<p>Hi everyone! Pretty excited about this coming fall semester @ UVa! However I have a quick questions, so if anyone could help me out I would be extremely grateful!</p>
<p>Ok this may seem weird, but as an International student I've never really chosen any courses in my life :o. I'm kind of lost with all the courses and prerequisites. so... can anyone explain what the numbers of the courses mean? As well as the prerequisites for graduation/McIntyre? Also, what is a suggested course schedule for first-year?</p>
<p>one more question (this for fellow international students)</p>
<p>What did you fill for the emergency contact when registering for orientation? I do not currently have a US cell phone number or a contact in US who has a cell phone number.</p>
<p>sselno, your advisor will help you with your choice of classes when you come to UVA for orientation, so don’t feel you need to flounder on your own. But you can do some advance preparation. Most first-years take five classes. It’s a good idea to spread these around to fulfill your distribution requirements. First, check on UVA’s website to see if you’ve already fulfilled some distribution requirements via AP. If you are fluent in another language already, you’re not going to have to worry about the language requirement. Once you know what you still have to do, check out the departments that interest you on Lou’s List. Unless you’re very advanced in a subject, you are probably going to want to start with the introductory course. This will be numbered in the 1000s or 2000s. So, for instance, if you’re interested in business/McIntire, you will probably want to take an introductory economics class, freshman composition if you haven’t placed out of it, calculus if you haven’t already had it, a foreign language if you still need to fulfill this requirement, and one other class of your choice. In many cases there will be a choice of different introductory classes depending on what you want to do later on. For instance, those who love and intend to major in physics can take a very, very demanding introductory sequence that requires a lot of math background, but those who just want to take a physics course to fulfill the science distribution requirement can take an easier class. If you’re not sure which class is which, check on the department websites, which usually post course descriptions.</p>
<p>Once you have, maybe, ten or twelve options, check the reviews on UVA Course Forum and ratemyprofessor.com. Take them with a grain of salt, but if tons of students are warning you off a class, cross it off your list unless it’s an absolute requirement. If you know you’re going to have to take a class that’s going to be hard for you, then balance it with something less demanding. If you’re taking a lot of big lecture classes, balance them with a small seminar-style class, like a USEM.</p>
<p>Bring these ideas to your meeting with your advisor, but stay flexible, because you will get a lot of information at Orientation that might change your mind about your choices. I encourage my first-year advisees to take one class in a subject they’re interested in but never had a chance to study before.</p>
<p>The emergency contact information can be updated at any time. You can add a US cell phone no. once you get one. I’d put down an international number for now for both yourself and your emergency contact.</p>
<p>Next, match up the overlaps ie Economics 2010 also fulfills one of the social science requirement. Applied calculus meets one of math/science. A religions course for humanities. This way you are meeting McIntire and the College’s requirements at the same time. </p>
<p>Most importantly, try to stay on track with getting all your area requirements done in the first two years as well as McIntire’s. It takes a little bit of planning but it will work out. Also, take courses that you really have an interest, it will make it much better for you in the long run. Keep in mind that not everyone gets into McIntire so have a backup major planned too. Several majors also require prerequisites to be completed prior to declaring a major 2nd year. Do not worry about the latter part of this right now (the backup major) just keep it in mind as you plan down the road. </p>
<p>Use lous list to see what courses are available, but as Jingle said have plenty of backups for when you get to orientation. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Just a quick question regarding course scheduling: how many credits per semester are required to be considered a full-time student?</p>
<p>And are students allowed to use AP credits on exams that they plan to major in? I am majoring in Physics, and I got a 4 on AP Physics B exam, so I get credit for the first 2 intro Physics courses. I just wanted to know if I would still be allowed to do that, since I am majoring in the class I want credit for.</p>
<p>Wow thanks for all the quick responses! they were very helpful, especially woosah and jingle! :)</p>
<p>I have another few questions so hopefully someone can answer them.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that some people graduate in 3 years and then go on to do a 4th year masters. Is that only for double degree or can any normal student do that too?</p>
<p>Does transferred credit from high school count in the GPA or do they simply give you credits? (if they only give you the credits, isn’t that kind of disadvantageous to your GPA?)</p>
<p>If you are exempted from the arts and sciences requirements (first writing and foreign languages) are you exempted from mcintyre’s requirements for first writing and foreign languages too?</p>
<p>The point of taking Credit/no credit classes is to fulfill requirements for a subject that is not your major without compromising your GPA right?</p>
<p>Thanks!
I’m sorry if any of the questions seem like stupid/obvious questions ><</p>
<p>Graduating in 3+ a masters: very few students do this. You don’t need to be in a special program however. If you are interested in this option, all you have to do is graduate in 3 years while applying and being admitted to a graduate program during your third year.</p>
<p>AP/Transfer Credits: they don’t go into your GPA. They may fulfill requirements, and always count toward the 120 hrs to graduate (as long as you don’t hit the cap of 60).</p>
<p>Credit/No Credit: you can’t take classes C/NC and still apply them to requirements. C/NC is good for racking up credits with little effort, or taking a non-major class that seems interesting but has tough grading.</p>
<p>McIntire is a two-year program so I do not believe graduating early is an option. It also takes a bit to complete all of the pre-requisites and the area requirements. However, with that said if you can complete all area requirements and mcintire prerequisites by the end of your 1st year then I would make an appointment to see a McIntire advisor in the fall of your 1st year to assess your options. This would not apply if you are Echols. </p>
<p>Next:
The McIntire School will accept the same AP credit, course waivers, or exemptions as other school at the University of Virginia. Echols Scholars are NOT exempt on the basis of Echols standing alone.</p>
<p>I believe 6281587 answered the other questions.</p>
<p>As far as getting a Masters, look into the individual programs. In some cases, there are programs that allow a few of the same courses to count towards both your bachelors and your masters degree. </p>
<p>Likewise, there are some programs that allow many of the same grad courses to count towards two masters degrees or towards both a law and masters degree.</p>
<p>The one thing you cannot do at UVa is to get a second bachelors degree.</p>
<p>I talked to some faculty at McIntire about applying during my first year. The answer was that being admitted is near impossible. The only cases where the school admitted students early has been with international students whose finances would not let them stay for four years. Even then, the people I spoke to said the best case scenario would be a waitlist. There are just too many qualified second years for them to admit students who could wait another year.</p>
<p>628, unless your finances are seriously constrained, I don’t think you should try to accelerate even if theoretically it’s a possibility. UVA or any research university is a fabulous place full of smart people doing all kinds of interesting things. Take the time to branch out and explore fields you haven’t tried before or don’t know anything about. Not only will you enrich your intellectual life in ways you can’t anticipate, but you will meet a greater variety of people, since different majors and fields tend to attract different personality types. Once you get into grad/professional school or a job, you will be forced to specialize and develop a serious, marketable skill set. But by trying to rush it you will miss some of the most exciting things the university has to offer you.</p>
<p>Lol, too late for me. I got out in 3 yrs with a BA plus a MS. It was the right choice for me, but I know others may have different goals. Anyway, I was just making a note about early undergrad admission to McIntire because it was mentioned.</p>