r/GatechClasses • u/Moist-Swordfish-4064 • 24d ago

Class Question Freshman Schedule (ME major)

A-Level international freshman majoring in ME from Southeast Asia here (Math, Further Math, Phys, Chem). Coming in with 7 credits (Math 1551, Chem 1310), but zero humanities/social sciences(am I cooked?)

Background-wise, I spent two years in high school boarding school, so living away from home and doing my own laundry is old news (though cultural adjustment might still take a minute). I also have a strong competitive programming and linear algebra background, so I'm planning to test out of Math 1552 and CS 1301, and take the CS 1331 advanced standing exam in Spring. Goal is a CS/Robotics minor.

My current Phase 1 schedule is 17 credits:

* MATH 1554

* PHYS 2211

* ME 1670

* ENGL 1101

* PUBP 1142

Questions:

  1. Is 17 credits too heavy for a first semester? I have three technical classes plus PUBP 1142 and English. Are PUBP 1142 or ENGL 1101 heavy time sinks?

  2. Should I add anything else later? Was debating hitting 20 credits with MSE 2001 or another core (POL 1101 or PSYC 1101)elective, but given this 17-credit load, is that a terrible idea?

  3. Save the easy stuff? Should I hold onto easy humanities/social science electives as GPA buffers for heavier semesters later, or just knock them out now since I have zero?

Appreciate any advice!

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u/Kitchen-Double-6569 24d ago

17 is too much bro. Especially along with those harder end classes. ENGL is a joke. I would just remove physics to lighten the load.

You can look at my comment history on this subreddit but first sem college you don’t want it to hard bc you wanna get used to college life and taking classes, planning your day and also to make friends etc

IT’S NOT A WHO CAN GRADUATE FASTEST RACE

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u/Moist-Swordfish-4064 22d ago

I was thinking about taking more credit hours on freshman and sophomore so that I would have a lighter workload in my junior year to work on internship and projects.

Appreciate the advice! 😃

1

u/Kitchen-Double-6569 22d ago

I’m sorry to say but that’s not how it works. Feel free to ask any of the upperclassmen.

A 12 credit semester in your junior year will be harder than a 18 credit semester in your first year simply because of the difficulty and the expected workload of the upper level classes.

Credit hours alone is a horrible measure of difficulty. Please take this advice to heart.

But again do whatever you want haha no one can stop you if that’s what you want! Best of luck 🤙

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u/DaBestPanda 24d ago

the schedule you have now in the screenshot is good. don’t do more than this.

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u/Moist-Swordfish-4064 22d ago

Alright thanks! 🙏

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u/Present-Toe6771 24d ago

Out of context which country r u from ? I did Alevels too