<p>Hi! You all seem really nice and helpful in this forum, so I thought I'd try asking for some advice here. I'm an incoming freshman with a Pre-Science major and this is the schedule I'm thinking about for Autumn quarter:</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>] CSE 143
[</em>] MATH 126
[<em>] ENGL 111 (or other English composition course)
[</em>] PHYS 122
[/ul]
Through APs, I have credits for MATH 124, MATH 125, CSE 142, PHYS 121, and nine other courses (that aren't relevant to the schedule listed above). Among my other credits from APs are BIOL 161 and BIOL 162, so I could also take biology courses with either of those as prerequisites (or BIOL 180) to fulfill the natural world requirement for the computer science major, but I'd rather take PHYS 122, because I've already learned electricity & magnetism.</p>
<p>From what I've read and heard, I suspect this schedule might be a bit too intensive, but once I complete these four courses, I'll meet all the prerequisites to apply for Computer Science through Upper-Division Admission (they got rid of Accelerated Admission for 2013-2014). Is it prudent (or even possible) to attempt to finish all the prerequisites off in one go or should I spread them over two quarters?</p>
<p>Darn. Can’t edit this anymore. Quick addendum: I realize that, at least for freshmen, there’s a 19 credit cap on how many courses one may register initially. Probably should have thought this through more Q_Q</p>
<p>That is a pretty intensive schedule. I would highly recommend you not to take CSE 143, MATH 126, and PHYS 122 together. Choose 2 of the 3 but all of those courses are very time consuming are curved harshly.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, too, that the courses you are placing out of are more rigorous than the corresponding high school AP courses you have taken, so it isn’t necessarily a good idea to skip the UW courses unless you really have mastery of the material. Did you get 5’s on all these APs? If not, definitely don’t use for placement. Even if you did score 5s, check past UW exams in these courses and if you can’t get at least 90% on the exams right now, do the UW course even if you have AP credit, particularly as you will need a strong CS and math foundation to succeed in a CS major.</p>
<p>Especially since this is your first quarter at UW, your proposed courseload is too much. The PHYS 122 is particularly time-consuming as it involves lectures, tutorials, and labs with homework in each every week. Check the phys 1xx web site for details. Expect to spend at least ten hours of homework in each of MATH 126, CSE 143 and PHYS 122 in addition to a combined 17 hours of class time, or much more if you are not very strong in all these subjects.</p>
<p>You will need a very strong GPA to get into the CS major, so you are much better off taking a lighter course load with 4.0s than a heavy load and 3.0s (or worse). Defer the physics until next quarter, and you’ll still have plenty to keep you busy this fall. GPA is another reason to consider “repeating” courses for which you have AP credit – you should find it easier to 4.0 PHYS 121 compared to PHYS 122, for example.</p>
<p>Note also that AP Bio does not give credit for BIOL 180, which is the prereq for most other BIOL coursework. BIOL 160 is a prereq mainly for PSYCH and ESRM courses. However, if you’ve placed out of PHYS 121 and take 122, you’re done with the CS Nat Sc requirement.</p>
<p>I took the equivalent of CSE 142 and 143 through running start and our homework assignments were the UW homework assignments. I don’t know what exactly your AP programming class covered, but I’d recommend taking CSE 142 at UW. I found both classes really challenging and I hope you won’t have to struggle through 143 without a solid foundation in 142. You can see what 142 covered here: [CSE</a> 142, Spring 2013](<a href=“http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/cse142/13sp/homework.shtml]CSE”>CSE 142, Spring 2013)</p>
<p>I think that physics class is a good choice for you since you are already familiar with the topic. </p>
<p>Good luck I’ll be at UW next year too! If you wanna talk about programming or anything school related please feel free to message me.</p>
<p>Definitely cut down a little bit! I’m coming in with the chem series waived, so I can chill slightly. I’m taking English 131, Math 124 and some engineering seminars. I’d rather start easy and build my way up, than suffer a horrible GPA and try to recover. At very least, drop CSE or Physics. Trust me- spread the requirements out over the next three quarters. Your mind will thank you.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your responses! You may have all just saved me from a miserable Autumn quarter :). I think I’ll be spreading these out over the two or three quarters.</p>
<p>Yeah dude seriously are you suicidal or something? LOL</p>
<p>UW offers some of the most rigorous university CSE and physics classes in the USA. Heck, according to my understanding, a lot of the physics and maths classes are even curved at 2.5 median for most of the professors, so unless you are an absolute genius / 100% hardworking student, your chances of getting a >3.0 is rare.</p>
<p>Also, remember even though UW runs on a quarter system, each of its courses carry a similar load of content as courses that other universities offer for semester length. This is an advice I wish I was given, instead of learning it the hard way… Good luck!</p>
<p>Yeah I took Chem 145/ cse 142/ and math 126 my first quarter and it was not a good way to start. I think I would’ve been able to get into Cse of I hadn’t tried to rush things so much. Admission is tough and I know students who try 4+ times and don’t get in even though they Ta the 142/143 classes! Definitely don’t take over 15 credits. Especially with science/math. They are NOT equivalent workloads to the arts. Especially intro classes which are curved low and midterm averages can be as low as 30-50%</p>
<p>Hi guys, I’m an international freshman and I have already registered for classes. I am enrolled in an Early fall start (EFS) course too prior to Autumn Quarter proper. So this is my schedule:</p>
<p>^ART 190 INTRO TO DRAWING 5.0 (Early Fall Start)
ARCH 150 APPREC OF ARCH I 3.0<br>
ENGL 111 COMPOSITION: LIT 5.0<br>
MATH 126 CALC ANYL GEOM III 5.0<br>
STAT 311 ELEMNTS STAT METHOD 5.0 </p>
<p>I received an email from UW Advising telling me this:
“We have taken a look at your schedule and are concerned with the schedule you have selected, especially as you transit to a new university, language, culture, and country. While your classes all look to be manageable, the combination of all four of these courses at the same time may not be a wise schedule. The schedule you registered for has a heavy workload and we want you to consider dropping MATH 126 or STAT 311 to ensure a balanced and successful first quarter at the UW.”</p>
<p>I would really want to take all these classes as that will allow me to satisfy all the requirements for the economics department, allowing me to declare the major by winter (I have 45 transfer credits from high school Alevels). At the same time, however, I do not wish to compromise a good GPA for this if this schedule is too taxing. Please advise me on this. For me, practising alot is the key in Mathematics. As for Stat 311, the instructor is said to give very easy assignments and a light load work although his tests are always very tricky/irrelevant to his teachings. The English and Architecture classes should be fairly manageable, I chose the best teachers (in terms of teaching) for these two classes too.</p>
<p>@Cxavier If you find math to be easy, you can handle a whole bunch of reading, and you’re not planning on doing much outside of school you might be okay. If it were me though, I’d probably drop ARCH 150 so you can still get your Economics prerequisites without being overwhelmed and still be able to do all of the non-school things that come with being in a new place (ie. making friends, exploring, etc). Still, it looks like a pretty easy class so it might not be too bad. If you do end up keeping your schedule, I’d highly recommend paying really close attention to how you feel during the first week or two and if you need to drop something make sure to do it before you get overwhelmed (and before it shows up on your transcript, drop dates are important!).</p>
<p>Ok, thanks guys for the reassuring feedbacks! @essited, I will be taking up Early Fall Start which commences 1 month before Autumn proper, since I’m only enrolled in ART 190, I could use this time to get to know people and settle down. I’ll take note of the drop dates! Thanks!</p>
<p>Let us know how it goes, but at least in my opinion unless you are some massive genius who has had really impressive past exposure in the areas of Maths and Stats, I don’t think the chances are high for this to end super well…</p>
I’ll be at UW next year too! If you wanna talk about programming or anything school related please feel free to message me.</p>