I have seen other colleges profile freshmen from past years showing their classes, activities etc that incoming students can use to get an idea and adjust according to their interests. Is there such information for Michigan?
Specifically, I am looking for paths paved by past LSA Econ or CS majors. Or someone who started in Econ at LSA and transferred to Ross. Can any parents or upperclassmen help?
Sorry, I’m not an upperclassmen or an Econ major. I’m a freshmen in the RC majoring in Political Science. I took about 15 credits for the fall semester: PoliSci, Philosophy, and a first-year seminar. This semester I’m taking 17 credits: RC Spanish, Poverty from an Economic Perspctive, Environmental Justice, and a class for my study abroad trip. I’m a member of the marching band, tour guide for UM, and I work. And I still manage to have some free time.
You just want a sample schedule that an entering freshman might take if they’re intending to major in Econ or CS?
Some math (If you’re done with the 115-217 series then maybe 425, 451, or 465)
Some econ (101 or 102/401 or 402 - if you plan to enter Ross take one of the 100-level ones, if you plan to stay in Econ take one of the 400-level ones)
A CS class (most likely EECS 183 but maybe 280 if appropriate for you)
Some HU/SS class, whatever interests you. Maybe a foreign language if you have to do it.
As for other activities, I don’t know. I’m sure there’s at least one economics club there but I don’t know anything about it.
For Econ clubs, take a look at AIESEC.
Do students typically take four or five classes per semester? Is it more common for lower level courses to be worth four credits hours or three?
It depends, and it depends.
A typical course load is 15-16 credits. In EECS most of the classes are 4 credits but different departments are different. Classes can be 1, 1.5, 2, 3, or 4 credits (maybe even different numbers than those). I think during different semesters I’ve taken anywhere from 4 classes to 8 classes, because the number of credits each class is can vary.
It depends on how many AP/IB/DE/CC credits you got. If none, then you would need 16+ credits per semester to graduate for most, if not all, majors. Again, unless you have some useful credits from AP/IB/DE/CC, you are likely taking intro and pre-req classes in freshmen year. You do need to take Econ and do well in it if you are applying to Ross. My D started freshmen with a lighter load at 14 credits so she had a smoother transition into college and can try a couple clubs. Then she took 18 credits in the second semester. As it turns out, her second semester GPA is still better than her first semester even with increased load. For upperclassmen, you will like take 4-5 classes per semester. For lowerclassmen, you may have more as some are labs, seminar, or something similar that have less credits. Lectures are still usually 3-4 credits each even for intro classes.