Course advice: Math and all the rest

<p>Since we all seem to be dishing out course advice, let’s try to organize this a little bit. I think Pre-med – chem, bio, etc.-- has been covered in another thread, and ihum has been discussed ad nauseum. So has Econ. What’s left? If you have any specific departmental requests for course advice (say, introsems, or languages, or whatever), post them here and we’ll create new threads as appropriate. Otherwise, if anyone needs help deciding between the math 50 series, 50h, <50, etc… ask away!</p>

<p>Well I was wondering about the Math 50 series and the CME 100 series. Which one would you advise?</p>

<p>which profs are the best for introsems?</p>

<p>I’m thinking of studying abroad in Italy for a quarter to do the “Academic Internship”. Have anyone done or know about this program? Will I need to take additional Italian classes? I have taken AP Italian in high school but am unsure about continuing in college. If this internship is quarter long, will I have to take additional courses to fulfill the unit requirements?</p>

<p>also, if you are taking a year-long sequence class (e.g. the languages, chem, etc), can you still study abroad?</p>

<p>thanks! :)</p>

<p>Is Phil 100 a good course to start philosophy off with?</p>

<p>I took Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra (Math 51 and 52, I think? Or maybe it’s 52 and 53) in high school – I was dual-enrolled at George Mason University, so I got college credit for the classes too, but I read that if you get high school credit for a college course Stanford won’t let you transfer the credits? If so, is there any way I could just place out of the classes? Or somehow not have to retake them?</p>

<p>CME is a LOT of work. I don’t know if students thought it was worth it. In the end most people ended up getting As though. I would just go with the normal 50 series I think. </p>

<p>The year-long sequence classes don’t have to be taken during just one year. If you break it up, that allows for studying abroad. Some programs allow for one-on-one classes where you can study whatever you like (like Oxford) and you might be able to transfer units somehow. I’m not sure about non-Stanford programs, but language could definitely be taken care of at Stanford programs while abroad. </p>

<p>You won’t need the credits in all likelihood. You can just go ahead and take Math 53 if you like (that’s the Diff Eq class). I wouldn’t bother retaking the classes because they aren’t that interesting and it’s unlikely you’d learn anything new.</p>

<p>thanks marlgirl! so CME is more work than the regular 50 series? interesting.</p>

<ol>
<li>Do most future engineers take CME? </li>
<li>Are Intro Seminars (generally) writing intensive and “a lot of work”? </li>
<li>Does the typical freshman only take 3 classes fall quarter?</li>
<li>How are the self-paced language sequences? (for example German 11p) Is it better to take the normal intro sequence?</li>
</ol>

<p>No, engineers are split between taking the 50 series and CME. CME is nice for learning how to use Matlab but you get more theory in the 50 series.</p>

<p>Not all introsems are writing intensive.</p>

<p>Intro Seminars are usually less work than other classes and are rarely that writing intensive (unless they were to meet PWR1 or PWR2 requirements, then they would still be less bad than the typical PWR classes but perhaps more writing than other classes).</p>

<p>StanEE which one did you take? Math 50 or CME? ('m guessing not many engineering students take the honors course)</p>

<p>I agree with marlgirl on the introsems post; I took 2 introsems, one of them WRITE-2 (PWR2 requirement met), and I would say that those were 2 of the easiest classes I’ve taken at Stanford, if not the easiest. I can’t say that this is the same for every introsem offered, but I can recommend to you The Art of Structural Engineering and Current Concepts in Transplantation =]</p>

<p>I have just found out about math 51a, which is explained as a math 51 with more engineering application. Does someone heard about this? And does it worth taking and spending 3 more hours(in addition to the math 51 lecture and recitation) in this “a” type?</p>

<p>I took the 50 series. Only hard core math majors take the honors series.</p>

<p>Textbooks for Econ 1 and Chinese 1:</p>

<p>does anyone know what textbooks/materials are required for the Econ 1 series and Chinese 1 series? thanks!</p>

<p>(I don’t plan on taking Chinese 1 because I already know some Chinese. However, I am not very good at Chinese and plan to do some independent studying and hopefully, place into Chinese 2 my sophomore year.)</p>

<p>Dance and PE classes:</p>

<p>Are these difficult? I noticed that many of these classes are satisfactory or no credit. Do most students earn “saisfactory”? How are dance and PE classes graded?</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

<p>as long as you go you’re good. most are for fun and the instructors are cool. they’re mostly graded on participation.</p>

<p>To check on textbooks, an incomplete list is available on <a href=“http://www.stanfordbookstore.com%5B/url%5D”>www.stanfordbookstore.com</a> Just click the textbooks link.</p>