Chem 109 (honors, 5 credits)
Intro to Social Psychology (Pysch 530, possibly taking honors level, 4 credits)
Philosophy 220 - Philosophy and the sciences (4 credits, sophomore level)
Bradley Round Table Seminar (1 credit)
All the classes interest me, but I’m not sure what the workload for college classes is like, and I’m worried I’m taking on more than I can handle. I’m really looking forward to the philosophy class, but if that would be too much on top of the other two, I can switch to econ 101. I’m also going to be working at a dining hall on campus, although I’ve heard that’s not a ton of hours. Thoughts?
Ahhhhhhh the BLC!
I lived there Freshman year and know a lot of the staff. What floor are you on? I may know your House Fellow! I’m so excited for you.
I think you’re fine with the number of credits you’re enrolled in (I took 16 as a freshman). Chem will be tough but doable, and I don’t know about the others.
Econ 101 is a weeder class for the b school, so I don’t think that would necessarily be easier than Philosophy 220.
I’ve worked at Four Lakes, and they usually require 8-10 hours, though the shifts are short. I actually enjoyed my time there once the semester got started.
Right - Econ 101 isn’t necessarily easier than the Psych class. Check out the grade distribution report.
@adamjr4 I’m on the 3rd floor.
Thank you to both of you. I’m hoping that my interest in psychology will make the class easier, or at least make me more likely to study the amount I need to. I know chem is going to be tough, but I think I’m up for it. If there isn’t a difference between econ 101 and the philosophy class, I’d love to take philosophy. Hopefully all together the load is manageable.
That’s only 14 credits- a light load even with lab time for Chemistry. How well you do depends on your knowledge and skills level from HS, your innate ability and keeping up with the work. Trying to game the system by choosing classes according to grade distributions is not the way to educate yourself. You know yourself and how hard you needed to work to get your HS grades. College requires more work but you spend far less time in class and therefore have much more time for study. Since you are signing up for Honors courses I assume you can handle this schedule.
Your course selection seems based on interest- great. Do not eliminate courses that interest you because you feel another one may be “easier”. No big deal to take courses labeled sophomore as a new freshman. You will find that some students take a course as a freshman while others take the same course as seniors.
Go for Honors as often as you can. At worst you will drop the H designation or switch courses. The Chemistry dept is fantastic- they not only have a highly ranked grad program but also are tops in chemical education. My experience was eons ago but keeping up via my annual Badger Chemist makes me believe things are still well run. In my Chem 115 class there was a student who was switched to a lesser course when he wasn’t doing well- I suspect the same care happens today as well. UW may be a huge school but the professors care about the students. Having an advanced instead of AP Chemistry course works also.
With your presumed abilities (Honors Program) have you considered adding another course for 16-18 credits total? Just because you are new to UW it doesn’t mean you need to have a slow start. Top students can handle more than the typical college student.
My honors math degree son took several philosophy classes just for his own interest. Keep it.
@Madison85 I did take AP Chem, and I got a 4 if that makes things any more clear
@wis75 I’m glad to hear people take sophomore courses as freshmen, I was worried it’d be a huge jump. I appreciate the advice on taking more classes, and I’ll definitely keep it in mind for my 2nd semester. But I know that for first semester, I want to take things a bit slower to get used to the harder courses, my job, and anything else that comes with the transition to college. Big transitions like this are stressful on me, and the last thing I want is to feel completely in over my head right off the bat.
I’m really not sure what to expect from these courses, but I’m enrolled in both the philosophy class and econ 101, so if they’re all manageable, I might stick with all 4. My advisor told me to go to both for the first week (until the drop deadline) and see which one I like better.
The courses are NOT any harder than you are ready for. Think back to being a HS freshman- you were ready for HS then, you are ready for college now. Just be sure that with all of the extra time you don’t put things off. Better to drop a class than to wish you had done more. There will be an adjustment but the more you can do sooner the better off you are. I also spent my time with a Res Halls food service job, but that was later in my college career. See how it goes.