<p>@sciencegal, you just sign up for the swimming classes, so you kind of have to self-evaluate how good of a swimmer you are. There are basic swimming classes where they teach you how to you refine your strokes (or teach you how to do a stroke if you never learned) and there are conditioning classes like Swim Conditioning and Water Aerobics, and there is a lifeguarding class. Also there’s a synchronized swimming club, but that’s not for credit. </p>
<p>@nightpwns - Definltely see what’s comfortable for you, but I don’t recommend overloading your first semester unless you don’t plan to do things like sports or join many clubs. I found five academic classes to always be way more than I could handle, but I had a lot of extra curricular commitments and a job as well. Some people think they are no sweat. Its hard because you really always want to take more than you have room for, but you have to think of your sanity first. </p>
<p>And yes, it’s hard for first-years to get into colloquia their first semester, as often the spots will all already be filled by upperclasswomen. But remember that the upperclassladies will be shopping for courses during the first two weeks of school as well and they may drop a lot of the courses they signed up for the previous spring (I once changed every class on my schedule the first two weeks of classes) so sometimes you can snag spaces. The trick is to go to the class on the first day, even if you are waitlisted or unable to register and see what happens.</p>
<p>One other thing to consider: first years get what amounts to a lottery draw when assigned to meet with their advisors. If you are assigned to meet with an advisor early in orientation, then you can pretty much get the courses you want, provided that they aren’t courses generally filled by upperclassmen. My daughter had one of the last meetings, and she was crushed because only one of the six classes on her list was still open. She did manage to added to one first-choice class because, at the time, she expected to major in that subject and needed the course. The other two courses she added in the last minute scramble ended up being two of the best courses she took at Smith.</p>
<p>Never give up, though! Older students can’t drop classes until the semester has started (many will also change their minds over the summer) and there’s add/drop period. If you really want to attend a class, show up on the first day! Show up on the second day to see if anyone from day 1 changed their minds! And some professors will let anyone who’s still showing up by the second week take the class just for being persistent (though this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule).</p>
<p>Yes, my D got into two courses (including the supposed major one above) by showing up the first day. Many students shop, and they end up dropping a couple of classes as they decide which they would rather take.</p>
<p>The advisor meeting system has changed for first years. They still meet with the advisor one-on-one, but then receive the registration code and register through bannerweb on their own at a set time. So it’s more like a mad scramble to get classes, but everyone has a more or less equal shot at getting into classes.</p>
<p>persistence can work - my daughter got into what looked like a very oversubscribed class by showing up for the first three classes when other people gave up. She has gotten into two waitlist classes so far. She also averages 18 credits with labs and finds it doable but she is in class a lot more that some of her friends which means less time to work between classes!</p>