Any recommended classes to take? Freshman seminars? Should I have back to back classes (ex. one class from 10 to 12 and another from 12 to 2)? Do you recommend evening classes? I'm looking for several voices for help :]
Classes at Penn are scheduled in one hour blocks MWF and 1.5 hour blocks TR. If I were you, I would absolutely go for back-to-back, as much as possible.
I personally like back-to-back for a couple of reasons.
1. If you have an hour or two to kill in between classes, you probably won't get anything productive done; you'll just be screwing around a bit. There's no reason not to go back-to-back.
2. Once you're out of the room, you're out of the room. It can be a bit annoying to be like "hey I have an hour in between classes, but I don't really want to walk back to my room."
3. Some people can focus better if they have all of their classes consecutively, like me. Your brain is already in a learning state.
I'd say that the comparable disadvantages are getting burnt out from a long day and the possibility of not having any time for lunch (like me next year - ah, life). At the same time, most professors will let you eat in class if you're not being disruptive.
I've heard to be mindful of the final exam schedules of the classes you're taking. Try your best to take classes with the farthest apart exam dates so that you're not cramming even more than you have to during that time.
what?! No way... I don't know anybody who isn't happier with front-loaded exams. Who wants to be around campus on December 23 when you could get your exams done a week earlier?
Many freshmen think that a break here and there is a good thing. LIES! During my sophomore spring, I had one day a week with 8 hours of class. Contained within that were two little half-hour breaks, and those breaks were USELESS! A half hour isn't long enough to do much of anything when you are in the middle of a busy class day. Hour breaks are somewhat better since you could theoretically do like... part of an assignment for a language course (MAYBE), but they are almost as useless. If you're scheduling a break, make it at least three hours so you can do something productive.
Obviously, a lunch hour is nice, but it's not really necessary since you'll find that normal human schedules do not apply to college students (read: dinner at midnight doesn't really seem too strange)
Schedule back to back. As people said, breaks are pretty useless, Unless you want a lunch break. I'm in a special program that requires about 20-24 hours of class per week. I always try to get an early start (seize the day) at 9 am, then class straight until a break around lunch time, and then class either immediately after an hour break, or as LPS courses in the evening, so I have the afternoon to work.
Also, make your schedule symmetrical and consistent! And I don't think days off are beneficial, as you don't get as much done when you're not in classes and working mode (unless you have a job for a significant number of hours on days when you don't have class).
Getting off slightly earlier on Fridays is nice, but other than that, try to start and end about the same time everyday.
Have back up classes. Especially if you're trying to get into small seminars. And don't be afraid of big classes. Having a few is nice. Also, consider honors classes in areas where you excel. The level of teaching is often better, and they're interesting. Plus, typically decent curves.
If I can already fulfill my language requirement should I continue with another language(Spanish)? (I'm not doing anything language related but I just have an affinity for languages)
I'm definitely taking 4 credits with other general requirement classes so with a language..I'd have 5 credits which I'm worried would be too much to handle in terms of balancing GPA etc. Is it? Are language classes in general difficult or just alot of work?
Language courses, especially intro ones, are just a lot of work but not too difficult. If you learn the language, you can get a good grade. That said, the courses go VERY quickly, so be careful you don't skip a few days' work.
@TheBigD: it is very hard to say b/c it varies from class to class, but I would say that there is a significant bump. For example, the honors gen chem class is curved to an A- whereas the regular gen chem class is curved to around B- I believe. Idk if this is entirely true or not but many of my friends in honors science classes have also claimed that honors classes rarely give out anything lower than a B.
If you are asking about what an A gets you in an honors course (in my high school it gave me a 4.5), it's the same as in a non-honors course. The idea is that, unlike in high school where you were given extra points for the effort, in college you are supposed to take courses that are appropriate for your skill and intelligence levels.
