<p>I joined the Early Fall Start and FIG programs in 2004. They can be regarded as a good start in studying at UW. I chose “Computer Modeling course” (5 credits) as my Early Fall Start class. This was a quite interesting class giving you the ideas to apply basic math to computer programing. If you have time before school starts, I strongly recommend you to join Early Fall Start program. As for the FIG, FIGs offer packages of three to four courses for freshmen. FIG students can have the priority to register in the courses such as CHEM 142 and ENGL 131. My FIG courses were ENGL 131, BIOL 100, CHEM 142 and GEN ST 199 which were quite demanding courses. Good time management does help to deal with these. Since the courses of FIG are packaged, it is quite troublesome to drop courses. If you are quite sure what you’re going to major in, then I suggest you to register the required courses of your major. “Balance” is the key to arrange for your course schedule. Don’t take too many credits in first quarter at UW! I think 15 credits are optimal! Overall, I think Early Fall Start offers freshmen a great opportunity to explore the campus and to meet people!! Enjoy your first year at UW! Good Luck!!</p>