<p>Congrats to everyone else accepted for class of 2011! I've read this forum for a while but never actually got on...</p>
<p>Are there certain classes that most freshman take? How many classes per semester do most people take? How much do the MIT sports teams (lacrosse in particular) practice? How much do most freshman work?</p>
<p>imscaredofbeestoo,</p>
<p>4 classes per semester, sports pratice is always between 5 and 7pm (well unless you're crew or something), freshmen work the least out of all the students at MIT! :)</p>
<p>Typical freshman schedule:</p>
<p>(it depends on your background coming in)</p>
<p>18.01 (single var. calc) or 18.02 (multi)
8.01 (mechanics) or 8.012 (mechanics with theory) or 8.02 (E&M)
3.091 (solid state chem) or 5.111 (chem) or 5.112 (harder chem) or 7.012 (bio)
HASS class - some humanities class</p>
<p>p.s. you should also take a freshman advising seminar. 6 free credits and you get fed once every week!</p>
<p>If you pass the placement exam for chem or bio. does this satisfy the corresponding GIR? Or do you still have to take just as many chem and bio classes?</p>
<p>by placement exam do you mean advanced standing exam? If so, yeah, that's the only reason anyone would take an advanced standing exam, it places you out of the class. AP credit counted for Bio my year, but I THINK they've gotten rid of it.</p>
<p>Right: credit is no longer given for AP Bio. See this page for details on AP credits currently accepted.</p>
<p>That page says how to get credit for various classes, but I didn't see where it said whether that credit satisfied the corresponding GIR- the alternative would be that it let you skip to a more advanced class but that you still had to take e.g.. a semester of bio at MIT.</p>
<p>Just to say, only 2 or 3 people pass the chem advanced standing exam every year. I took it as a freshman (I was advised not to, people kept on telling me it was a waste of time because no one passes it), I think I got a 14 (80 is passing), a friend of mine just scribbled jokes all over his exam and left because three pages in he realized it was a lost cause.</p>
<p>So unless you have a ridiculously detailed chem background, the chem advanced standing will be near impossible. It's a lot different for the other exams though, they're a bit more reasonable.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and most classes have "extra numbers" classes you can take as well. For example, 18.01 has 18.012, and 18.02 has 18.022. I didn't take either (they add a lot of course work I didn't need for my major), so I won't comment on these, but you'll learn all this during orientation.</p>
<p>Aedar, as pebbles mentioned above, 7.012 is the Biology part of the GIRs. From the page linked above:
[quote]
No credit is given for the College Board AP Biology exam. To receive credit for 12 units of 7.012, Introductory Biology, you must pass the Biology Advanced Standing Examination administered during Orientation.
[/quote]
Also from that page, regarding the 5.111 Chemistry GIR:
[quote]
No credit is given for the College Board AP Chemistry exam. To receive credit for 12 units of 5.111, Principles of Chemical Science, you must pass the Advanced Placement (Advanced Standing) exam administered during Orientation.
[/quote]
There's no ASE (advanced standing exam) for 3.091, if you choose that as your Chemistry class satisfying the GIRs.</p>
<p>If you pass the ASEs in Bio or Chem, you have completed the GIRs for those disciplines and can either take a more advanced course in those areas or take something else instead.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info. Too bad those exams are so tough, but at least they are an option.</p>
<p>Well, the 7.012 ASE may or may not be tough -- this will be the first year it's given. You may want to poke around the 7.012</a> website or OCW to find finals from the past few years, as the ASE will probably be similar.</p>
<p>ImScaredOfBees, my theory is that it's easier to get really awesome at time-management when you have other commitments like sports to keep you disciplined. :) At the very least, first semester is pass/no record, so you can do lacrosse without worrying that it'll impact your school performance too much. You'll probably find that everything will work out fine.</p>
<p>pebbles,</p>
<p>what's the freshman advising seminar you were talking about?</p>
<p>as a freshman you can take your advising in the form of a seminar. with a professor that leads/advises about 5-10 students and you get together once a week to chat about something in particular or anything at all (mine was about natural disasters, we had speakers come in and talk about global warming and asteroids and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions...) ...and eat chinese food with us. ANyways those are a good thing to take advantage of, as you (for some awesome inconceivable reason) also get 6 units of academic credit.</p>
<p>7.012 looks prettty interesting, with a lot of content beyond AP bio.</p>
<p>A word on extra number classes:</p>
<p>Extra numbers classes are very good if you're going to be that major. For example, a math major may want to take 18.012/18.022 or a physics major 8.012/8.022. However, I'd highly recommend staying away from those classes if you're not majoring in a related field. It will just make your transition to MIT harder. Some people may disagree, but most of those people are 6/8/18 (CS, physics, math), which are all related. If you're going to do management please spare yourself and don't take the extra number classes.</p>
<p>But it is easy to switch from an extra-number class into a not-extra-number class -- if you feel you're in over your head, you have the first three weeks of the semester (until Add Date) to add another class.</p>
<p>^ That's really cool, because I want to do Course 8, but I'm afraid I haven't had the math background necessary for 8.022 (or 8.012 if I don't pass out of 8.01, ekk). Speaking of which, can anyone comment on just how intense 8.012/8.022 are in comparison to their thousandths-less counterparts? Is it the math that's hard, or the concepts, or the speed, or the depth, or...?</p>
<p>Is it the math that's hard, or the concepts, or the speed, or the depth, or...?</p>
<p>yes.</p>
<p>The Bio GIR seems to be an exception to the general pattern of being able to choose between .0x and .0xy versions of a class; the 3 options are .012,,013, and .014.</p>
<p>Chemistry's like that too -- the choices are 5.111, 5.112, and 3.091.</p>
<p>When people talk about extra digit classes, they're talking about the 18 and 8 intro classes.</p>
<p>Got it! this fits with the general perception that it is easier to place out of intro physics and calc than bio and chem. I wonder what the rationale is for the asymmetric treatment? Its true that future biologists and engineers don't really need the extra proofs and rigor of a formal math class for their future classes, but then a future mathematician can do fine just knowing AP bio...</p>