Hi
I am a first year physical science student and i was wondering if someone could help me with choosing electives for second semester. I was currently enrolled in physics 1b03 and physics 1bb3 however I had decided to drop 1b03 and as a result had to drop 1bb3 as well (i will take these courses during summer). Now i want to take an easy elective to replace Physics for second semester. the current courses i have for second semester are:

Math 1AA3
Math 1B03
Chem 1AA3
Soc Work 1A06

All the courses i am interested in seem to be full. Now i am confused about what i should take. I think the courses i have already are going to be pretty stressful as it is so i wanted to take an easy or chill elective just to boost my grade up. any ideas about what i should take?
thank you!

It depends on what you mean by easy. You need to assess your strengths.

Are you a good essay writer? If so take an English or a Philosophy. etc

You wouldn't be able to take Soc Work 1A06 because that is a full year course.

You would be able to take social work if you are already taking it now. Just be careful, because as Nicole said, you can't take it separately as a solely 2nd term course.

oh no im already in social work so that isnt the problem. I am not really into essays but like im wondering about what they call 'bird courses'? what goes in bird courses? its kinda annoying because all the electives that i seem to be interested in are full on solar! :(

Based on personal experience, (and this has probably been reiterated time and time and time and time and time again (lol redundancy is great) on macinsiders), a bird course for one person isn't necessarily a bird course for another person.

For instance, as a Science student, I was under the impression that Econ 1B03 and 1BB3 were super easy. They are, don't get me wrong, but the thing is, I got really lazy and ignored these courses under the ruse that they are "bird courses". The only reason any course is a "bird course" is because based on a majority, it has generally given high marks.

Looking for a "chill course" is probably non-existent now that you're in university. EVERY course will require at least 3/4 hours a week (in addition to class) of serious devotion whether or not it is a "bird course" or not.

So I'm warning you now, don't take a course simply because it is "easy", it wouldn't be a university course if it doesn't take some sort of effort.

With that said, if you really like basic math and repetitive (ie. doing tons of practice questions to get something right) learning, take Stats 1CC3 (easy 12 if you're into math). But since you're already taking 2 other math courses, you may want to try Environmental Science 1A03, Geography 1HA3, or Anthropology 1A03. These are most often (but not 100% of the time) regarded as pretty "easy", but it's up to you to ultimately decide.



Oh boy, sorry for the rambling. But good luck!

You mentioned that the courses you're interested in are full. My experience is that people tend to switch their courses around during the winter break after they got their first term marks and evaluated what they really want to take 2nd term. So just be patient and check SOLAR often, but with that being said, have a couple of back up courses just in case.

Have you thought of Poli Sci? I'm a Science student myself but find Poli Sci very interesting (although I'm not a huge fan of essays). There are 2nd year courses that doesn't require pre-reqs, but of course you still have to work for the marks. All in all, choose what you're interested in or close to it so you have a stimulus to work.

Originally Posted by chugaucon

Have you thought of Poli Sci? I'm a Science student myself but find Poli Sci very interesting (although I'm not a huge fan of essays).

Interestingly enough, one of my house mates, who just happens to be a second year sciences student, came up to me the other day and specifically told me to never ever take Poli Sci as an elective. It was very awkward.

Really? that's interesting, maybe that's when he/she just got a big essay back?...but I guess each to his/her interest. I mean don't get me wrong, I barely understood any of the big words the prof use during lectures, but somehow it always work itself out.

If you're not too into essays/don't think you're very good at writing them, you may want to avoid those courses with an essay component since a lot of the time, the essays are worth a large chunk of your mark. On the other hand, you may able to work on writing skills, which you may find helpful in the future.

I found English 1B03 to be a pretty interesting course, but there are two essays (500 and 1000 words respectively). I would say it's conceptual based, and I considered it pretty easy. I am also a science student, by the way.