<p>So yeah I have fallen in love with Wellesley (EE applicant, since my parents didn't want me to commit to such an expensive college right away) and I visited there last month and learned more about the college.</p>
<p>When I was with my hostess she explained to me that first years are only allowed to take four courses the first semester and only one of them can have a lab.</p>
<p>Which is understandable but I was wondering if the Neuroscience practicum counts as a lab? It's only 70 minutes compared to labs that last a few hours, and I read that lab reports aren't nearly as formal as they would be in a biology/chem lab course. So I guess what I'm saying is would it be possible to take let's say a FYS biology course/lab with a neuroscience course/practicum?</p>
<p>Any current Wellesley student have an idea about this? I'm just curious, thanks. :)</p>
<p>You could call the department and ask, but it looks like many neuroscience courses are 1.0 units (which means no “lab” component); the lab courses (bio, chem) are 1.25 units. (1 unit = 3 credits in other college systems). </p>
<p>They don’t recommend more than one 1.25 unit lab course per semester for first-years, although there are some who have done two because of scheduling constraints. This is something you would work out at your meeting with your first-year advisor the week before classes start.</p>
<p>There are a lot of things that Wellesley doesn’t recommend, but these aren’t hard and fast rules. My daughter has a couple of friends taking more than one lab course as first years, and she herself will take two language courses next semester, even though the school doesn’t advise this.</p>
<p>If two of your four classes have labs, then make sure your other two don’t have a heavy reading load.</p>
<p>boxofcereals, the normal course load is 4 courses each semester. After advising, some students may take more than one science with a lab in the same term, or more than 4 courses, but many students find the academics at Wellesley to be challenging. The students admitted are all excellent/outstanding, so don’t automatically assume because you are an excellent student in HS you can handle more than the normal course load at Wellesley. The guidelines/recommendations are there to help you succeed.</p>