[말라카]

POL 1101H 0411 HONORS-AMER GOV PRAC JL24H 3.0 3.0 3.0
BUS 1000H 1079 HONORS INTR BUSINESS LM3H 3.0 3.0 3.0
ENG 2100 0716 WRITING I RU13D 3.0 3.0 3.0
PHI 1500 1263 MAJOR ISSUES IN PHI TV24 3.0 3.0 3.0
COM 1010H 1312 HONORS-SPEECH COMMUN WZ13H 3.0 3.0 3.0

Hows my schedule?

[Kaken]

POL 1101H 0411 HONORS-AMER GOV PRAC JL24H 3.0 3.0 3.0
BUS 1000H 1079 HONORS INTR BUSINESS LM3H 3.0 3.0 3.0
ENG 2100 0716 WRITING I RU13D 3.0 3.0 3.0
PHI 1500 1263 MAJOR ISSUES IN PHI TV24 3.0 3.0 3.0
COM 1010H 1312 HONORS-SPEECH COMMUN WZ13H 3.0 3.0 3.0

Hows my schedule?

I'm not sure what all the numbers mean - I assume you live in the United States as you are taking AMER GOV PRAC, which is different than me, I also am unsure what the 3's represent - hours per week? Otherwise:
It is definitely do-able, I've seen a lot worse for engineers and math students for first year students. I'm not sure how picky you are with your grades, but it may be extremely difficult to pull of mid 80-90's in Communication and English classes (my university doesn't use GPA). Everything is ultimately upto your professors though. Ratemyprofessors.com may give you insight on your instructors teaching styles and how difficult your courseload will be. Politics classes for me were a killer to skip. When I decided to take it, I missed the first class, and in the second lecture I was completely lost – which often is far from the case for accounting and economics classes which I take. It didn't help for me to skip the next 4 classes after that. Philosophy can be rather hit-or-miss. The smartest guy from my highschool (he had a 97% average which was rediculously high, as our school graded rather low) changed from a double degree in sciences to Philosophy since he loved the professors and loved the course. Other students have complained that their professors wanted them to memorize lists of people and their thoughts on humanity.
Hope that helps, and I look forward to having you in politics if thats what you chose to do!

[말라카]

I'm not sure what all the numbers mean - I assume you live in the United States as you are taking AMER GOV PRAC, which is different than me, I also am unsure what the 3's represent - hours per week? Otherwise:
It is definitely do-able, I've seen a lot worse for engineers and math students for first year students. I'm not sure how picky you are with your grades, but it may be extremely difficult to pull of mid 80-90's in Communication and English classes (my university doesn't use GPA). Everything is ultimately upto your professors though. Ratemyprofessors.com may give you insight on your instructors teaching styles and how difficult your courseload will be. Politics classes for me were a killer to skip. When I decided to take it, I missed the first class, and in the second lecture I was completely lost – which often is far from the case for accounting and economics classes which I take. It didn't help for me to skip the next 4 classes after that. Philosophy can be rather hit-or-miss. The smartest guy from my highschool (he had a 97% average which was rediculously high, as our school graded rather low) changed from a double degree in sciences to Philosophy since he loved the professors and loved the course. Other students have complained that their professors wanted them to memorize lists of people and their thoughts on humanity.
Hope that helps, and I look forward to having you in politics if thats what you chose to do!

wow thanks for the info! yeah, i checked ratemyprofessors.com and found out 2 of my professors are really good (easy), the other 2 are somewhat hard, and another 1 seems to be hated. they only gave me that amer gov prac because they were trying to fill up my schedule after they had to drop calculus for me (i got a 4 on the AP). i'm actually aiming for a 4.0, i hope that i could do it....im scared of college ay....
haha well while i like to keep up to date with politics its definately not my passion, in fact im either majoring in accounting or finance (i want to minor in journalism or spanish or both lol).
ohh for first semester my college doesn't allow us to choose our own classes, its because they want to ease us into college or so they say.

[dDoKbOkGi]

A friend of mine in college said its not wise to have a job during the first semester, because I'll need time to adjust to all the work and stuff, plus I need sleep and I'm taking classes outside of college at a Korean academy. I heard some of my professors are hard and give tons of work. But my dad is constantly bugging me to get a job. Do you think it's a good idea?

My friend also said he takes a voice/tape recorder(?) to classes with him so he can record the teacher. Does anyone else do this? Is it helpful?

[ronmexico]

^I had a job all four years at college. It was never really a problem for me.

I've never seen anybody bring a tape recorder to class.

[Kaken]

wow thanks for the info! yeah, i checked ratemyprofessors.com and found out 2 of my professors are really good (easy), the other 2 are somewhat hard, and another 1 seems to be hated. they only gave me that amer gov prac because they were trying to fill up my schedule after they had to drop calculus for me (i got a 4 on the AP). i'm actually aiming for a 4.0, i hope that i could do it....im scared of college ay....
haha well while i like to keep up to date with politics its definately not my passion, in fact im either majoring in accounting or finance (i want to minor in journalism or spanish or both lol).
ohh for first semester my college doesn't allow us to choose our own classes, its because they want to ease us into college or so they say.

No problem. A 4.0 in calculus is really good right? I hear some places use a 4 point scale and some use a 5; very odd if you ask me. I nearly failed calculus in university. While I had a 90% in highschool, I was getting around a 45% in university until a bell curve boosted me up to pass, so hopefully you won't have to go through the hellhole I did (I suck at math terribly so you'd probably fare better).
College is nothing to be scared of. As long as you remain somewhat focused, first year won't be terribly difficult - just a big change. My first term in university was a lot less work than I expected, and my second I barely did anything. Very few assignments, then midterms and then exams. As long as you do the assignments, or read over the person's whom you are copying from (as in my case ) you should be alright. In all honesty I studied/worked perhaps 150-200 hours in my first term of university, and more like 75 in my second, and my university is one of the top in Canada.
The only people that had problem were those who shouldn't have been there (lack common sense) and those who don't try at all. Common sense gets you a long way in the first year when courses are more general. I got a 96 in a general managerial course by reading just half the first chapter of the book and just thinking logically on the midterms/exam. I'm a big fan of cramming, and so I would rarely start studying until a day before the exam. However, you have to know your limits, as I found out after first term by studying a fair amount to make sure I didn't get kicked out of my program like my friends next door. Which brings me to my second point. The guy in the suite next to mine was far smarter than me, but didn't try at all. Considering he needed an 85% or so to get into the program I figured that everyone would have good work ethic. Not the case by a long shot - some people went to midterms high (perhaps I just have bad friends)! The guy next door didn't bother to do an assignment worth 30% of his grade since it was too much work (was suppose to be 5-10 pages long ) nor did he go to an economics midterm(snow outside). Starting to study less than 5 hours away from a midterm or exam if you havn't attended lectures for the past month also caused problems for students. I strongly suggest you attend all your classes though, as even though when I didn't have a clue what the professor was talking about, when I did my readings before getting tested it all came together.
I'm not sure how it works where you live, but accounting courses in high school weren't even necessary to take accounting in university. The first accounting course you will take in university is usually a recap of highschool and those who have learned the stuff before will find it extremely easy.
Good luck with accounting - I for one hate it with a passion, but I'm in it for the money, but considering law school after I get my CMA designation.

dDoKbOkGi: I've seen one tape recorder in all my classes and I doubt it would help in most circumstances. I find the professor has most important information up on slides, handouts, or black/whiteboard. It really will depend on the class - try going to classes first and see if it could be of use to you. The question to be asked if you think it may be useful is: would you really go home after class and listen to the recording? It's a nice idea, but when actually faced with this option, there are much better things you'd likely rather be doing. Unless you are a very slow handwriter I don't see the need nor do 99.5% of my classmates

[t. yama]

I'm going to UCR this September. I went to orientation and it seems very...overwhelming. I also want to be an optometrist. But...my first quarter is filled with breadth courses. I'm starting out slow..but I guess that's good in a way. I read some of the advice that others have given and it's a lot of help. :] My roomate is my friend..so all we have to do is figure out who's bringing what. Hopefully my first quater/year will be fun.

[novemberbaby]

Hmm I'd say make an effort to know your academic advisor and your professors, especially the ones that teach your major courses. They will become your resources! I e-mailed my AA about once a week to keep her updated on what I'm doing and I did this not only because she asked but because I wanted to make sure I'm doing the right things.

[ronmexico]

^Wow, once a week? I spoke to my advisor once a term, only because we had to before registration, in what usually amounted to a five-minute conversation.

[peachesncre4ms]

im going to community college & hoping to transfer to u.c berkeley.

im only taking 3 classes for tis quarter. 14 units. so it's considered full-time. should i take more classes to speed up my time so i could transfer quickly.. or take things as they go?

[clairdeluned]

How tough are pre-med courseloads usually? Freshman year, I'm taking bio, chem, a cultures and values honors class (LOTS of reading and writing), and a writing class (honors as well). I plan on studying, of course, but I also want a life... especially my first year of college. I'm not THAT great at the sciences, but I squeak by...

[ronmexico]

Pre-med courseloads are supposed to be brutal. That's why a ton of people who plan on being pre-med change their minds after a year or two. I think the real make-or-break course is organic chemistry.

[ronmexico]

Also, the writing courses probably won't be that terrible. You'll probably find that you can get by fine just skimming the readings, especially if it's a big class.

[dark_chancellor]

Pre-med courseloads are supposed to be brutal. That's why a ton of people who plan on being pre-med change their minds after a year or two. I think the real make-or-break course is organic chemistry.

The first year is generally okay cause those courses are usually general science courses..and aren't meant to be particularly hard..

but I agree with o-chem. If there is a class where people fail, it's o-chem

[hiien]

thanks for all the advices.
first yr of college here. im a little afraid but after reading all ur advices, im a little less worry. hehe.
college, here i come!!!!!

[SiMPLY GAYLE]

anyone going to SDSU this fall semester?
i`m like so scared of college. =/
but i guess after running into this thread i`ll do fine.
at least now i have a place to go to for help. =]

how many units do you guys suggest for the first sem btw?

[asian_grl]

o rawr.. idiot me signed up for classes at 8.. ; ;
huzzah i don't live in dorms. it'll b even harder for me to make friends. n i'm normally already really shy ><

[pauline5]

o rawr.. idiot me signed up for classes at 8.. ; ;
huzzah i don't live in dorms. it'll b even harder for me to make friends. n i'm normally already really shy

your not the only one i did the same thing signed up for classes at 8 and i live like 20 min. way from my school

[yoojiners]

I have 7:30 AM classes 3 times a week and the rest are 8:00 AM. I live on campus, but still.. this sucks :x

[supaw0man]

Pocket PCs .. yay or nay ? i have a feeling i wont need to bring
my laptop but i feel insecure with just pen and paper.