<p>I'm going to be an incoming frreshman at UW-Madison this fall, and it's tough to escape the "wow your SOAR is really late, good luck getting into classes you want" sort of talk.</p>
<p>I have an interest in pursuing Actuarial Science, which is through the school of business. When I went to schedule my SOAR, late July seemed to be the only available options (or the only ones left? Guess I can't be certain..).</p>
<p>My question is, would it be better to sign up for an earlier session through the college of letters and science (or the "I have not yet decided" option w/ the CCA service) and still work my way toward business-related classes, or is it not that difficult to work around classes filling up? I'm not hell-bent on getting specific classes or anything, but it would be nice to have a relatively enjoyable freshman class schedule for such a big transition...any thoughts?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>You have plenty of elective classes to go through so doing SOAR later will have no long-term impact. They do hold classes for all SOAR groups at least somewhat equally. You should be able to find enough to fill your schedule with classes you will need overall.</p>
<p>As Mick Jagger would say, regardless of which SOARS session you attend, you’ll likely find that you won’t get most of the classes you want – but you’ll get what you need.</p>
<p>Keep checking back on the SOAR registration page, new dates open up daily; whether students need to back out from going to UW, or simply need to change their SOAR date. I just moved my SOAR date up to July 16th today for the School of Business, I plan on continuing to check back to see if I can keep moving it closer.</p>
<p>Is it odd that if I check the sessions available one minute, there’s only so many, but I check back 5 minutes later and all these dates that weren’t there have suddenly shown up? Is this just a bug?</p>
<p>No…that would either be UW adding more spots to a session or students dropping their original soar dates.</p>
<p>During your first two semesters, you will want to take the 4 prerequisites for business school (Psych, Calc, Comm A, Econ 101) - these are very large classes and should have availability throughout SOAR (as Barrons mentioned). Fill in your schedule with some of the liberal studies requirements and you’ll be all set.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bus.wisc.edu/undergrad/advising/documents/2008_Bus_Curriculum.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bus.wisc.edu/undergrad/advising/documents/2008_Bus_Curriculum.pdf</a></p>
<p>My placement test scores indicate I’ve tested out of Comm A, would it be advisable to try and find a Comm B class for some point during freshman year?</p>
<p>Yes, I’d suggest finishing your Comm B class freshman year. There are a lot of options - here are a couple of popular Comm B classes (counts as Comm B only if you are in the 4 credit discussion section, not the 3 credit): </p>
<p>Literature in Translation 275 - Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen</p>
<p>Theatre and Drama 120</p>
<p>Last year, I remember Wis75 suggesting that freshman who test out of Comm A still take English 100 anyway - maybe because its an easy A (helps your pre-business GPA) and you learn your way around College Library and the right way to format papers (for that Comm B course). When you take Comm B you will be giving an oral presentation (5 minutes or so) and writing and revising and researching a few papers which will total 30 written pages (so knowing your way around a couple of campus libraries is helpful, though something you can take the initiative to do on your own).</p>
<p>I think you should try to get into the earliest possible SOAR, even if one isn’t available with business advising. Then just try to move yourself into that advising group once you’ve arrived for SOAR. They will tell you to take 12-14 credits, and to split the 4 business school prerequisites between your first two semesters. (Econ, Psych, Comm A, Calc).</p>
<p>I disagree with that. I don’t think it matters so much to get it done your freshman year, and in fact, I think sophomore year is a better year to take it, just because you have more experience under your belt, and you’ll probably be better prepared to handle it. At the very least, I do not recommend taking it first semester of your freshman year. Just don’t wait until second semester senior year, and you’ll be fine. </p>
<p>Another reason for taking it later is because you’re more likely to get into a class you want to take for Comm-B, since you get to register earlier, and for all you know, one of your major classes might also be a Comm-B class anyway. If I were you, HackDiesel, I’d be sure to ask your advisor, and even the peer advisors, this question at SOAR. There is definitely something to be said for taking it freshman year, especially if you can get into one you want, and especially if it’ll open up spots for you in your later years, however, it’s not for everyone.</p>
<p>Also note that it’s very easy to search for Comm-B classes on the student center, so don’t limit yourself to the popular ones.</p>
<p>Great ideas from all so far, I appreciate the input.</p>
<p>Last question for now: If I do switch to an earlier SOAR session before my AP Calculus AB test score arrives, am I srequired to be placed into Calc 1? I’m just curious if they do that or “assume” you’ll pass and sign you up for Math 222 right away. I’m worried that upon receiving my scores and having to change to a higher level math class, it might screw up my schedule if conflicts arise…</p>
<p>^Know that you can check your scores on the Student Center before they arrive in the mail. Just go to Student Center -> My Academics -> View Placement Test scores, and it’ll be somewhere on that page near the bottom. All your AP test scores will be on there. I don’t remember when they upload them (late June, I think. Before they come in the mail, for sure), but they’ll be there, even the ones from past years. And naturally, so will your placement test scores (and also ACT/SAT score).</p>
<p>And I believe that you can sign up to be in the higher level one if you think that you passed the test, because they do ask you what you think you got. If you end up not, you will have to be moved down. Just have a plan for both for now, and ask your advisor at SOAR. If I remember correctly, I placed myself in 222 before my results arrived, and I passed anyway.</p>
<p>I agree with Pathetique–I wouldn’t take a comm B course your first semester. It’s fairly time-intensive and–assuming you’ll maintain your interest in actuarial science–it’s a one semester sequence that doesn’t fulfill any pre-reqs for future courses (essentially a dead end). </p>
<p>It’s been a couple years, but I believe I also got placed into Math 234 without having my BC test scores in. They’ll typically ask you what you “think” you got, and also consider your math placement scores before deciding where to put you. If you don’t have a solid background I wouldn’t jump into 222 anyways. </p>
<p>Look at the business school requirements and compare them to the L&S requirements. Try to take classes that satisfy both, so that if you change your major, you’ll have useful gen-ed requirements fulfilled. This would typically be some sort of science course, micro econ will satisfy both schools, psych, even an ethics course. </p>
<p>If you’re very adamant about studying Actuarial Sci, then AIS 100 might be a good class to get out of the way, too. It’ll give you a head start. It’s a fairly useful class even if you don’t end up in the business school–it’ll teach you the basics of analyzing financial statements.</p>
<p>AIS 100 - the first accounting class - is not open to first semester freshmen - it’s a fairly difficult class.</p>
<p>Didn’t know that it wasn’t open to all, thanks for correcting me.</p>
<p>And to further reiterate Madison85’s comment, AIS 100 is not first-semester material. The cut-off for an A when I took it was above a 96 percent. Wait on that one.</p>
<p>I just noticed someone quoted me as suggesting English 100- I am the one saying to NOT take it if you don’t need to. Those with AP English from HS probably know how to write by now. </p>
<p>Your SOAR advisor will have your placement test scores, even if you take them when you arrive this summer. You will be advised regarding calculus- your math placement test is all precalc so if you remember that material it won’t help placing you in first or second semester calculus. Consider how you did on the AP calc exam- AP calc is less intense than UW calc, unless you feel you really know the material it may be advisable to retake first semester calc at UW. Those few taking the Honors Calc courses will find it worthwhile to start at the beginning regardless of an AP score of 5 if they want the theory based course- unless advised otherwise.</p>
<p>The silver lining to classes being full is finding interesting courses you might otherwise not consider to meet breadth requirements. Look outside the box- there are many fields not known by HS students. Some courses are also crosslisted and may fill more than one type of requirement. I learned Linguistics 101=301 = Anthropology 101=301 lecture and open to new freshmen. Important to search before SOAR and explore many possibilities. You can also change your schedule after SOAR- but be careful to remember the rationale behind why you signed up for your courses so you don’t eliminate one key to future classes.</p>