<p>Just looked in detail at the new 2013 SEAS Orientation Package pdf and noticed the section regarding getting a chemistry lab exemption that was in the 2012 package has been removed from the 2013 file.</p>
<p>From the 2013 file:
</p>
<p>From the 2012 file:
</p>
<p>So it looks like this option has been removed for 2013? I have a call in to try to find out a definitive answer. Does anyone else know if this is the case?</p>
<p>Please take this in the respectful manner it is intended, coming from another mom who researches things that involve her kids…</p>
<p>Any and all communication should be from your son. I believe he works. If he can’t make a phone call during lunch, he can email from home and ask any question he needs answered*. I completely get that it’s quicker and easier to do it ourselves. Kids are busy, they really don’t want to do it, it takes us more time to explain what they’re supposed to do then to just do it ourselves, and often they are working and a phone call is difficult. It still needs to be their job to make those phone calls and initiate emails.</p>
<ul>
<li>From the SEAS UG Handbook: Please contact us with questions or suggestions: A-122 Thornton Hall, (434)924-6327, <a href=“mailto:mel2q@virginia.edu”>mel2q@virginia.edu</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>I did in fact mis-state that and should have said “He.” While mom and dad still provide guidance, all control for his schedule and communication with the school have now been moved into his bucket. Actually “my” call was to “him” so he would followup with the school. :)</p>
<p>Glad it was a misunderstanding. Obviously any student capable of admission to UVa is capable of these types of things. I do wish I had an answer for you however. Perhaps when your son finds out you might post the answer so we’ll know for others.</p>
<p>Thanks for not being offended by my post and taking me at my word. Cyberspace is so hard without tone of voice and body language. :)</p>
<p>Not offended at all. I know how tone can seem online - I’ve probably come across in a few posts as a parent who is doing it all, or trying to control it for our S, which really isn’t the case, I simply ask a lot of questions here for my own knowledge. FWIW, he’s had some serious health issues which made us step in and help with a lot of details, and he’s been a bit behind the curve because of that himself. But he’s up to speed now… he was actually more up to speed than we thought.</p>
<p>FYI, just to close out the question asked here: S has found out officially (and he verified at orientation) that the Chem Lab notebook review and lab exemption is no longer available. As of the Class of 2017, all are required to take Chem Lab, regardless of whether or not you tested out of Chem itself.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting this. It’s helpful for those of us that post regularly about the eschool to know about changes like these. I try to look at new requirements and verify, but things can be missed. I would hate to unknowing pass on incorrect information. </p>
<p>I do know that either for engineering overall, or by major, changes are made periodically. The year between applying and matriculating there was a change to mechanical and areo degrees that students could not major in one and minor in the other. It had been a consideration for my son. When I went back and looked it really was a matter of three courses due to overlap, which I agree should not award a minor. There’s nothing that keeps students from taking courses to increase their knowledge base, minor or not. It wasn’t a big deal.</p>
<p>@blue, I completely agree. It’s funny because my son also was specifically looking at schools that had a MechE major and Aero minor - and it was here, after being accepted, that we found the change had been made a year earlier but didn’t show up in external informational places yet. Like you, we looked at the “reality” being a minor really wasn’t deserved with only the few course differences from the MechE requirements, and that he was really getting the same education he wanted just without the word “minor” - and obviously he chose to go to UVa with that knowledge.</p>
<p>I don’t know if they gave my S a reason that they weren’t doing the Chem Lab exemption anymore - i.e. whether it was due to the professor himself (retired, not wanting to review the notebooks, etc.) or just a general decision about the necessity of the lab. Either way, he’s decided to take it in Spring instead of Fall.</p>
<p>Although taking the lab is kind of a pain, the notebook only gave students an ‘exempt’ not ‘credit’ leaving them with a lab credit to complete somewhere prior to graduation. Most take care of it in other classes anyway, but I can’t imagine getting to fourth year, double checking all requirements are met and realizing you still have a random single lab credit to take care of. :eek:</p>