my freshmen year classes

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
1

<p>Hey everyone, this is a actually volleysnap-I just decided to go for a little change of name to reflect my new school :)</p>

<p>Anyway, I have been getting ready for SOAR and have put together some tentative classes for the year. What do you think? As you can see, I am a bit more into the humanities than the sciences but I am trying to integrate the basic requirements as well. I don't want to regret not taking more science/math etc so I would really appreciate any advice on class selection, etc. Really any advice you have would be hugely useful.</p>

<p>As you will see, I am just trying everything I have an interest in because I don't want to assume my current interests are permanent.</p>

<p>Some stuff that got cut out was biology (with lab), political science, statistics, intro art class, and some other stuff</p>

<p>In short:
1st semester (aka my "Eat, Pray, Love" semester):
honors literature
Italian
Algebra
Intro to Buddhism
Intro to Yoga Practice
--> 14 credits</p>

<p>2nd semester (aka my comprehensive review of the ologies semester):
Honors Philosophy
Astrology
Honors Psychology
Archaeology
---> 14 credits (probably will tack another 2 credit class on here)</p>

<p>Long version (straight out of the catalog)</p>

<p>1st semester:</p>

<p>182 Introduction to Literature for Honors. I, II; 3 cr (L-E). Introductory honors course in discussion format. Topic and Materials will vary. P: Open to Fr. Admission to L&S Honors or above 654 on EPT or AP in English score of 4 or above. Others admitted only with consent of dept honors coordinator. May not receive cr for both 182 & 181.</p>

<p>101 First Semester Italian. I, II, SS; 4 cr (E). For students who have not studied Italian; meets five hours a week. P: Open to Fr.</p>

<p>112 Algebra. I, II, SS; 3 cr (q-E). Polynomial equations, remainder and factor theorems, functions, graphs of functions, simultaneous linear equations, logarithm and exponential functions, sequences and series, mathematical induction, binomial theorem. P: Intmed math comp (usually 3 units of HS math) & suitable placement scores, or Math 100 or 101. Open to Fr. Stdts may not receive cr for both Math 112 & 114.</p>

<p>364 Introduction to Buddhism. (Crosslisted with E Asian, LCA) Irr.; 3 cr (H-I). The basic thought, practices and history of Buddhism, including selflessness and relativity, practices of meditation, merit-making and compassion from both local and translocal perspectives. Includes a discussion of Buddhism as a contemporary, North American religion. P: Open to Fr.</p>

<p>129 Introduction to Yoga Practice. I, II; 1 cr. An introduction to yoga practice, philosophy, history, and traditions.</p>

<p>2nd sem</p>

<p>Philosophy: 181 First Course for Honors. I or II; 3 cr (Z-E). P: Honors candidacy or cons inst. Open to Fr. </p>

<p>103 The Evolving Universe: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology. I, II; 3 cr (P-E). The universe is vast and ever-changing. Includes lifecycles of stars; supernovae and creation of elements; white dwarfs, pulsars and black holes; the Milky Way and galaxies; distances of stars and galaxies; quasars; expansion of universe; open and closed universes; the big bang. P: Open to all Undergrads. Stdts may not receive cr for both Astron 100 & 103. Not open to stdts who meet prereq for Astron 200.</p>

<p>113 Hands on the Universe. II; 1 cr (r-P-E). Exploration of the universe via computer simulation of astronomical observations. Examples of topics include telescopes, the distances to stars, the spectra of the stars, star clusters, the Hubble expansion, and the large scale structure of the universe. Discovery through observation, hypothesis, and quantitative analysis is emphasized. P: Open to all Undergrads. Intended to be taken concurrently with Astron 103. Prev Astron 100 or 103 or cons inst acceptable. Not open to stdts who have taken Astron 110.</p>

<p>112 Principles of Archaeology. I, II; 3 cr (S-E). Introduction to basic methods, techniques, and principles of modern anthropological archaeology. The nature of archaeological remains and the use of archaeological materials to study the long-term changes in human behavior. P: Open to All Undergrads.</p>

<p>281 Honors Course-Introduction to Psychology. I, II, SS; 4 cr (S-E). P: Open to Fr</p>

2

<p>Sounds fun and interesting--I'm envious. I expect at least a 3.5 gpa. Keep us posted.</p>

3

<p>I think you mean "astronomy," not "astrology" -- LOL.</p>

4

<p>hahahahaahah there goes my respect for myself as a copy editor...</p>

5

<p>The UW has some fantastic resources in astronomy. Don't know about astrology but they just might cover that too somewhere. UW worked on designing Hubble and had part of the latest observations of the new stars forming.</p>

<p>Newly</a> born twin stars show surprising differences (June 18, 2008)</p>

<p>Looks like they had a good lecture on astrology and science</p>

<p><a href="http://www.isthmussociety.org/Documents/Shank_flier.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.isthmussociety.org/Documents/Shank_flier.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

6

<p>If you havent gone to SOAR yet you're not getting yoga..all the good PE classes are taken (those left are like marathon training, weightlifting, etc)</p>

<p>sorry to hijack your thread, but does anyone think I'll be swamped this semester with this schedule?</p>

<p>Math 275 (5)
Chem 109 (5)
Astron 103 (3)</p>

7

<p>Have you gone on to the Student Center at My UW to create a wishlist, yet? You'll be able to see what classes are offered this semester, what hours the classes are offered, what days they're offered if they're full, etc. If you haven't, it's pretty helpful, especially when you actually go to SOAR to register. =]</p>

<p>And like said, some are already full. I was going to take the Intro to Buddhism course, but I opted for something else. Currently, there's only one spot left in the lecture. People do drop and switch, though.</p>

<p>Good luck getting what you want! I've already had SOAR, and I'm still changing my schedule like every day. =P Either way, I think that's a good first semester schedule.</p>

<p>(You can also see your placement test scores in the Student Center, if you didn't know. I didn't. =P)</p>

8

<p>I'm pretty sure they free up some spots for people with later soar sessions.</p>

9

<p>OP- why only 14 credits, especially if you are honors capable? Sub- no, only 13 credits, why not find a nonscience elective to bring it up to 16 or 17? Honors courses- why not chem 115, unless it conflicts with the math? Do not ease into college, the lower level courses are meant for freshmen, even if they are honors. You are paying for the opportunity to take courses, why not max out- 16 credits isn't even maxing out. You will still have time for a social life, Madison isn't that tough. Presume you are prepared for the courses they allow you to take, don't be afraid to do work. Even with labs you do not spend that many hours in class- did you have 1- 2 study halls in HS, that is what taking the minimum number of credits is like, regardless of how "difficult" they are supposed to be. Being in the honors program means you should be able to handle at least the average load, and despite any AP credits you still need to take a full load to graduate in a timely fashion.</p>

10

<p>michael32, Only for certain classes. Some classes have one go, and that's it.</p>

11

<p>wis-at SOAR they told us to take 12-14 credits 1st semester</p>

12

<p>I think that is advice for the average student. I might add one more and if you get stressed you can drop it later. Might as well get you money's worth. Something offbeat and fun.</p>

13

<p>Is it me, or does 12-14 seem really low? I mean, I get that it's first semester and all, but I still think it's not a good idea to take only that much. But what do I know? They've dealt with thousands of freshman.</p>

14

<p>hmm yeah i was just going off of the advice of the advisors that you should take 12-14, but i think it is a good point and i will consider it, especially since the rest of college i will be taking more anyway. i'm really used to just four classes actually (but hard ones) because I come from a block schedule school. there definitely are so many classes I am interested in though so five might be good and then as barrons said i can always drop. i will talk to my advisor when i am at soar next week :)</p>

<p>that's sad about yoga :( i looked at the student center and it seemed to be open, but maybe it doesn't reflect what is open correctly?</p>

15

<p>aww man i just looked at the student center again and buddhism and yoga are definitely full now :(</p>

16

<p>maybe you forgot to tick "show open classes only" ;)</p>

<p>Only PE classes open:</p>

<p>PE ACTIV 100 Exercise,Nutrition,&Health __BEC
PE ACTIV 125 Adapted Fitness&Pers Traing
PE ACTIV 130 Running (Aerobic Fitness)
PE ACTIV 131 Cross Traing-Basic Fitness
PE ACTIV 132 Weight Training
PE ACTIV 140 Ice Skating I
PE ACTIV 145 Ice Skating II
PE ACTIV 244 Power Skating
PE ACTIV 275 Volleyball II
PE ACTIV 300 Workshop-Physical Activity</p>

<br>


<br>

<p>i was pretty upset too cause I got an early SOAR session and was looking to take golf or bowling and theyre already full</p>

17

<p>typically to get PE classes like golf bowling and yoga you have to be at least junior standing, i.e., 54 credits, to stand a chance of getting into those courses by the time you can enroll. I have 70 credits and by the time was able to enroll for fall 08 classes there was maybe 1 or 2 spots for each of those courses. And by the end of the day there were all full.</p>

<p>Just to warn the OP and anyone else, I would think again about taking intro psych on campus. I was fortunate to have taken the AP but from what I hear they tend to curve to a C which is a 2.0 out of 4.0. In fact my friend who took it in fall '07 even told me he had a raw score on a test of like 83 that got curved down to 80. crazy</p>

18

<p>Is PE a requirement at UW? Surely you can find a good yoga class somewhere in Madison -- I love yoga but am somewhat perplexed at the idea of spending tuition for it.</p>

19

<p>I'm only taking 12 credits (Philosophy 101, Anthro 204 (Cultural Anthropology), Spanish 204, and a Bradley Roundtable) as my advisor wouldn't let us go over 14, and another class would have put me over that. I figure since Spanish is really worth like 16 credits with retroactives, it'll nice to be able to focus on that and on the transition to college, especially with a part-time job.</p>

20

<p>Your advisor can't prohibit you from taking classes, they advise, not dictate.</p>