<p>Any Yale science majors who can give some info/experiences/opinions of the science department at yale?</p>
<p>sure, what do you want to know? I'm a chem major, so I might not be able to tell you much about bio, but I can try :-P</p>
<p>for now, though ~ I've been very happy with the science departments at Yale, despite the fact that yale sometimes has a reputation as being humanities-oriented. I like the professors, I like the classes, and the fact that the science programs are a little smaller than at other universities often means (as far as i can tell, at least) that you can get more personal attention from the profs & the department.</p>
<p>Whats a semester of classes like? How challenging and how many courses do you get to take outside of your science major? And how is that walk up science hill? Do you feel that science majors are receiving an extremely harder courseload than other majors?</p>
<p>any info to give to a prospective physics major looking at yale?</p>
<p>thanks in advance.</p>
<p>If you want to be a great scientist and you have a chance to pick other top universities, Yale is NOT a great choice. Go to Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Princeton, and Berkeley. They are simply better.</p>
<p>datalook ~ while I agree that those schools probably have overall stronger & better-funded science programs than Yale, it really depends what you're looking for. I'm a hardcore science geek, but I turned down Stanford, MIT, and Berkeley (didn't apply to Harvard, Caltech, or Princeton) to go to Yale because I liked the campus and the people and the other opportunities (ie. history dep't, music groups, etc.) better. I don't feel that being at Yale puts me at a disadvantage compared to my friends at other schools ~ there's always grad school for <em>really</em> being a hardcore science geek, and I feel like all of the top-tier schools in the US are roughly equivalent at the undergraduate level anyway. As a grad student, I wouldn't pick Yale if I wanted to study chemistry, but as an undergrad, I really don't see the point in choosing a school based solely on the reputation of its science departments. The big picture is much more important.</p>
<p>Now, for Hamlin's questions:</p>
<p>Whats a semester of classes like?
-- Well, let's look at science classes (I'll leave out humanities at the moment). It depends what you're studying, what year you're in, and what prerequisites you've fulfilled through AP classes. For example, I placed out of intro biology and multivar calc, so my freshman year consisted of Physics & Chemistry (1 semester general, 1 semester orgo... There are labs w/most of these courses, too, btw.). Next year, I'll be taking PChem and the rest of orgo, and after that, I'll be doing grad-level classes & independent research. Other friends (pre-meds, btw, which I'm not), however, who didn't have as much placement off AP exams, started with bio, chem, and/or math freshman year, and are taking more bio/chem/physics sophomore year, then research & advanced courses afterward. It really depends.</p>
<p>How challenging and how many courses do you get to take outside of your science major?
-- As many as you want, but the more advanced placement qualification you have in the sciences, the more non-science classes you'll get to take. I managed to take English, German, and two history classes, and I think I've figured out my schedule so that I will always be able to take at least two humanities/non-science courses every semester (that's even if I decide to tackle the BS/MS program; If I decide not to do that, I'll essentially finish my major in three years and have my senior year free to do whatever I want :-P). All of my other science-major friends have worked things out this way too ~ they're taking advanced French classes, psych, poli sci, etc... it's wonderful. You can definitely be a science major and still get to do everything else, too :p</p>
<p>And how is that walk up science hill?
-- oh, not too bad, but it's pretty icky when it's windy and rainy. I don't mind the snow (all you need is a good pair of hiking boots), but science hill can act as a wind tunnel, so unless you work your schedule out so that you can take the bus/shuttle (which many people do), you can get pretty wet. As for the walk, it's really not <em>that</em> long (you can make it up the hill in fewer than 10 minutes from Commons, which is about the time available between consecutive classes), and I actually sort of enjoy it. Keeps me in good shape, too :-P</p>
<p>Do you feel that science majors are receiving an extremely harder courseload than other majors?
-- if you are good at problem sets, you will have an infinitely easier time as a science major than as a humanities major, and if you are good at essays and reading, you will have a much easier time as a history or english or poli sci major. The one main difference is that it's much easier to put off reading assignments than problem sets, since problem sets tend to have a definite due date, so sometimes it <em>seems</em> like the humanities majors have it easier, but when it comes time for finals... well, the people who haven't been doing their reading find themselves in a heck of a lot of trouble, and the people who have been doing their problem sets are usually good to go...</p>
<p>anything else?</p>
<p>athena, i'm also a prospective science major looking into Yale. Are you in the Perspectives on Science program? If so, what's it like? Also, how are the undergraduate research opportunities? Thanks.</p>
<p>I'm an incoming freshman, but hopefully my question might help some prospective students get an idea of class availability at Yale. How difficult is it to take consecutive math/sci classes? I went on to the classes server to check out the course info for fall of 2005, and apparently the only Math230 course is MWF 9:30-10:20, the only Chem118 course is MWF 10:30-11:20, and the only Intro to Comp Sci course is MWF 11:30-12:20. Would it be possible to take all three consecutive courses, or would it be insane (or really painful) to try? Is 10 minutes really enough time to get from one class to another? Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>don't, it would be really painful. If you could schedule the rest of your classes also on mon-wed, then perhaps, since you would have tue and thursday off. Your classes will all be next to eachother since I think Chem 118 is in Becton, which is close to the math and comp sci buildings - so just make sure that Chem 118 is in Davies Auditorium in Becton. As an incoming freshman, I recommend you take a light first semester load to acquaint yourself with the rigors of college life. The math class is pretty difficult, but chem 118 is easy (if you've had AP chem). Don't know about the comp sci. </p>
<p>How about english, or history, or psych, or polysci, or a language? You might want to consider throwing a little mix in there.</p>
<p>Thanks crimson. I'm planning on taking English 120 as well, which has a bunch of different meeting times on both MW and TTh, so I could schedule that at my convenience. It seems to me that there are many meeting times for intro courses, but not many at all once you get higher up (I can't believe there's only CPSC 201, every comp sci major has to take it!) I would like to take a history or polysci class, but I really like math and comp sci, and I wanted to take chem while it was still fresh in my head. I guess I'll have to reconsider, maybe take an easier math class.</p>
<p>If you are going to do Math230, Chem 118, CompSci whatever, + English 120 (writing and prose?), then don't take another class (Chem Lab for 118 I think is 130, the physical chem lab - its half a credit and easy). Limit yourself to 4.5 this semester and explore yale's EC's. Half of the education you will receive will be from the amazing friends you surround yourself with. Good luck whatever the case! I continue to recommend diversifying your portfolio so to speak.</p>
<p>somebody was saying that walking to the science classes was a 10 minute walk from commons, but what if i'm in JE? (or farnam freshman year). isn't that like a half hour walk? i was thinking of taking a bike but what if conditions aren't safe to ride a bike? plus it's a hassle... i can't imagine i would have to walk a half hour to class! also - how do you "time it" so that you get on the bus/shuttle to science hill? do they actually come at specified times? (since i heard they were kind of random). and does this shuttle depart from anywhere near JE or farnam? thanx...</p>
<p>I agree w/the bit about math 230, chem 118, and comp sci being a bit of an overload first semester... why go to yale if you're not also going to take advantage of all the wonderful, fun classes offered in other departments?</p>
<p>conwoman ~ yeah, it would be more of a walk from JE, but lots of us stop by commons for breakfast on the way to morning science classes. for example, first semester, i got up at 8:30 (shoulda slept in more though :p), walked to commons from old campus at 10 (old campus to commons takes maybe five or six minutes?), ate breakfast and then went to chem 118 in becton (right across the street; 10:30-11:20), and then spent 10 minutes walking up the hill to phys 260 (at 11:30). so yes, you do have to walk a half hour to class, but if you break it up into chunks, it's really not that bad. and yeah, the shuttle is kind of random; unless the weather is really bad most people walk ~ i think it's probably harder to bike up the hill than walk it, actually. mostly because it's uphill. :p</p>
<p>wrathofgod64 ~ I wasn't in perspectives, but several of my friends were; they found it to be a very low-pressure, low comittment class (except for the last two weeks when they all procrastinated on their final papers), and I think most of them liked it because it exposed them to a wide range of current research being done @ yale. Undergraduate research isn't too hard to find... several of my friends stayed at Yale to do research in the bio dep't and med school this summer, and although I'm not at Yale for the summer, one of my profs helped me find a research group at Stanford that was willing to take me. Most of the science majors require/highly recommend senior research to graduate, and if you show a strong interest & get to know your profs, you ought to be able to find research opps waaaaay before senior year (okay, so I'm working for this post doc this summer who went to yale several years ago, and he actually started research 2nd semester freshman year. it's not too hard to find the opportunities... just get to know your profs, ask them about their research, and take it from there!)</p>
<p>almost everyone walks to class on science hill. Its no problem. Farnam is 15 minutes away, JE maybe 20 minutes. Once you're up the hill, eat at either KBT or SOM as they have great food for lunch.</p>