<p>I got curious while designing my own schedule and thought that it would be interesting to find out what people are generally planning to do first semester (and potential degrees!) Get to know each other :) Also, talk to other people you know going to Rice and try to get them on the forums -- they seem somewhat inactive compared to others and it'll be easier for people to ask/answer questions with more of us around (and make Rice more prominent).</p>
<p>Here, I'll start.</p>
<p>Computergeek173:</p>
<p>[B.S. Electrical Engineering, Physics (Applied Physics Option); B.A. Mathematics]
CHEM 121/123 General Chemistry I Lab
MATH 355 Linear Algebra
PHYS 201 Waves and Optics
PHYS 231 Elementary Physics Laboratory II
PHYS 202 Modern Physics
COMP 140 Computational Thinking
(LPAP 107 Intermediate Tennis)</p>
<p>6 Technical classes plus a lab your first semester? Setting yourself up for failure… but go ahead. Its pretty hard for freshmen to get LPAP, I don’t know how popular that one is though so maybe you have a shot.</p>
<p>@computergeek
I don’t think taking college classes in high school significantly prepares you for taking the amount of classes your planning on taking freshmen year. I and many other incoming freshmen, I assume, have taken some sort of university level class yet in the end it comes down to quantity not quality. I think you should reconsider this daunting undertaking (unless your looking to graduate early?). But if you can handle it man, props to you.</p>
<p>Well, enough about my insanity - what are y’all thinking about doing? Even if you don’t know the classes, I’m sure you have ideas about what degree!</p>
<p>I try to refrain from giving academic advice before O-Week, but you probably shouldn’t take 200-level physics courses freshman year. I’m also pretty certain modern physics is only offered in the spring, but I can’t understand why you would want to double it with optics anyway.</p>
<p>I might mess around with that a bit still (regarding Modern Physics), but I’ve tested out of all the other physics courses that I need, so I’d start with the 200s, I think. It’s still tentative scheduling because I don’t know everything about all the Rice classes yet.</p>
<p>EDIT:
And I like physics which is why I would normally want to double, but I think you’re right in separating the two. I’m considering a number of different things. Probably will reduce to 17 credit hours first semester.</p>
<p>Plenty of people like physics. I just graduated with a degree in physics, so I’m pretty familiar with the curriculum. Most freshmen do not have the preparation to take 200-level physics classes at Rice. Every year a few freshmen decide to enroll in physics 201 anyway, and almost all of them end up dropping the course. I’m not trying to sound harsh, but I think it’s best to go into your classes with realistic expectations.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m done giving advice for now. Go watch a movie or something, keep these plans in the back of your mind, and then ask a lot of questions during O-Week.</p>
<p>Okay, well - there’s not much else for me to take, especially considering that I’m going to be doing a physics major… with my other majors. Er - yeah. I’d be starting out in 201, and I can tell you that I’m prepared for it. Thanks for the concern, though :)</p>
<p>computergeek173- I just wanted to say as a fellow incoming Rice 2014-er that I really think you shouldn’t worry about classes right now. Also, while you have taken some college-level classes, I think that freshman year shouldn’t just be about academics. Do you really want to have to study 24/7 your first semester freshman year? While academics ARE very important, I’m planning on taking 15ish hours the first semester with a few “easier” courses and taking time out to meet new people, get involved on campus, and possibly get a job or research position. I’m a believer that just as much learning takes place outside the classroom as does inside so I want to set some time aside to just live. Also, if I were you I would take some physics, but also take a random history class or english class and expose yourself to new areas of study…anyway, all of this is irrelevant because you should wait until O-week to even worry about this kind of stuff. Good luck to you, and I hope everything works out :)</p>
<p>I feel ya, muffinlover, and I do plan on doing that stuff. I’m not a holed-up person, but that’s just the academic setup with which I think I’d comfortable. I love a multitude of things, inside and outside the classroom I’m sure I’ll be able to do that, too. I suppose y’all are right, though - I’ll wait for O-week. I’m just concerned that advisors won’t adequately understand my needs, so I’ve been worrying about it, I suppose. Thanks for the concern. </p>
<p>I was hoping I could discover what other people were kinda planning to do, degrees or whatever, interests. I think I’ll try this again cause this thread seems to have gone off target! Haha. :)</p>
You really shouldn’t worry about that. You’ll have time to talk to plenty of people, including your O-Week advisors, your faculty divisional advisor, and all of the other students and faculty who take part in orientation. If you take the time to ask the right questions, you should have no trouble finding the right person to advise you on your situation.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is anything wrong with worrying about this now. I don’t agree with the advice to not think about the courses until O-Week; I think what you are doing is smart. O-Week is so crazy and jam-packed that there is barely time to think about courses. Yes, you have time to meet with advisors and upperclassmen, but it’s always good to be prepared with questions. Plus, I have been quite unhappy with the formal advising system (divisional advisor didn’t help me much) at Rice (I had mediocre O-Week advising), and I made mistakes in scheduling my 1st semester because of that (I ended up dropping a course and took only 3 courses because I didn’t plan my schedule properly). So definitely think things through, since you have nothing else to do now. But at the same time, make sure to have a lot of fun and hang out with your friends because this is the last summer ever where you have nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>Also, regarding your course schedule, I think its unrealistic. Very rarely do even upperclassmen take 6 science/quantative-based courses in one semester. First semester requires a lot of adjusting. Plus, the sciences are very rigorous at Rice. However, there is nothing wrong with registering for 18 hours and then dropping the courses later (basically picking the 4-5 out of 6 you like best). I recommend taking 4 courses… that’s the normal load for freshmen. But you can do whatever you want… its your life and your education.</p>
Not if the people in charge are doing what they’re supposed to. I’m sorry to hear that your O-Week advising experience was mediocre, but the week is supposed to be evenly split between social and academic concerns. And, even if you have a less-than-helpful divisional advisor (which does happen, unfortunately), in my experience there are enough planning sessions and other periods of downtime built in to the schedule that no student should feel they haven’t had time to consider their various course options.</p>
<p>This is getting beside the point, though. I don’t think anyone expects new students to come in to O-Week without thinking ahead somewhat; after all, these are all highly-motivated kids who have worked very hard to get where they are. It is my opinion, though, that trying to plan out an actual schedule is excessive and possibly counter-productive. Since we have such intelligent, highly-motivated students, sometimes kids coming in with a concrete idea of what classes they think they need to take are less willing to listen to the good advice that they do receive, and this does not usually end well.</p>
<p>So, yeah. Look at the General Announcements, and think about what major path you might pursue. But do it in moderation.</p>
Shouldn’t be all that bad.</p>
which is why I would normally want to double, but I think you’re right in separating the two. I’m considering a number of different things. Probably will reduce to 17 credit hours first semester.</p>