Here's a sort of "guide" to picking your courses - with recommended teachers and links to helpful sites.
Your mandatory courses will be:
- Biology 1A03
- Biology 1M03
- Chemistry 1A03 (1st term)
- Chemistry 1AA3 (2nd term)
- Psychology 1X03 (1st term)
- Pscyhology 1XX3 (2nd term)
- One math - a lot of people recommend Calculus 1LS3 (generally speaking, it's easier)
- And then it is recommended to take Physics 1B03 or 1L03 (Physics 1B03 requires either of physics 1L03 or a grade 12 physics credit as a prerequisite).
*Note: someone mentioned that this year one of the chem and the psych courses isn't mandatory but you should take them still - just to ensure that you get into the majority of 2nd year specializations.
That leaves you room for 2 electives. You can use the 2013-2014 McMaster course listings to find those two electives:
http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /calen...13-14/pg4.html
On that note, a lot of students take an Econ because they're considered "bird courses." I took it and enjoyed the material and the mark.
Other great electives are polisci (amazing professor) and psychobio (it's a health sci course open to all science students).
Then, you can check 1st year course reviews on Macinsiders:
http://www.macinsiders.com/forumdisp...views-104.html
Finally, this is the MASTER schedule for 2013-2014. In put each course and you can see the different "cores" and the different profs offered:
http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /scheduling/coursett.html
With the help of the master schedule, you can see how your profs will be (in case you're curious or such...):
http://www.ratemyprofessors. com/Sele...r.jsp?sid=1440
Recommended professors:
Calculus 1LS3 - Clements
Biology 1M03- Dudley (all teachers were pretty brutal but the Dudley/Stone combo was better than Evans/Quinn)
Chemistry 1A03 - Brock
Chemistry 1AA3 - Brock or Lock
You can make a mock schedule to make sure there's no conflicts on this site:
http://www.timetablegenerato r.com/
FINALLY, you'll sign up for all of your courses at the end of June once "SOLAR" opens up. That's the course-picking program that MAC has. It opens at midnight - so get in as quick as possible and get the courses & cores you want before they fill up.
As a side note, you CAN e-mail professors if a course they teach is full. Certain professors will let you in if you provide a valid reason. You can usually get into courses that way.
If you ever have any questions or need reassurance, definitely post here on MAC Insiders!
