There was a girl in my seminar who had done just what I suggested (102 + 3–), and said she was doing just fine in the 300 level class.</p>
<p>Thank you, David, marcdvi and Johnson! I decide to register for the Psych seminar and wait to see whether there are more seats available for Cognitive Neuroscience, which has already been full T_T</p>