<p>I've been trying to select which courses I want to take next year so I don't feel rushed during orientation, but the process is really overwhelming to me right now so I have a few questions..</p>
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<li><p>First of all, is course registration for first-years a on a first-come, first-serve basis? Are chances high that you might not get into some of the courses that you picked?</p></li>
<li><p>Some courses require permission from the instructor, do you have a chance to sort that out during orientation week before registration?</p></li>
<li><p>Some courses have times listed like this: MTh 8:30 - 9:40 W-ALT1. What does that ALT1 mean? If there's no time listed right now, does that mean one will be added later?</p></li>
<li><p>Some courses say that there will be 3 meetings in the course description, but they only have 2 times listed in the schedule, does that mean a third one will be added later?</p></li>
<li><p>If I want to go on a foreign exchange program for a year, do I need to plan out everything in my first year? If I want to major and minor? It seems like there're a lot of courses that I have to take and, if I go on an exchange, very little time to do it.</p></li>
<li><p>Does anyone know much about the Wellesley-in-Aix exchange? I read on the website that all courses were taught in French. Does anyone know if that's very challenging to someone who's just beginning her French at Wellesley?</p></li>
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<li>Course registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis for everyone. As a first-year, that means that all other Wellesley students have already registered, and that you will be in competition with the other first-years for the spots left. I think mostly this affects first-years with their selection of writing courses, since most first-years will be attempting to get into one first semester. Many classes that are currently full wouldn’t be available to you as a first year anyway (they require prerequisites that you wouldn’t have). If you go to this page: </li>
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<p>on the right hand side under the column “Fall Schedule”, click “Fall 2009 Course Enrollments” to see a PDF that shows you how many spots are left in each course. That should give you a rough idea of whether or not you are likely to get into a course. </p>
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<li><p>It sort of depends. Some courses say you have to have instructor consent, but let you register anyway. You don’t register until towards the end of the orientation week (Thursday or Friday, as I recall), so I would say that you would have enough time to talk to/email profs. </p></li>
<li><p>The ALT means the class meets alternate Wednesdays in addition to every week on the other two days. The 1 or 2 after ALT indicates which Wednesdays it meets. So you could register for a class that meets MTh, W-ALT1 8:30-9:40 and TF, W-ALT2 8:30-9:40 (so you would have one class one Wednesday and the other the next), but not two classes that both met W-ALT1. A lot of times you can get away with taking an ALT Wednesday class and a class that has a Wednesday meeting at that same time every week, because some professors really only meet on Wednesday 2 or 3 times a semester even though it says Alt, but that is very class specific and I don’t think you can register for two classes that have any sort of time conflict. </p></li>
<li><p>Probably the course schedule is correct. Email the professor to be certain. </p></li>
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<p>5/6. You don’t need to have everything planned out your first year, but if you know you want to go abroad you need to be sure you get your language requirements rolling. Depending on your major situation, you may have to settle for going abroad for a semester instead of a whole year. I’m going abroad to Vienna this Spring and will be taking my classes in German; I can’t say I’m not nervous about it but the program coordinator (like Wellesley-in-Aix, Wellesley-in-Vienna is a Wellesley administrated study abroad program, which has some nice perks) assured me that you don’t have to be a super-German student to handle it. I did take 4 years of German in high school, but there were people there who had started German at Wellesley and he was still very supportive. I took courses in 6 different departments my first-year and only one in my primary major (Economics) and I am able to go abroad without any serious handsprings. This upcoming semester I will have finished a math minor (still haven’t decided if I want to major or minor in math!), taken 6 out 9 courses towards my Econ major, and finished all of the (numerous) required Econ courses. And I only have one distribution requirement left. So don’t go crazy stressing about studying abroad now!</p>
<p>Edit: Also, if you have questions about a specific course (like that course that says it will meet 3 times/wk, but only lists 2 meetings/wk), post the course number and I probably can access more info about it than you.</p>
<p>I agree with advantagious, but I’ll add in my two cents as well.</p>
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<p>First come, first serve – registration is online and all first years register at the same time, the morning of the Friday of Orientation. Getting the class you want depends on how many people are already signed up for the course. The registrar has enrollment figures; look at those to see how many spots are still open. Have back up courses!! Have a few writing courses for sure (those always fill up the fastest) and backups for your other course picks as well. </p>
<p>Some departments will pretty much let you in, even if courses are full. The math department is generally really flexible, and intro sciences (esp. bio and chem) really depend on the lab – so make sure at least one of the lab times fits. Physics is pretty flexible as well, I would say a bit more so than bio/chem.</p>
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If in the course catalog, it says you need a certain prereq or permission from the instructor, you can register online – just make sure you have the prereq done!</p>
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ALT 1 and ALT 2 are alternate Wednesdays, meaning they happen every other week – dates are on the registrar’s site. Some professors use all their ALTs, others barely use them at all – depends on the prof and the class.</p>
<p>If it’s like you specified: “MTh 8:30 - 9:40 W-ALT1” that means the ALT1 is at the same time, 8:30-9:40. </p>
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Generally the schedule is correct, but that does seem a bit weird. What course(s) were you looking at like that?</p>
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Woah. Ok. Planning ahead!!</li>
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<p>You don’t have to plan everything out first-year, but it’s good to start thinking about what courses you need to take to prepare you for it. This is especially true if you are thinking about being pre-med, but it is still definitely possible to go abroad and be pre-med or any other science major (I say science major because those seem to be more difficult in fitting all the classes in because of labs and such).</p>
<p>If you’re interested in Aix, that means you definitely want to take French starting your first-year. I think WendyMouse or someone else posted a bit about Aix in another thread… search for it if you can. There will be a study abroad fair the second or third week of classes that is directed mostly at sophomores, but you could look around and get an idea for all the programs that are offered.</p>
<p>Thanks advantagious and welles10. That was all very helpful :)</p>
<p>The course that I’m interested in is WRIT 125/WGST 108. It meets on M 11:10 - 1:20 and Th 11:10 - 12:20. On the course description it says “includes a third session each week” so I don’t know if it’s just it takes up 3 sessions each week or if a third session will be planned later. The course number is 12515.</p>
<p>Does anyone also know how competitive the Wellesley administered exchange programs are in terms of acceptance rates? The Wellesley-in-Aix website says that the more French courses you take the more competitive you are for the program but I think I’ll only be able to take the bare minimum listed.</p>
<p>Oh, okay, I’ve never had a class like that…I think that must mean that it takes the equivalent of 3 sessions, since the Monday meeting is double length. </p>
<p>For Wellesley-in-Vienna, I don’t think it is competitive at all. The application was ridiculously easy (fill out totally basic personal information, get two recommendations, and provide a note from your doctor that you’re not too sick or fragile to study abroad and that was it–not even an essay). I see from the website that the Aix application is a little more intensive, but it still is pretty basic. I think basically everyone who met the requirements for the Vienna program got accepted. I’m sorry I don’t know much about Aix specifically, but I had a friend who was abroad there this past year and I was around when she was applying and I do not think it was very competitive. I’m almost certain that she told me that there were fewer applicants than available spots. My impression is that you are supposed to be able to go abroad even if you started the language at Wellesley, as long as you meet the requirements. For Wellesley-in-Vienna specifically, I think they were basically happy for interested people. French is more popular than German, but still my impression was that you didn’t have to be the darling of the French department to get accepted.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think the third session each week applies to the Monday session, since 11:10-1:20 is two class periods. To confirm though, you can attend the advising chat on Tuesday, August 11 from 3-4:30 EST (more info about this is on your MyWellesley homepage). If you can’t make that though, you can email Ann Velenchik, the director of the writing program, at <a href=“mailto:avelench@wellesley.edu”>avelench@wellesley.edu</a></p>
<p>There is a 2-hour online registration session for incoming first year students on September 4th, right? Does that mean you have to be ready the minute the website opens to frantically try to register for your chosen courses before other first year students fill them up? Sort of like lining up to get first into the after-Christmas sale at Harrod’s? It doesn’t sound very … dignified.</p>
<p>You want to be ready to go right when registration opens. Most classes go pretty quickly, especially popular writing courses. The key is if you don’t get into a course is to email the professor and ask to be put on the waiting list and show up to class for the first day. the nice thing is that they have made the system faster this year than in previous years so you won’t be waiting for a half an hour to see if you go into your selected courses.</p>
<p>Also, don’t sweat you will get this explained to you and if you have any questions when you get to campus your First Year Mentors and Academic Peer Tutors will be able to answer all these questions in depth for you</p>
<p>Yes, registration for first years will be the morning of Sept 4th. Yes, you should be ready when it opens … last year it was 7:30am. Not sure if they made it later this year or not, as the final Orientation schedule has not yet been released.</p>
<p>In addition to all the very excellent advice above, I’d like to add in another perspective:</p>
<p>As a first semester first year, please don’t think that your world has ended if you do not get into your first choice classes. Seriously. Yes, while you can ask a professor to be on a waiting list for a class and show up on the first day to see if any spots are open, it would behoove you to have 2nd and 3rd choices on hand. As advantagious mentioned, there are only a few, very specific circumstances that would require you to mark out and plan your entire academic career as a first year. Please keep an open mind and be open to the possibility of taking a class in a department that’s not your perceived strength. Take advantage of the spirit of a liberal arts curriculum!</p>
<p>On a practical note, my advice would be for you to have at least 2 or 3 classes you could take at each class time block. That way, if your first choice is filled, you already have a backup (or 2) for that specific time, without having to rearrange your entire schedule.</p>
<p>And yes, 4 classes your first semester will be plenty. Really.</p>
<p>Btw discoball, if this makes scheduling a bit easier for you, that writing section Writ 125/Wgst 108 is being offered in the fall and the spring. So, if you don’t get into it this semester, you still have another chance to take it.</p>
<p>Also, I was looking at the calendar, and there’s a Wellesley in Aix information session on Wednesday, Sept 16 at 1pm. You might want to check that out.</p>
<p>welles10, I’ll definitely try to check out the information session.</p>
<p>I want to try to take WRIT 125 in the fall though so I can brush up on my writing skills a bit. There’re some history courses that I want to take in the spring but I’ve gone about a year without writing a proper paper so I’m a bit hesitant to take them without some writing under my belt first. I will look into other writing courses in the fall though! :)</p>
<p>Oh, you said that some courses are flexible and let you in despite being full. Is Abnornal Psych one of them? There are 30 spots and all of them are filled right now. If the answer is yes, how is this arranged - should I talk to professor and will the system let me register for the full class? </p>
<p>Also, I read on the psych dept web-page that they accept credit for Psych 101 from summer college courses. Does this mean I can automatically register for Psych courses that have 101 as prereq? How do I know where my summer course credits/AP credits go? </p>
<p>Thanks a lot! These questions have been torturing me a bit :)</p>
<p>It depends on the department and the professor as to if they will allow students over the cap for their class. Go on the first day of class and see if the professor will let you in; inevitably a few students will drop so at least some spots will open up. Banner Self Serve, the online system you use for registration, will not let you register for a full class – do not even try.</p>
<p>To get transfer credit, you have to go to the registrar’s office and fill out a transfer credit form. The form also asks for a description of the course that you took and/or a syllabus, so be sure to have access to those documents. You might have to get a few signatures from various people in the department, but generally the registrar’s office (at least in my experience) takes care of most of that for you. </p>
<p>If the psych dept approves your credit, then you can take any of the classes that have a 101 prereq. In the interest of registration, if there is another non-full course your are interested in, I would register for that and then talk to the professor about how you’re transferring in credit for 101. If the dept ends up not approving the course, you will have to re-take 101.</p>
<p>For transfer credit - What if I don’t have the course description from the other college? I took Psych 101 at Washington University in St. Louis… But I have my transcript from there. Would that help? </p>
<p>How do I apply for my credit to be approved by the department - through registrar’s office? Do you think there is a chance that it will not be approved? I got an A-
Would you suggest to take Psych 101 at Wellesley to brush up on my knowledge? The problem is that I am really interested in Abnormal Psych (now it has 3 spots open, just checked!) and would rather not repeat what I already learned… But if it will give me a more solid basis, I agree </p>
<p>Another one - do you think it is “worse” to take Writ course in spring? I saw a couple that are offered only in the spring and they are more interesting than the fall offering. </p>
<p>It’s not worse to take Writing in the spring–I think most people want to take it in the fall either because they just want to make sure they get the requirement fulfilled (that was me) or want to brush up their writing skills (as discoball mentioned). But there’s absolutely nothing bad about taking it in the spring.</p>
<p>If you don’t have the course description, the syllabus should be fine. I think the form requires one or the other, but you would have to check with the registrar’s office to be completely sure. The grades, while should be passing, aren’t all that factors in to whether or not a course is eligible for transfer credit. The quality of the course and what material you covered is what really is important, so I can’t say whether or not Intro Psych at WUSTL is equivalent to the course at Wellesley or not - that is up to the department to decide.</p>
<p>I would take a writing course that has an interesting topic - I would not want to take something less interesting just to get it done in the fall. Lucky for me, all the ones I liked were in the fall and I got a spot in a fall course.</p>
