Course Planning Advice for a New Undergraduate?

schmoey

Hi there,

I'm entering first year in the Fall 2008 term under the faculty of science (hoping to get into the actuarial program) and I'm just a little worried because of the vagueness that SFU seems to present everything with, especially for something as important as course enrolment. I'm attending a blueprints session tomorrow -- I know apparently useless, but I'm partly using it as an experience to go up there by public transit.

Anyway, do you guys have any tips in general for planning out courses, making sure stuff doesn't conflict, etc.? Right now I'm browsing through the course catalog and getting quite frustrated because SFU's site = snail pace. There doesn't seem to be a very user-friendly way to play around with a course schedule.. the only way I've figured out so far is a rather primitive Microsoft-Word-filling-in-the-blanks-in-a-table method. Does it get any better on the day of registration? =\

Also, can anyone give me an idea of what registration will be like when it opens up? I'm assuming it's best to have an exact schedule of what I want to take beforehand.. I hope they don't make any last-minute screw changes to the times. Aside from the lectures themselves, do I need to register for the tutorials and other stuff (if so, what?) or are they just drop-in?

Sorry about the bombardment of questions, thanks in advance for any enlightenment haha. Unfortunately, I'm sure as the next few hair-pulling days go by I'll have a ton more.

Glad to be joining you all soon :)

[Edit] Oh, and I'm trying to follow this suggested schedule: http://www.stat.sfu.ca/programmes/actuarial/SuggestedSchedulingEven.htm
Any recommendations/warnings to be given about ENGL/PHIL? I believe I'll have to take two to satisfy the W req. and I'm quite worred because I'm a little weaker at those. I heard PHIL's quite brutal? I wanna take ENGL 101 but it conflicts with MATH 151..

randomuser

I know the website is absolutely awful, but so will that blue print thing, you honestly need to be able to plan this out yourself or else youll be annoying your advisor off with weekly emails and questions.

PDF of Fall 2008 schedule can be found here:
http://students.sfu.ca/enrollment/schedule.html

If you want to correctly plan your courses, choose a major. From this point go to your departments section on the website and see what is required for your BSc, you have to fulfill your first 60 credits with 100 and 200 level courses, so choose ones required as listed on the BSc page.

You will also have to deal with bullshit breadth requirements and WQ requirements, look up breadth requirements and take a look at that. I think you have to deal with that in the sciences anyway.

GO here:
http://www.sfu.ca/ugcr/For_Students/WQB_Requirements/

So take a look at breadth requirements, and whatever major you wants requirements. From there look at the PDF and plan away. IF you dont know what major you want, look at two or three different ones, see what requirements they have in common, and take those.

What I do before my reg date is this:
I open a word document: I write down classes, the day and time, and the five digit registration number. I choose how many classes I want, and some alternatives in case I dont get them. Make sure you look if the class needs a tutorial or lab component, which most sciences, 1st and 2nd year courses do.

If I were you I'd focus on getting my breadth requirements done first, because I fucked up and ended up taking two extra classes I didnt need. After the breadth focus on your major. Some classes can double up for requirements, some are designed as W, Q, or different breadths, try to economize the amount of classes you will have to take in your academic career.

collegestudent

it won't let you register conflicting courses so you don't have to worry about that. conflicting exams you have to check yourself.

i plan out my schedule in advance and an hourish before my registration i check to see how many seats are open in that class/if it is still available and alter my schedule accordingly (although first year this isn't usually a problem).

the sfu class schedule pdf has a blank time table and exam table so i usually print out those 2 pages and fill in my planned schedule (in pencil so i can change it around). i like to visually see how packed/easy my day is. also i try to avoid 1 hour breaks, those are the worst - i find there's not really enough time to do anything productive.

you register for lectures and if the class requires them tutorials and/or labs. if a class has a drop in lab/tutorial you don't need to register. regardless, when you register for the lecture, you click next and it will ask for a tutorial or lab. you can't accidently register for the lecture and not the tutorial/lab if that is what you are worried about.

IVT

randomuser;32560 said:

you have to fulfill your first 60 credits with 100 and 200 level courses

If I were you I'd focus on getting my breadth requirements done first

is the 60 credits of lower level a general requirement or only for certain programs? All i know is that we have to have 45 upper level credits, no?

And i would disagree with your strategy of doing breadth first.

I think a better way to do it is to do 1-2 breadth courses a semester, depending on how hard your core courses are. the reason is that breadth courses are usually first/second year arts courses that are easy and will therefore keep your gpa afloat....unless you're in arts

randomuser

i dont know about all programs but as far as i knew in most, your group a upper div is like 45 an your group b upper div is the rest, i honestly dont know how all programs are though

nicole

I take out the good old pen and paper to see what works and what doesn't!
I laid out the courses I needed in the first semester as well as the WQB requirements, which I would recommend doing. It makes it pretty easy.

collegestudent

schmoey;32557 said:

[Edit] Oh, and I'm trying to follow this suggested schedule: http://www.stat.sfu.ca/programmes/actuarial/SuggestedSchedulingEven.htm
Any recommendations/warnings to be given about ENGL/PHIL? I believe I'll have to take two to satisfy the W req. and I'm quite worred because I'm a little weaker at those. I heard PHIL's quite brutal? I wanna take ENGL 101 but it conflicts with MATH 151..

i took into to fiction and intro to poetry and found them both pretty easy. intro to poetry had a smaller workload and a ridiculously easy midterm when i took it but the prof changes alot i think. for intro english's it just depends on your ability to write an essay so i don't think there's a big diff in terms of classes, just which interests you more.

in terms of phil, i don't know if it's a coincidence, but i'm a science student and took phil xx1 and found it easy. all my science friends who have taken it have also aced it. my arts friends HATED it. from what i understand it's not really like other phil courses (for example no essays). it's pretty black and white in terms of its content so maybe i found it easy b/c of the way i think. if you notice on rate my prof or from asking around, phil xx1 is either ridiculously easy or hard, there's no in betweeners. i've never taken a phil course where you actually had to think deep lol.

Makall

That's probably cause PHIL xx1 is Critical Thinking i.e. Thinking logically. Science and Math is all about logic. That's probably why Science students do better at it and Art students fail miserably at it since they lack the capability to think in such a logical manner.

If you take PHIL 100, you can BS your way through and get at least a C+ and that's pretty much the average. And it's usually curved so it'll be like a B or B+.

schmoey

Oh wow, so much helpful advice :) thanks so much guys! Not to mention the links are great.. I can already see how you guys are much more informative than those academic advisors at SFU :P

I guess I'll try to plan everything out in front of me with a pencil, sounds to me the easiest way. Generally, do we have to worry much about full classes in first year? My registration date is on July 7th (I believe the first day of reg) but at 2:30pm.. not sure if I should be all too worried or not.

That's an intriguing note about PHIL XX1 haha cuz I heard from an Arts major person I know that it's brutal and a lot of people do really bad.. interesting haha. Though I'm a science person and logical thinker myself, I think I'll pass because I don't get any WQB from it I don't think. I guess I'm down to considering ENGL 101, 102, and PHIL 100 for my two minimum needed. I'm sure there's some course conflicts that I'll have to sort out.. yay. Does the schedule at http://www.stat.sfu.ca/programmes/actuarial/SuggestedSchedulingEven.htm look reasonable though, for a decently-paced schedule?

Also.. any recommendations for profs? Hehe ;)

randomuser

i think you should take your courses in the order you want to take them, if theres a phil class that has a W designation you should take that instead, reduce the overal amount of classes you have to take.

lazyGUY

take phil 100w... i didnt put any work into that class and i was pretty amazed at the fact that that i ended up passing....plus u get two wqb requirements fulfilled

SpectreFire

Tip #1

Please don't take any courses I'm taking.

/end tip

schmoey

Any courses that fill up fast that I should rush to register right away? My registration is 2:30PM on July 7th.. should I be worrying much about classes filling up?

Iran1988

July 7th is the first day of registration, mines on the same day, only at 7 30 am.

schmoey

Ah so you got the earliest time possible.. lucky =P

How does first year reg. date/time prioritized? By how early you apply to SFU? How about the following years?

randomuser

first year - first semester gets first dibs, along with scholarship students, im guessing iran had a better high school average than you

after your first semester your reg date should be gone to hell, in third semester you can be on the open scholarship by then and youll be back to first day if youre smart

schmoey

I don't know about that, I'm a Shrum scholarship recipient and my high school average was 95+, yet I've a bunch of friends who are registering earlier in the day than I am.. =P

randomuser

dont ask us to explain it to you, i still dont understand why you first year first semesters got to enroll before me when i was in my third year

Student0667

randomuser;32963 said:

dont ask us to explain it to you, i still dont understand why you first year first semesters got to enroll before me when i was in my third year

I guess the reason is that it is not like some first year kids will enroll in some 300 or 400 courses in their first semester. Therefore, they getting to register first wouldn't have any affect on you.

randomuser

what about when im in my 2nd year last semester and im trying to finish my group a requirements and theyre snatched up by first year first semester ;) the distinction there isnt big but proves the point better

Student0667

randomuser;32967 said:

what about when im in my 2nd year last semester and im trying to finish my group a requirements and theyre snatched up by first year first semester ;) the distinction there isnt big but proves the point better

I would often assume first year crim courses have a lots of room.

randomuser

thats not the point im making, i know the usual argument is you gotta give the first years some courses or they wont want to go to university blah blah

arent the statistics something like nearly half of all people drop out after their first year anyway?

Student0667

randomuser;32972 said:

thats not the point im making

What was the point you were trying to make again? However, we can all agree that giving new guys priority registration and then kicking them to the shit end of the registration dates is quite a good marketing scam.

arent the statistics something like nearly half of all people drop out after their first year anyway?

I sure hope this is true.

primexx

schmoey, your scholarship will give you first day as long as it lasts (2 semesters??), and after that you'll likely be on the open scholarship which also gives you first day. It's pretty awesome. Oh and your time will go earlier as you complete more courses.

As for course scheduling, I find the attached useful. You may want to fill out all the tutorials for each course on there first, and then removing whatever conflicts with others.

schmoey

Eep sounds like a lot of bitterness about reg. dates o.o.. guess I should keep my mouth shut.

primexx - Provided I keep up my CGPA, the scholarship goes for a full 8 terms, so I guess that's relieving. And I have already plotted out my schedule on a table, but thanks! Your format looks very useful and accesible so I might just consider switching over to it. =)

Btw, is it just me or is the SFU Course Outline Database gimped?