<p>So I'm trying to fill out my course preference form and I'm unsure what i should take. I'm a sociology major so i chose
-psychology and the social world
-intro to digital photography
-plants and society
-some writing class
and i have to pick one more, preferably a language since I'm going for my BA and they "strongly suggest that I begin my foreign language requirement the first year. Heres the thing: I really want to take Chinese, I've never had it before i took Spanish in HS but i have no desire to continue that. I really love Chinese culture and will probably study abroad there my junior year so shouldn't i start leaning the language now? Are all of these classes I'm choosing only for the first half of the year, what exactly does semester mean in college terms</p>
<p>Semester means only the first half of the year. </p>
<p>Umm… Just fill out Chinese and take it. I think foreign languages are a lot of work, but do what you like.</p>
<p>Most freshmen at my school take anywhere from 15-19 credits.</p>
<p>I think that getting started on Chinese soon is probably best, so you’re not rushed to learn a bunch of vocabulary your junior year. Also, you’ll have more time to take more classes, and therefore can be more proficient.</p>
<p>For the quarter system, you take less classes right?
Because I was looking at a sample schedule for my first quarter for my major and it only listed three classes each quarter. Seems like a little bit, but that’s cool with me!</p>
<p>My first semester, I only took 4 classes + a one credit intro freshman course. I had too much free time.</p>
<p>Last semester, I took 5 classes + a one credit racquetball course, and it was a good balance.</p>
<p>–Take Intro to Sociology (it’ll be a prerequisite for the other sociology classes)
–Take your English writing requirement
–Take beginning Chinese
–Take your fine arts requirement (does the photography class count towards the fine art requirement at your college?)
–Take your lab science or math requirement</p>
<p>Second Semester:
–Take another Sociology class
–Take your English Literature requirement
–Take your lab science or math requirement
–Take the next level of Chinese
–Take another general ed. requirement</p>
<p>Personally, I would wait to fill out your general ed requirements until sophomore/junior year. You wanna take as much interesting stuff as possible your freshman year and get exposed to it, because you never know when you will want to change your major or double, and the sooner you figure it out, the better. </p>
<p>Plus, it just helps for motivation purposes.</p>
<p>I disagree. Do not wait until later to take your general ed. requirements.</p>
<p>I agree with the notion that you should save (some) gen eds for later, for two major reasons:</p>
<p>1) You’ll be exposed to a wider variety of fields, which may influence your choice of major. However, if you find a major that’s not well represented at your school, it’s easier to transfer out with gen eds than specific electives.</p>
<p>2) You’ll need those gen eds to balance out the difficult courses in the later years. No one wants to do 5 high-level courses simultaneously. Save the English Lit for junior or senior year.</p>
<p>There will be more than enough general ed. requirements to continue with as a junior.<br>
Even if you follow the schedule that I suggested in the above post, there will still be plenty more to take in subsequent semesters (such as the history requirement, ethics or philosophy requirement, global requirement, cultural/diversity requirement, communication/public speaking requirement, second science or second math requirement, etc.). Don’t wait to until later on to start to knock out the general ed. requirements.</p>
<p>If you end up transferring at a later date, you’ll be happy that you’ve gotten this stuff out of the way because the general ed. credits will transfer easily while major requirements tend to differ more from one program to another.</p>
<p>freshman year: take 1 or 2 MAJOR courses/semester. By taking more of the general ed.'s during this time, you will be exposed to a variety of courses and may discover an interest in something other than your initial choice of major. You may discover an interest in a minor or possibly an interest in a new major.</p>
<p>sophomore year: take 2 to 3 MAJOR courses/semester plus additional general ed.'s (total of 5 classes per semester)</p>
<p>Once you get to college and meet with your academic advisor, he/she will probably show you samples of recommended sequence of courses per semester to help guide you through the process.</p>