Before getting in / 小回顧:
因為跟台灣部落格有點斷線了幾年所以想說回來分享一下在英屬哥倫比亞大學 Univeristy of British Columbia (UBC) 的大一選課紀錄。
想說打下來，以後看起來會有點懷念那年艱困的第一年...這篇是加國記所以用英文寫吧
MY UBC FIRST YEAR SCIENCE REGISTRATION SURVIVAL GUIDE
My experience at UBC as a semi-domestic and kinda-international student was sort of odd. It was my first time returning to Canada after being educated in Taiwan for about 10 years so I was a bit off track, despite the fact I studied in international boarding schools for about 4 years. I was worried about what classes to choose out of the whole SSC...looking through the amount of classes that you can take.
Regardless, all science students come across the distillation email giving the info about going to the Step 4: Look at Your High School Courses. For science especially, do your homework looking through here and there are some critical points to your schedule. I'll go over them step by step:
1. CHECK AP (and IB) CREDITS: Those credits come out around July for most people and you should better look if you can waive any credits from those, especially liberal arts credits, for example history, economics, psychology, geography, and languages...etc. Those come in handy because of the 12 mandatory arts credits that you have to take, better waive them now. However you should double check for science credits. I was a AP student so I'll go over five mainstream APs:
- AP English: waive, waive, waive, 因為很重要所以要說三次。
- AP Calculus AB/BC = I would suggest to waive MATH 100 and not MATH 101. Calculus 2 covers actually a lot more than what the AP test covers, especially MATH 105. I actually did a dumb step by waiving all and went to take MATH 200 directly. Calculus 3 actually burned me madly during first term. Yet, if you think your math is strong enough, go directly to multivariable.
- AP Biology = Do yourself a favor and waive. BIOL 111, BIOL 121, and BIOL 140 are not GPA boosters. They all require more time than BIOL 112 (intro cell biology) and have purely short answer exams. Although the material wasn't difficult, it was sure not worth the time. Yet this is dependent on the fact that you understand genetics and know how to write a research paper well. If you do, waive.
- AP Chemistry: I would borrow a CHEM 121 textbook and see if you are familiar with the concepts. CHEM 121 covers mainly structural chemistry and leads to the understanding of bonding theory and includes eigenvalues and 3D coordinates. If you aren't strong in chem, then don't waive.
- AP Physics: 50%/50%. Those who waive and are not going into physics, you probably would never need to see physics ever again. Yet for those who do, you can take second year level physics directly. First year physics was somehow easygoing for me, PHYS 101 (fluid dynamics and waves) was useful for me to some degree and it was my first term highest grade so take it if you want some extra math
2. CHECK HS TRANSCRIPT: All senior level HS courses in BC come with a coding of "Course 12", so for international schools that means high school aggregate level of that subject, e.g. American International Schools would have Chemistry 12 equal to HS Chemistry. If you don't have the course taken in high school then you must take the lower requirement which are: PHYS 100, CHEM 111, and BIOL 111. All other courses usually wouldn't require much from your high school years.
3. CHECK MAJOR REQUIREMENTS: You probably already have a basic idea of what sciences you are more interested, whether it is physical sciences, life sciences, or even earth and ocean sciences. Those majors usually come with requirements from first year, be sure to check the UBC Calendar for required courses to advance to 2nd year specialization.
4. COMBINATION: At this point you should know what courses you are required, interested, or able to waive. You should now be able to log in to your SSC account and create a worklist. In late May or early June you should be notified by UBC Enrolment Services about your assigned registration time. Everyone is in a different spot in the order of your entrance averages usually. Spots can get filled so register as soon as your time slot opens.
5. CLASS FULL?: Register intoa waitlist, but note that spots may change at any time depending on how many people are registered. Classes may increase sections, seats, or have staggered seating depending on department registration regulations (or people drop their spots, so yay). Always keep an eye out for spots and don't trust the online seat seeker applications. They simply don't work well. Just check frequently.
6. ADD/DROP?: You have a few weeks before you end your free add/drop duration. After a certain date set on the SSC, you can withdraw with a W, with a W or you can't withdraw anymore. If you have a serious and legitimate reason go for your ESP or seek anyone in the Science Student Info Centre.
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