Hey guys, I am playing around with the online Blue Book to get an idea of what classes I’ll be taking and I had a few questions. One, what classes are required for freshman to take their first semester? Second, what is the best number of classes to take (four or five) because I don’t want to overwhelm myself my first semester? Also, who are the best math and physics professors teaching Math 120 and Physics 180 (in your personal opinion)? I know we don’t officially register for classes until orientation but I am just curious playing around with my schedule. Thanks!!
I would start out by taking 4 classes per semester and see how it goes, which is what my son did. He took 4 classes per semester in his freshman and sophomore years, 5 classes per semester in his junior and senior years. In terms of required classes see: http://yalecollege.yale.edu/academics/academic-requirements
You don’t officially register until the end of shopping period – for freshman, that’s about 8 days into the semester. The entire reason for its existence is so you can add/change/delete courses and instructors. Keep your ears open at the lunch table. Some great courses might be discovered. Then check them out. Allow yourself to be surprised. Be creative. Don’t just mimic your Senior year AP schedule. Yo
For more choosing help – you need to spk w/your upperclassmen – your frocos can assist here. You don’t HAVE to take any class your first semester. Regarding instructors, many may not be assigned yet.
If you sit in on an instructor/class you don’t like, don’t return. Find another one.
Thanks for the great responses!! Isn’t there like a required writing class every freshman has to take? I thought I heard something about that.
Shop shop shop. It’s easier to pare the list down than to add a class after missing the first meeting, so spend your first couple of days running like crazy to get to the first session of the classes you’re most interested in, rather than intentionally planning to shop some classes for the first time towards the end of the week.
My suggestion would be to start with 5. You can withdraw as late as midterm with no notation on your transcript, so it’s easy to drop down to 4 if you feel overwhelmed. I took 5 most semesters, and had more 6-credit semesters (due to double-credit language classes) than 4-credit ones. Caveat that I wasn’t a science major - if you’re planning to start with a lab science and a math, 4 might be plenty.
No English requirement currently: http://yalecollege.yale.edu/new-students/class-2019/academic-information/special-programs-placement-and-preregistration/english
Thanks for the great responses, guys! I really appreciate it! Does anyone have any good suggestions on what classes to take outside of my major (looking at Mechanical Engineering) that will benefit my STEM studies? I am interested in taking some psychology and cog science classes, as well as some economics classes to broaden my studies and learn more outside of my major that I am interested in, but are there any courses/subjects in particular that would really help give me another perspective in engineering? Are there any really interesting fields to look into that will teach me things I wouldn’t have learned in engineering, but will benefit me as a STEM student? I plan on pursuing some of these courses during shopping period, but I want some ideas of what to look into before I start shopping. Thanks again!!
http://yalecollege.yale.edu/academics/academic-requirements/distributional-requirements-chart
During your first semester, you should take a Foreign Language class and start getting that requirement out of the way. Ditto for your writing requirement. Assuming you take four classes this semester, that would leave two open slots.
Keep in mind that Yale will NOT let you select a major without having taken the Intro class for that course So, if you think you might be interested in psychology, economics, or mechanical engineering, you need to take the intro classes in those subjects during your freshman year or sophomore year. The Intro courses could be your other two slots for your first semester of your freshman year.
DS is a STEMish kid, and I was surprised to see that he enrolled in and thoroughly enjoyed PSYC 161 Drugs, Brain, Behavior with Hedy Kober and a course with Marvin Chun (I can’t remember the course #, but any course with Dr. Chun, known informally as the man is worth taking – it might have been Intro).
My son took PSYC 110, Introduction to Psychology, with Dr. Chun his freshman year and loved it.
The two posts above illustrate a good point: when choosing courses, especially those outside your likely major, look for the professors who are widely reported to be excellent. (Chun is a good example.) Look at the student reviews online. Ask upperclassmen. If you take a course in a subject that has always interested you, but with a professor who is reputed to be boring or otherwise bad, you’ll be sorry. Rather, take a course in a subject you know nothing about but with a superstar professor.
Wow thanks for the great responses. Based on the last few posts, I have a few more questions. 1) I have taken four years of Spanish, but I am kind of tired of the subject and have really lost interest in it (I guess hs Spanish just didn’t do it for me). Should I look into taking another language to fulfill my FL requirement, and if so what language? I would assume Mandarin would be a good language to learn if you’re going into STEM fields, but are there any others I should also consider? 2) Is it smart for me to have a really diverse schedule my first semester? Based on gibby’s advice, I would probably take math 120, physics 180 (those two are for ME), FL intro class, writing seminar, and/or a psych/econ intro course, but would that be too much? I don’t want to overdo it with too many courses outside my major but I do still want to explore. Thanks again!
^^ everyone is different. My son was advised, on CC and by me, to not load up too much in his first semester. He went shopping with the best of intentions, but the excitement of all the great courses available to him made him overdo it a bit. In retrospect he would have lightened up.
Follow the language flow chart: http://yalecollege.yale.edu/foreign-language-requirement
- If you took AP Spanish and scored a 5 on the AP test, you need to take 1 more semester of Spanish.
- If you took AP Spanish and scored a 5 on the AP test, but don't want to take Spanish, you must take 2 semesters of another language at level 1 and Level 2. That could be Mandarin or any other language.
- If you took AP Spanish and scored below a 5 on the AP test, or did not take AP Spanish, you need to take the Yale placement exam and may need to take 2 or 3 semesters of Spanish.
- If you took AP Spanish and scored below a 5 on the AP test, or did not take AP Spanish, but don't want to take Spanish, you will need to take 3 semesters of another language. That could be Mandarin or any other language.
Student’s must complete their foreign language requirement by the end of their sophomore year.
So I got a 4 on the AP Spanish exam in May, so that would mean that I would need to take 2-3 more semesters of Spanish at Yale if I decided to stay with that language? Or I could just take a new language and take 2-3 semesters of that?
My daughter got a 3 on AP French. She’s a STEM kid, so wanted the least additional language possible. She took the placement and was put into whatever level led to 2 more semesters of French. They are very intensive classes. She was happy to see them in the rearview mirror 
I think if you start a new language, you’re going to have to take 3 semesters. That’s what I read from Gibby’s chart, and what I recall from my daughter’s experience.
^^ No. You could take Yale’s placement exam in Spanish and be told you must take 2 (or 3) semesters of Spanish. However, if you take a completely NEW language, you are looking at 3 semesters of foreign language.
NOTE: foreign language classes occur EVERY day for about an hour each day. So, that can create havoc with your well aid-out plans for other courses.
My suggestion, based on my son’s experience, is to first look for a foreign language class, and then try to fit your other classes in around that schedule. Keep in mind that you can order and pick up a bag-lunch at breakfast, so you could theoretically have a foreign language class that meets from 12 noon to 1:15pm Monday to Friday, and then another class from 1:30 to 3pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and eat lunch on those days during either of the classes.
Thanks for the great advice @gibby! I’ll look into the scheduling of my classes and work them around my FL. I am surprised that FL classes meet everyday, that seems like a really intensive course. I am kind of torn on what I want to do. I really didn’t enjoy taking Spanish, but I am not sure if Mandarin will be any more fun for me (other than the fact that I get to start a new language from scratch). What FL did your son take? How was his experience with the department?
Also, does anyone know the name of the writing seminar class? I can’t seem to find it on the blue book.
^^Never mind, I found it!
^^ what DS did instead of taking a Writing Seminar was to take a course (Crime and Punishment) with additional essay requirements. It apparently fulfilled a Distributional Requirement, and also kicked his butt