questions for current cornell (CAS) students

<li><p>what did your first semester schedule look like? how many classes did you take and how did you deal w/the writing, langauge, and PE requirements?</p></li>
<li><p>how are the parties? seriously.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>if these questions were already addressed in previous threads, i apologize.</p>

<p>1) Bio G lecture, Bio G lab, Writing Seminar, Intro to Govt and American Politics, and Anthropology 101 or 102, i forgot</p>

<p>cornell offers alot of courses but it doesn't seem alot of peps are taking advantage of the numerous offerrings. is it bc of requirerments need to be filled?</p>

<p>Bio101 Lecture, Bio103 Lab, Math 213 Multivariable Calc, Spanish 209, Chem 215 Gen Chem Honors</p>

<p>so do most freshment take 4 classes/semester?</p>

<p>glassishalffull: freshman usually take 4 or 5 full courses a semester. Those who want to ease into things will take 4 (or 3 if something goes wrong ;)) the first semester. Anything goes as long as you're above 12 credits, and cornell is sympathetic to freshman who screw up.</p>

<p>I took Music 151 (3 credits), Music 153 (2 cr), Math 111 (4 cr), Music 111.2 (writing seminar, 3 cr), Music 322 (Instrumental Lessons, 2 cr) and Spanish 123 (4 cr)</p>

<p>that's 18 credits, but music is a pleasure for me. cornell recommends 14-16 credits a semester. if you're worried about keeping up with the work, it might be advisable to take 14ish as opposed to 16ish. Either way, I recommend signing up for one more class than you want to take, and then dropping the class that is the most problematic for you a couple weeks into the semester.</p>

<p>all the requirements need to be filled by graduation, not necessarily right away. I'm not taking a writing seminar second semester because I didn't get one I liked. I dropped PE first semester because I didn't like it, but just completed my 2nd semester PE (skiing), which leaves one to go. I have 3 I want to take, so i'll be fine. I don't like language so much, but I'm taking them in sequence without gaps so I stay on my game and get it out of the way ASAP. do you have a more pointed question about "dealing" with those three requirements? I just don't see what there is to "deal" with.</p>

<p>abike11: one can only take so many courses in a semester. I'd say over the 8 semesters there, and with 13000ish students, the diverse course offerings get pretty well taken care of.</p>

<p>oh yeah, the parties are good. you'll be very satisfied with them. Do you have any more specific questions on the parties?</p>

<p>this is a q if have with regard to ctlasses in general...
do u get to choose what classes u want to attend each day (that doesn't happen here in India)</p>

<p>also...if each person's taking different no. of credits, how can they sit for a common test??? or are tests administred differently for all???</p>

<p>what do you mean by common test?</p>

<p>you choose your classes. your classes will meet on specific days/times. for example my spanish 123 met at 8:00AM Mon, tues, wed and thurs, my physics 112 lecture meets at 12:20 Mon, wed, and fri, and my AEM 121 meets at 7:30PM on mondays. for some classes like spanish there are many sections (different times/professors) but others there is only one section. either way, tests are either given in-class, or at a mass gathering of all the sections in the evening on some particular day.</p>

<p>i don't see what number of credits has to do with sitting for a common test...</p>

<p>ok...this is how it works in India:</p>

<p>u choose a course...say Electrical engineering...
u now go to class in the morning...and its a fixed schedule for each day (u don't choose)...so at the end of each term, all EE students have done the same amt of portions and sit for a common test(same paper on same day and time)ow different is US?</p>

<p>^bump
mind answerin that on???</p>

<p>each class has its own test that is given to the students who took that class</p>

<p>so a class is for each chapter, and not for a subject???</p>

<p>so all physics students don't take 1 class, but only physics students doin say a chapter take a class???</p>

<p>No. Let's say we're talking about Intro Physics. There are probably several intro physics sections, meaning different classes composed of a certain # of students. When it comes time for prelims, all the sections come together for the same prelim because the same material is covered. That's the scenario that sparticus described. </p>

<p>Otherwise, each teacher makes his own exam for his own section, or at least that's what I'm gathering.</p>

<p>then am i right in assuming that these different types of physics, say physics207 or 890, have different foci and that they are taylor made for different majors??? and that a class consists of students doing this physics207...and credits are awarded when u pass this p207???</p>

<p>wait taylor-made like a taylor ham egg and cheese? CORNELL IS AWESOME!!!1111</p>

<p>whats the lang requirement for CAS?</p>

<p>You either place into and pass a 200-level language course or you start over in a language and take 11 or more credits in it.</p>

<p>seriously?? wow that sucks.</p>

<p>norcalguy: doesn't it say on the language website that if you place into Spanish 123 with an appropriate SATII Spanish score then you only need to take two semesters (123 and a 200 course) of Spanish?</p>