<p>We got back from freshman orientation today. Son did his schedule this morning. He is in University Studies, preparing to transfer to Engineering. Was planning on doing it after the Fall semester as had been explained to us numerous times both from the school resources I researched and through info on this forum board. He just completed the Intro To Enge. course through a VA Community College this summer and that credit will transfer to Tech for Enge 1024. We figured he'd register for the two required math courses and General Chem. + lab. We were really sweating it as the 'timetable of classes' showed 4 slots left open for Calculus just this morning. Had all sorts of force/add plans on the back burner, etc. </p>
<p>Come to find out that he had no problem getting the Calculus since they opened up more seats for this group of orientees, but the group of University Studies students that wanted to take Chem1035 in prep for engineering were told it was restricted from all US majors until the spring semester. Advisors from US dept. said it was out of their control and the restriction was coming from the Chem department. No mention of why, just 'you can take it in the Spring'. Well, that may be somewhat OK for students who would not qualify to ask for transfer after the fall due to lack of ENGE 1024, but my son put in a lot of work over the summer with his Enge. course to be able to go this route. Even got the HP tablet (got a great deal on a used one that meets/exceeds specs). </p>
<p>Without having the Chem course this fall he will not be able to request transfer until after spring semester, and then will be behind with the physics class.</p>
<p>Anyone else have this experience this July that could shed some more light on it???</p>
<p>Any advice on if my son should try to force/add the Chem course at the beginning of school?? The force/add process of running around to get a professor to sign a slip of paper without even know the professor or the campus/buildings for that matter sounds a little daunting of a task, but if he wants it he'll have to try.</p>
<p>Can’t help on the Chemistry, but my son has run into a similar problem with calculus. He’s in Pamplin, which has a special “business calculus” for its students. Problem is that if you want to possibly double major in math (or many other fields), you have to take 1205/1206/1114. But Pamplin students can’t get into 1205 until the spring, which puts them behind a whole year in the business curriculum, per DS’s advisor. So, his only chance is to get in from the wait list. Otherwise, he’s forced into a corner, academics wise. <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>gigagirl, do you know which engineering department your son ultimately wants to be in? If it isn’t chemical engineering, then he isn’t really hurting too bad. All engineering majors need to take at least the first semester of chemistry, but it doesn’t have to be done first semester of their freshman year.</p>
<p>He’s not sure which branch of engineering yet, but probably not chemical. I know it’s not a dire situation, just a big disappointment when your led to believe that you can take a certain tract as a University Studies student, then it changes suddenly. He really wanted to transfer into engineering right after the fall semester.</p>
<p>Looks like this is the first semester at Tech that Chem1035 has been restricted for the fall semester - figures!!! We may still pursue the force/add option if chem dept will let him.</p>
<p>The CHEM 1035 issue has happened for the past two years. I have known of a few freshmen that do get into it by stalking the timetable, but for the most part, people have to take it in the Spring. Unfortunately this always happens to the students who can’t get into the earlier weeks of orientation :(</p>
<p>This is not a issue of there being no seats left - there are plenty of open seats left right now and only one more group of orientees to register. This is a situation where for whatever reason, the Chem. dept. has decided to RESTRICT the class to only certain majors, University Studies not being one of them. I looked back historically at the class timetables and CHEM1035 has never been restricted before. My son is blocked from registering for the class due to his major.</p>
<p>Your son shouldn’t have a problem delaying some courses as CHEM 1035/1045 isn’t a prereq for many future courses other than maybe chem e classes – he could try rearranging some courses or possibly adding another class there instead (perhaps a CLE course). I will say that CHEM 1035 is a challenging course for a lot of freshmen. The material can be pretty difficult and students are still adjusting to college. So on the bright side, he’ll be more prepared for it with his study habits and all that when he has to take it. He could also take physics over the summer, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. The physics department is still trying to get it together with PHYS 2305/2306 (I took 2306 over the summer because I loathed 2305).</p>
<p>ALSO, force add isn’t that bad! I’ve force added before. If the chem department will allow it, then by all means do it. Either way, he won’t really be at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>Gigagirl - I think I remember this happening one year at orientation when I worked during it. If I remember correctly, the restrict it so that majors who 100% need it will have it available, then after orientation is over, they remove the restriction and open it up to the other students if there are remaining seats available.</p>
<p>It may be to prevent students who won’t be affected by taking Chem a semester late from signing up for the class before students who need it to move forward in their major. Not completely sure, but I remember hearing something similar to this before. By the end of the orientation period, many restrictions get lifted (except for class standing restrictions), so if there are remaining seats in the class, students can get in.</p>
<p>Financiallylost…I suspect you are correct in the reason for the restriction. If there is going to be a lift after orientation, I wish they would have let advisors know so that the info could be passed on to students. </p>
<p>I’m so happy to find this thread as we just attended orientation and left stressed because of my son’s schedule. He also did not get into engineering, but is in Pamplin. He is intent on transferring into engineering as soon as possible. Since before he accepted at VT, we’ve had a number of phone calls and email exchanges going over everything he needed to do to apply for a transfer. All along, we were told the ONLY class he could not take was Enge 1024. We were so shocked and frustrated to find he was also restricted from Math 1205 and Chem 1035. We have since learned that if you are a University Studies student, he could take Math 1205 so he is considering a transfer to US. The business advisors have been less than helpful, so we are hoping he might get more help in US. </p>
<p>I really have no advice, but I’m happy to know my son is not alone. Keep the good advice coming!</p>
<p>I know the drop/add period for the entire university opens August 10th. At that point you will have a lot of people dropping classes and switching times. As long as the restrictions are lifted, you should be able to find some openings. You just have to be very attentive and check frequently because a lot of people count on this period of time to switch their classes.</p>
<p>If all else fails Gigagirl, your son may be able to take the Phys courses that he needs (to keep up with the Engineering curriculum) next summer at your community college and transfer into Engineering next Fall. I just looked and NVCC offers Phys 231 which transfers for Phys 2305</p>
<p>Btznah, I happened to be poking around the website and stumbled across another math option. It’s called something like “1205 equivalency” – neither the Pamplin advisor nor the math person we talked to mentioned it, but apparently if you scored a certain number on the Math SAT, graduated in the top 30% of your high school class and get a decent grade in math 1525, you can then get credit for 1205 and sign up for 1206 in the spring (assuming you’re still not blocked!). I hope this still applies, and isn’t just some outdated stuff in the website.</p>
<p>Darn it!!! I just went back to find a link for you and realized I misread! It’s for math 1015, not 1205!! So, DS is back to hoping he can get into the class from the wait list. </p>
<p>I really don’t understand why Tech operates like this. It’s exactly the sort of thing I was afraid of when I was encouraging DS to go somewhere else :(.</p>
<p>The restriction was not lifted from Chemistry during this add/drop session. We are waiting to hear on the Chemistry class, if he gets a seat. It may take up to 8/30 before they let the ‘waiters’ know, but hopefully it will be sooner. There does appear to be well over 100 seats still open in the various sessions, so we are hopeful. Calculus looks VERY full with all classes being overbooked by 10 or so students. Calculus was not restricted for my son so he did get to register for that during orientation</p>
<p>In my experience with other classes, if there are open seats but you can’t register, it’s helpful to go to the first day of class anyway and then talk to the professor after. I’ve done that for two different classes and got permission to be registered, so someone (usually an advisor) is able to override the restriction.</p>
<p>financiallylost is right. Attend the first day (or first few days if it takes longer to get it overridden) because not only will most professors be willing to help the student get into the class, but it’s also important to attend each class as to not miss out on any important info/class work.</p>