Is This Freshman Year Schedule Too Ambitious?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a freshman student's proposed course schedule for their first semester, which includes several honors math classes, a physics course, and an English composition class. Participants share their perspectives on the feasibility and workload associated with this ambitious schedule, considering factors such as prior preparation, course difficulty, and personal study habits.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express concern that the proposed schedule may be overly ambitious, suggesting a lighter course load to better manage the transition to college.
  • Others argue that the workload is manageable for an honors math major, citing their own experiences with similar courses.
  • Several participants emphasize the importance of mastering the material rather than just passing the classes, questioning whether the proposed schedule allows for sufficient depth of understanding.
  • There are discussions about the nature of homework and grading systems in different educational contexts, with some noting that their institutions do not require homework, which could affect study habits and preparation.
  • One participant suggests that the student should consider attending all classes and then selecting the two math classes they find most engaging.
  • The student clarifies the credit distribution of their courses, indicating that honors matrices is a 2-credit course, vector calculus is 4 credits, and discrete math is 3 credits, and expresses a desire to prepare for more advanced math in the future.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether the proposed schedule is too ambitious. While some believe it is manageable, others caution against taking on too much at once, highlighting differing opinions on workload and preparation.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention varying educational systems and grading practices, which may influence their perspectives on the proposed schedule. The discussion reflects a range of experiences regarding homework requirements and the impact on student workload.

Who May Find This Useful

Students considering similar course loads in their first year, particularly in math and science majors, as well as those interested in the experiences of peers regarding academic workload and preparation strategies.

ZLife
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I will be starting my freshman year this fall.
I want to take these courses:
honors vector calculus
honors matrices
honors discrete math
waves/optics
english comp

I have a ton of APs already so I have virtually no general ed requirements. I'm willing to study over the summer. Does anyone think this is crazy for first semester? I plan on being a math major.
 
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Looks about crazy to me.

Take 12-15 credits your first semester to get a feel of the workload that you are comfortable with.

I don't understand why you take all that. As a math major you should aim for complete mastery of the material, you have to really understand it. What you are doing simply looks like you are taking a bunch of credits just for the same of getting a math major. You have three honor classes and just English comp alone requires a good amount of time if you want to write quality A papers.

How many credits is that?
 
Yeah, don't be like me and get your only B in English Comp II. At my school it was an infuriating course of literature that you will have no interest in that took a great deal of time.
 
ZLife said:
I will be starting my freshman year this fall.
I want to take these courses:
honors vector calculus
honors matrices
honors discrete math
waves/optics
english comp

I have a ton of APs already so I have virtually no general ed requirements. I'm willing to study over the summer. Does anyone think this is crazy for first semester? I plan on being a math major.

Well, firstly, we don't know how difficult these classes will be. (Btw, honours matrices is linear algebra or what?). It is only one more class than usual. Also, we don't know how prepared you are to work hard and how you will be able to cope, only you know that.
However, to me it seems doable if you work hard.
 
I think you should sit in all the classes and then choose the two math classes that you like the most. Those three are too much.
 
In my opinion that seems like a fairly average workload for an Honors Math major. At my university, the least amount of math classes in one semester is three, it goes up to five for the three last semesters. I think it's do-able, but don't slack off.
 
In my opinion, that looks ok. Those are basically the classes I took in my first year (with two programming courses instead of the physics and english courses). But note, in Belgium there are is no homework, so perhaps the homework will eat a lot of your time...
 
That doesn't seem that bad. My only concern would be prerequisites. Have you really mastered everything you'll need for those classes? If so, I see no reason not to give that schedule a try. Worst case scenario, you drop a class and know your limits for the following semester.
 
I count 5 classes with one of them unrelated to your major. That's a standard courseload, unless I'm missing something. 6 is a heavy workload, but doable.
 
  • #10
micromass said:
In my opinion, that looks ok. Those are basically the classes I took in my first year (with two programming courses instead of the physics and english courses). But note, in Belgium there are is no homework, so perhaps the homework will eat a lot of your time...

No homework?
 
  • #11
Looks about right to me.
 
  • #12
DrummingAtom said:
No homework?

I was wondering about that too.

The only thing I can think of is that there's no *required* homework.

I know upper level math courses at my uni typically don't have any required homework, just problem sets that we should do if we want to master the material.

For example, a grading scheme could be 10% quizzes, 40% for two term tests, and 50% final.
 
  • #13
Almost all of my courses are like that, 4 tests, 4 tests + final, or 4 tests and quiz grades worth 10-20% total. Though, if you don't do the problem sets you have no idea what is going to be on the tests.
 
  • #14
zif. said:
I was wondering about that too.

The only thing I can think of is that there's no *required* homework.

I know upper level math courses at my uni typically don't have any required homework, just problem sets that we should do if we want to master the material.

For example, a grading scheme could be 10% quizzes, 40% for two term tests, and 50% final.

Nope, no homework, no quizzes, no term tests. Just 100% on the final. There are problem sets however, but you can choose for yourself whether you make them or not...
 
  • #15
I personally condone actually mastering the material inside out. I don't see that happening with your workload. That should be your goal as a math major, not to just pass the classes or earn an A.

micromass said:
Nope, no homework, no quizzes, no term tests. Just 100% on the final. There are problem sets however, but you can choose for yourself whether you make them or not...

Thats not how my college runs. Sounds like a bad plan if you **** up on the finals.
 
  • #16
Nano-Passion said:
Thats not how my college runs. Sounds like a bad plan if you **** up on the finals.

I actually prefer it that way! :biggrin: It requires a lot more discipline though...
 
  • #17
micromass said:
Nope, no homework, no quizzes, no term tests. Just 100% on the final. There are problem sets however, but you can choose for yourself whether you make them or not...

Same here in Argentina.
I have no homework and my grade for any course is made 100% by the final exam (4 hours generally, or more for courses with lab). Of course they give us problems to solve but we are free not to solve any. We don't have to give them to professors, etc.
On the other hand there are many teaching assistants for small classes and they are widely available to help us so the system is somehow made for us to solve the problems and not to be stuck forever on a problem. But it's up to us to use this opportunity.
Furthermore you can take the final exam "almost" when you want. There are around 6 dates per year we can take a final exam of a course. You are totally free to choose when to take the final exam. Be it within a year, or 2, or more.
I'm not sure I prefer this system over the commonly used system in the U.S. You have more liberty but when you don't feel confident you won't take the final exam and so you'll graduate in a greater amount of time.
 
  • #18
Thanks for all the responses everyone!

Honors Matrices is a 2 credit course, Vector calculus is 4 credits and discrete math is 3 credits. Discrete math is also an introduction to proofs course and I want to finish it so I know how to write proofs early on in college and then I think it will help me in my other math classes.

I'm not trying to rush I just want to take some more advanced math in my sophomore year.

If most of you think this schedule is fine, then I'm not too stressed :]
 

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