<p>Are freshmen only allowed to choose from classes that begin with 1 (ex. POSC 130)?
Thank you!</p>
<p>As long as there are no prerequisites forced down by the registration website, you can chose to enroll in pretty much any course. For example, I took a class freshman year on China to meet the GE requirement and the course number was 350.</p>
<p>Do make sure to read the course descriptions though. While there may not be a prereq, some courses are better enjoyed with a foundation in the subject first.</p>
<p>You may take any course numbered below 500 at any time, excepting prereqs, registration restrictions (some courses are marked “freshmen only”, others “jrs and srs only”, others are closed to certain majors, etc), and D-clearances (which always require dept approval).</p>
<p>Note that 300/400 level courses will probably assume basic knowledge of the field, even without explicit prereqs, and won’t slow down to cover any gaps. Also, 400 level classes may have graduate students enrolled as well.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to review the professor on Senate Course Guide. This was one of the ways my D chose which GE classes to take. She would look at a class she felt was interesting then go onto Senate Course Guide to see what some of the other students who had already taken the class thought of it (and the professor). :)</p>
<p>^That’s what I did. I actually decided not to take some classes because the descriptions that people gave of the course and professor were just that bad. Then other classes that I wanted to take had excellent reviews. It definitely helps.</p>
<p>^definitely. my orientation advisors were saying senatecourseguide is not the most reliable, and there are better places to look, but my GE (religion and ethical something or other) got really good reviews as did the prof, so i’m excited.</p>
<p>I’ve had friends who took Religion and Ethical Issues, and they said the professor and class was quite enjoyable (assuming you mean Professor Rudisill).</p>
<p>And yes, the Senate Course Guide is not exactly the most reliable, although it can generally root out the more popular/relatively less difficult professors from the unpopular/difficult professors. Unless the rated professor is on either extreme (towards the 2’s/3’s or 9’s/10’s), it’s tough to say how the professors in between actually are. I would say that the more accurate categories are the professor’s availability outside of the classroom and professor difficulty (although calling the difficulty ratings accurate for some of the professors can be a stretch). That being said, I still use Senate Course Guide. :)</p>
<p>Where exactly are the course descriptions for classes? All I see are the class titles…I’d appreciate the help!</p>
<p><a href=“http://web-app.usc.edu/soc/term_20073.html[/url]”>http://web-app.usc.edu/soc/term_20073.html</a></p>
<p>Just click on the department you want and it will have a list of the courses offered. Then click on the course title to expand the box to show the description. It also gives you a good idea about what times are open and what professor teaches it.</p>
<p>Powerabe13, thanks for saying that Religion and Ethical Issues is a good class. I’m taking it this fall! lol… Senate Course Guide had good reviews about it. 
It sounds reallly interesting</p>