Questions For Current Duke Students?

<p>51 is kind of an intro, weeder class, i guess. you can probably easily be an econ major if you don't take 55 until sophomore fall; you still have 6 semesters to take however many econ classes you need</p>

<p>You can definitely still be an econ major if you hold off 55 until sophomore year. One of my friends decided in her junior year to become an econ major so she took 51 in her first semester of junior year and 55 in her second semester. Her senior year has been a little hectic though, in that she is basically taking all econ classes.</p>

<p>103 is no joke</p>

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Generally though, my trinity friends are of the opinion that math 103 is a course that should be avoided unless one absolutely must take it.

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<p>LISTEN TO THIS ADVICE. TAKE IT (the advice, not the course). I took 103 and I really wish I hadn't. Dumbest move of my life. Don't bother.</p>

<p>I second that.</p>

<p>103 destroyed my GPA and my passion for mathematics.</p>

<p>I shudder at the thought.</p>

<p>What? 103 can totally be a joke! It just depends on who you have. (it might not be easy but mathematicians tell as many jokes as other proffessors)</p>

<p>Seriously though, 103 is hard. Don't take it as a lark, take it if you need to take it. (like engineers, go engineering!)</p>

<p>Wow, do you need 103 even for BME? You guys are changing my opinions about wanting to become an engineer :&lt;/p>

<p>I'm a HS junior, so it's kinda early to be asking questions, but I've got a couple:</p>

<p>1) How many <em>hours</em> per week are you actually in class (this one's for Trinity, I've deduced that Pratt are in class 27 hours per day, 9 days per week)?</p>

<p>2) How much is there to do outside of class? Will I find my special little niche relatively easily (easier than in highschool... damn these teenage years)?</p>

<p>That's all for now. Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Just wanted to ask what you meant by "even for BME?" :-D All four engineering curricula require three semesters of calculus (MTH 31, 32, 103) and two semesters of diff. eq. and linear algebra (MTH 107, 108), along with one more course (all but MEMS require statistics; ME requires an upper level quantitative course of which statistics is one but not the only one).</p>

<p>Regarding class time, one-credit courses meet for 2.5 hours of lecture each so a fully non-lab normal Trinity schedule would have 10 hours of class and an "overload" would be 12.5. Labs are usually on the order of three hours and recitations are on the order of 1.25 hours so your mileage may vary, especially in the sciences. </p>

<p>A first-semester engineer will usually be taking one non-lab classes, one lab class (MTH, 2 hour lab), and two lab+recitation classes (CHM, 3 hour lab & 50 minute recitation; EGR, 3 hours lab & 75 minute recitation) for approximately 20 hours of class - still much less than you probably have now!</p>

<p>What I meant by "even for BME" is that I want to go into BME but don't want to experience the horrors you people are going through. <em>sigh</em></p>

<p>And I was expecting just around 20 hours of classtime. But that would generally translate to 60 hours of homework (or does the 1 in = 3 out rule apply to the part which is not lab?), which is a giant load of work. But yeah, 20 hours is about half as much classtime as I have now =D</p>

<p>I still can't decide if I ought to apply to Trinity or Pratt (I have a pretty secure chance of getting into Duke, so forgive me for counting my chickens before they hatch, but my dreams are blending with my hopes)? I want to double major in Psychology and BME. Which one would I apply to? Or do you think that engineering is mutually exclusive?</p>

<p>hasnt the deadline already passed?</p>

<p>what courses are required for all trinity students in general. i know theres an english class. is there anything else??</p>

<p>nmheta4: Yes, the deadline has passed, but I'm going to be applying next year. I'm a junior right now trying to find out all I can about colleges.</p>

<p>xiaojingteng: My friend told me that all he had to take was English as a required course.</p>

<p>You have to take a Writing 20 class and a seminar during your freshman year. The great thing about them, however, is that they come in all sorts of different topics so you may have a math seminar or a physics seminar, and your writing class may not be about english at all.</p>

<p>Of course, you also have to fulfill your T-Reqs like foreign language, cross cultural inquiry, natural science, etc etc.</p>

<p>Romanian:</p>

<p>If you want to double major with an Engineering major you have to apply to Pratt. If you are considering engineering at all I'd consider applying to pratt just because it is easier to switch out than switch in. (oh and in many ways BME is the worst offender on the "engineering is hard" issue so just be warned; I'm a BME so I'm not saying don't do it, just know what you are getting into)</p>

<p>So scared of Math 103, I may have to take it. I'm kind of considering Math or Econ major. However, it is likely I'm just going to become a history/psychology/polisci major if I want law school.</p>

<p>Don't be scared of math 103. If you are scared of it, you'll do badly. Just recognize that it's not an easy class and devote a healthy amount of time to it. Here are a few things that you can do to make math 103 a bit less painful:</p>

<p>1) Ask the upperclassmen for teacher recommendations, getting a good teacher versus a bad teacher can mean the difference between getting a B- and an A- for the same effort. This might be a bit late though seeing as spring semester registration is over.</p>

<p>2) Be proactive about the class, if you need help, ask. Ask questions in class, go to office hours, ask classmates, get a peer tutor. Do whatever it takes to understand the material. </p>

<p>3) Find something that works for you in terms of studying and stick to it. Whether it's reviewing notes immediately after class, or doing homework as they are assigned. </p>

<p>If you can do that, you can do well in the course.</p>

<p>Yeah it isn't bad unless you decide you're going to fail...having a good attitude in math classes is crucial. Otherwise you won't be motivated to pay attention to everything in class, ask questions EVERY TIME something is unclear, or do homework every night. If you have a bad attitude, it's easy to blow off class ("I have no idea what's going on anyway..") and just put off learning the material (which spells disaster because you it's impossible cram this stuff or even catch up after you've blown off previous chapters).</p>

<p>Great advice from all of you. I suppose taking the closest equivalent of Math 103 over the summer at a community college wouldn't hurt, would it?</p>

<p>-- Coed vs Single-Sex (and why?)</p>

<p>-- How awkward are the first couple of weeks for freshmen?</p>

<p>-- Will not having a car hinder your social life, especially if you're not a drinker?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>You don't get a choice of coed or single sex dorms. There is no such thing as a single sex freshman dorm. I think in 1 or 2 dorms they have single sex *floors<a href="boys%20on%20one%20floor,%20girls%20on%20the%20other">/i</a> but most floors in freshman dorms are coed (with boys and girls hallways). You can't pick which dorm you're in, which room you're in, or whether you're on a coed or single sex floor. The housing process is completely random, though you can pick a roommate (and roommate requests are not always granted). You will always room with someone of the same sex and your hallway will be same-sex, but there will be people of the opposite sex down the hall most likely.</p></li>
<li><p>The first few weeks are not at all awkward. It's the opposite, actually. You meet a billion new people and have nonstop fun before classes start. I guess it could be awkward if you are awkward, but if that's the case then your whole Duke career will be awkward :)</p></li>
<li><p>It will not hinder your social life if you do not have a car. Most people do not have cars their freshman year. After all, you and most of your friends and classmates live on East Campus which is tiny. I know a lot of very social people who don't have cars on campus. In later years it might be different. Drinking doesn't have anything to do with it.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>About the community college math course...the math department may or may not accept that credit, even if you try to test out of the course. Make sure to check with the department.</p>

<p>Math 103 is tough but important. It wouldn't hurt to take it over the summer and then take it again your first semester.</p>

<p>I don't think Duke accepts credit from community college courses. You'd have to take the course at an accredited 4 year institution.</p>

<p>--Coed vs Single-Sex (and why?)</p>

<p>It doesn't matter at all really. There will be people of all sexes in your dorm and you'll meet tons of people. In terms of how loud it is, what people do, yada yada, it really doesn't matter...just pick one or the other basically.</p>

<p>-- How awkward are the first couple of weeks for freshmen?</p>

<p>Yeah- Not at all. Most people don't know ANYONE so you just kind of introduce yourself to everyone and meet tons of people and it's like...whatever. Just steer clear of using "I think we're facebook friends..." as the opening line of a conversation. Be yourself and you'll realize that everyone is just looking to find their niche. Everyone will obviously have some awkward moments, but I mean, you'll have awkward moments throughout college.</p>

<p>-- Will not having a car hinder your social life, especially if you're not a drinker?</p>

<p>Nope. There's a lot to do on campus and shortly off east. If you're not going out or anything, you'll definitely find stuff to do around your dorm...people hanging out and watching a movie or something...it's really not a big deal. Even as an upperclassman if you don't have a car it doesn't matter much at all because you'll find things to do. Plus you'll definitely know people with cars, so if you need to go anywhere it's not a problem.</p>