FAQs about Planning your First-Semester Course Schedule

A lot of my friends go off to college already enrolled in their courses. Why do I have to wait until Orientation to select my courses?

The range of courses offered at Cornell is vast. You will benefit greatly from the information provided by the college, and by your own faculty advisor, before you make these important decisions. Throughout Orientation Weekend, we will provide placement exams and specific information sessions to help you determine what type and level of study is best for you. On Sunday evening of Orientation, the college holds an "Open House" with representatives from every department in Arts and Sciences available to answer your questions about the courses they offer. Before you enroll in your courses, you will meet with your faculty advisor to confirm your choices, and to benefit from the guidance of an experienced faculty member in your college.

How do I choose my first-semester class schedule?

Explore your academic interests. The College of Arts and Sciences offers you enormous choice in designing your own unique college education. Since we do not have a pre-set core curriculum, you may satisfy the college degree requirements in any number of ways. Over the next four years, you are expected to complete one major and satisfy other degree requirements. A sound first-semester schedule will allow you to explore your intellectual interests and gain a sense of yourself as a potential scholar, but there is no one formula that works for everyone. Your faculty advisor will help you make these choices, but you should come to your first meeting well prepared with interests, ideas, and a tentative schedule of courses you want to take. Course descriptions are available on-line in Courses of Study; a hard copy will be in your room when you arrive on campus. Courses being offered this fall, with times and locations, can be found on the Course Roster.

Students who are fairly sure of their major interest should consult the requirements for the major listed in Courses of Study, and plan to take one or two introductory courses. Some departments will hold information sessions during orientation to address specific issues of placement level and use of AP credit. If you are planning to fulfill pre-med requirements, you should attend the Orientation briefing on this topic scheduled for 11:00 AM on Monday, August 22. Students who are undecided should choose courses in at least two subjects they may be interested in pursuing as a major.

All Arts and Sciences students are required to complete either one or two First-Year Writing Seminars. These thematic courses are designed to introduce you to the conventions of college-level writing, so you should always include one FWS in your first-semester schedule. In addition, you should consider how you will satisfy the college language requirement, and enroll in language classes as early in your studies as possible. If you plan to study abroad in a non-English-speaking country, you should definitely include beginning or continuing language study in your first year schedule. Beginning languages are offered only in the fall semester, so make your language course a priority.

How many courses should I take in my first semester?

An average academic load at Cornell is 15-16 credits per semester, which means 4-5 courses. Most first-semester students recognize the many challenges of adjustment to college, and enroll in no more than this. You must enroll in at least 12 academic credits, which will be 3-4 courses. Please note that PE courses do not count as academic credit. If you want to enroll in more than 18 credits in your first semester, you will need the permission of your faculty advisor and advising dean. Most students enroll in 14-16 credits and find the workload to be sufficiently challenging.

If I have AP or IB credit, how will it be counted?

Academic credit will be awarded for certain AP or IB scores. In most cases, you will also be exempt from introductory-level classes in that subject. Detailed information on AP and IB credit is provided in Courses of Study on a subject-specific basis. If you choose to take the introductory-level course, you will forfeit the AP/IB credit. Some departments advise prospective majors to develop a firm grounding in the subject area and methodology by enrolling in the introductory survey course whether or not they have AP/IB credit; specialized advising on these questions will be offered during Orientation.

AP or IB credit counts as out-of-college credit toward your degree requirement, the same as taking a course at another university, or in another college at Cornell. You may earn as much out-of-college credit as you choose, but the college requires at least 100 credits to be earned in the College of Arts and Sciences. Although AP or IB credit may substitute for introductory course work, it may not be used to satisfy college distribution requirements. Only approved courses taken at Cornell may fulfill the distribution requirements.

I don't know what I want to major in. Should I choose courses to try to get the distribution requirements out of the way?

Please don't worry about choosing your major or fulfilling all of the college distribution requirements in your first year. Successful students are invariably interested in what they are studying; if you choose courses out of a sense of obligation rather than interest, you will not enjoy your educational experience, and you will lose valuable time in finding a subject that you love. Students typically fulfill many of the distribution requirements simply by pursuing their intellectual interests. Do, however, pay attention to the foreign language and First-Year Writing Seminar requirements early on.

How do I choose my First-Year Writing Seminar?

You must take two First-Year Writing Seminars in your first two semesters in the college. Only courses designated as "FWS" will fulfill this requirement; most departments offer at least a few choices, so you should make your selection based on interest in the subject. If you received a score of 5 on an AP English exam, you need take only one writing seminar here at Cornell, but be sure to make this a choice for your first semester - what you learn in your writing seminar will help you in all of your courses.

Beginning August 1, you may look over the fall semester offerings posted on the Knight Writing Program website. Enrollment in your FWS is conducted separately from enrollment in your other courses; instead, all students submit five FWS choices via electronic ballot. All ballots will be processed on Wednesday, August 24, the day after you have enrolled in your other classes. We recommend that you wait to fill out your ballot until you have enrolled in your other classes, so you know what days and times are available in your schedule for a writing seminar.

How do I fulfill the Language Requirement?

You can complete the A & S language requirement in either of two ways. One is by passing one course at the 200-level taught here in a language you have already studied. If you are continuing the study of a language you already know somewhat, then you must take a placement exam during orientation to determine the appropriate level of your first course here. (A few languages use SAT II scores for placement. See Courses of Study and also the New Student Orientation Guide's language placement exam section for the details.) The second way you can complete the requirement is by passing 11 or 12 credits of study (usually 3 semesters) in a single foreign language. So, in summary, you have a choice: take a placement exam in a language you have already studied and continue it at Cornell through one course at the intermediate level, or begin a new language and complete 11 or 12 credits in that language. Please keep in mind that you must begin a new language in the fall semester, as only continuing semesters of the sequence will be offered in the spring.

If you have native or near-native proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing a second language, or have a very high test or placement exam score, you may take a CASE (Cornell Advance Standing Exam) in that language during Orientation week. A sufficiently high score will earn 3 credits and fulfill the college language requirement. While you may take a placement exam or CASE exam during any of your four years at Cornell, these exams are offered only at specific times at the beginning of each semester, and the standard of fluency required for satisfaction of the language requirement is quite high. If you are fluent in a language that is not offered for study at Cornell, it may be possible to arrange for testing in that language. Contact the Academic Advising Office for further information.

My faculty advisor is not in my intended major. What do I do?

Don't worry. The largest percentage of incoming students - about 25% - are undecided as to major. Of the rest, at last half will change their minds about their major at least once before graduation. Your first two years are a time to explore different intellectual paths and make decisions about what you want to study. Along the way, you will be fulfilling major prerequisites and distribution requirements. Your faculty advisor can give you general advice about your studies, help you make informed decisions and guide you in the exploratory process. The Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) in each department can provide you with information about the major and its requirements. You can also talk with faculty in your prerequisite courses during their scheduled office hours.

If your faculty advisor is not in the department you choose for your major, a new faculty advisor will be assigned to you when you officially declare the major. If you declare a second major, you will be assigned a second faculty advisor in that department. Not all departments assign faculty advisors to first-year students. For instance, the three largest majors in the college - Economics, Government, and Psychology - assign faculty advisors only to declared majors.

When can I declare my major?

The college does not require you to declare a major until the end of your sophomore year. You may do so at any time after successfully completing the prerequisites specified by the department. To declare a major, you go to the department and request a "Declaration of Major" form. If you do not already have a faculty advisor in your major field, you will receive one after declaring your major. Most students declare a major any time between the end of their first year and the end of their second year.

What else do I need to know?

Getting started in college is an incredibly exciting time in your life. You will make new friends and explore intellectual "unknown territory." It may also seem confusing and a little scary because it is such an unknown quantity at the moment. However, the orientation program will help you through the process of getting started. Lots of faculty, advising staff members and student/peer advisors will be here to help you make sense of it all and get off to a good start. So enjoy the rest of your summer and we look forward to seeing you here in Ithaca very soon.