To people already in UT taking science courses (labs)

<p>Is it better to take a lab later in the week? ... rather than earlier? Right now, for my course schedule, I can decide on taking a CH204 lab on either Monday or Wednesday. </p>

<p>I hear that if you take it later, you can ask others who had the class earlier in the week about the lab.
I'm trying to maximize my chances of getting an A.. lol</p>

<p>It is hard to say because you usually don't know which day is the "first day" of class. You don't start class for like 2 weeks( or at least I didn't in my lab) and it seems to start on an arbitrary day. If I were you, find out the first day of school, and pick something as far away as possible from it. Like a Monday, pick Thursday, Tuesday, pick Friday, etc.</p>

<p>Lemme get this straight -- with all the instructor office hours and TA office hours scattered throughout the week, your plan to is get an A by asking other students for help? What's wrong, is your ouija board broken?</p>

<p>This is a lab, not a class. The TAs are over stretched and really don't care at all about the classes. You learn practically nothing, and it is, for the most part, a huge waste of time unless you plan on doing research for the rest of your life. Don't mind Mr. Self-righteous over there, the labs were pointless. People would often times leave their data on the computers, we would take the data, almost do no work, I got a B the first semester, and an A the second semester(both for physics labs). Hooray for building a cheating mentality in high school.</p>

<p>Foxy cheats his way through high school, cheats his way through two UT physics labs, hasn't even taken the class you're asking about, and still feels his advice is sound. This is why I recommend asking the TA's or instructor instead of other students.</p>

<p>My roommate took the class your talking about, and my advice is sound. And the TA's are terrible, and there is no "instructor" just a TA. And yes I did cheat my way through high school, and I sort of cheated in the Physics labs(using my resources), but the classes are pointless and have no direct relation to my major so who cares. And if you don't learn to find old tests, old homeworks, and so forth, you will be left in the dust. If you know any upperclassmen, it will help you out to try to get their old stuff.</p>

<p>The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity and responsibility. Each member of the University is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.</p>

<p>That's the Honor Code of the University of Texas at Austin. Read it, then read your posts again.</p>

<p>As for the rest of the BS in your post:</p>

<p>If there is no instructor in CH204, then who gives the pre-lab lecture? Who makes up the quizzes? Who writes the lab manual? Who makes repeated rounds through the labs each session? Who makes grading keys for the TA's and lets them know where the problem spots are for the students? Go to Pick-a-prof and read the reviews for these non-existent instructors.</p>

<p>You can also see partial Course Instructor Survey results for both instructors and TA's through UT Direct. Log into UT Direct and type CIS in the Search box. Click on the link that says CIS results (Fall 2005+). In the Course box, type CH 204 (make sure the space is there). You'll get results for all the instructors and TA's in CH204 for the past three years. The most recent entries will be more meaningful, since those people are most likely to still be involved with the course. Look at line 7 for an instructor or TA rating. You say the TA's are terrible, but most of them have ratings between Very Good and Excellent.</p>

<p>You say your advice is sound. I say you're full of crap, and thousands of students who have actually taken the course agree with me.</p>

<p>See, Foxy, you can spout all the BS you want to, but I'll call you on it. You really don't know what you're talking about, but your inflamed ego won't allow you to admit it. At least you've admitted that you can't handle the coursework at UT without cheating. You cheated your way through high school and college, and you defend your lack of honesty based on whether or not it has a direct relation to your major. Lovely ethics system you have there. Never mind that it contradicts the UT Honor Code in so many places. But who cares -- honor isn't directly related to your major, so I guess you don't need any.</p>