To respond to your questions eliwilliam,

1) Although the labs are supposed to be an extension of what is learned during lectures, it is not imperative that you have lectures before the lab. In fact, you'll find that the lecture material probably isn't as related as you expect it to be (not until you're in upper years at least). As well, the first week of labs is usually safety so you'll have a few lectures before the lab anyways.
2) Chemistry doesn't have tutorials, however biology and math do. Generally in tutorials, such as for math, the TA has questions that you practice as a group for upcoming tests, or they take up midterm questions, etc. TAs go over concepts from lecture and give mini-lessons as needed. The tutorial is there for you to ask questions! There are no assigned questions, and what goes on in tutorials is not for marks; however, this is the place where you usually get back tests, assignments, midterms, etc.
3) I don't think your Friday schedule is that bad. You're right in saying that the chem is EOW, so that'll free up some Fridays. I've had schedules where your day starts at 8:30am and you're in labs until ~ 7pm at night. You'll get used to it

Hope that helps.
Best of luck as you all start classes in a couple of weeks!

Sarah

So what is the difference between labs, tutorials, cores, lectures, whatever.

Core is equivalent to lecture. Here you are in (generally) a large class in a lecture hall and taught by a professor.

A tutorial is a sub-section of a lecture. They are much smaller (generally less than 30 students) and taught by a graduate student. The TA will go over what was taught in lecture, as well as give other mini lectures as needed.

A lab is usually only for science classes (but sometimes others), but is where you do practical experiments on whatever the subject you're in is.

The worst thing is taking night classes while living off campus. I've had friends who start at 8:30am and finish at 9pm. So, it could be worse

Indeed, they could start at 8:30AM and finish at 10PM

well i hav a class that ends at 10...n im living offcampus:(

k so on my timetable i have psych from 9:30 to 10:20 (PC 151 dunno what that means)
then sociology from 10:30 to 11:30 (JHE 329 im guessing these r the buildings/rooms)

is this gonna be a problem getting between classes/lectured in 10 mins?
if so, what can I do about it?

10 minutes in between classes is fine. Also, the Psychology Building (PC) is next to John Hodgins Engineering Building (JHE) =P

Unless you are a CSD students who requires special accomidations to reach your classes, there is no reason why you can't get to your classes in ten minutes. Most profs end up finishing lectures five minutes early so students can cross campus and get to their next class on time if need be.

Right now i have my tutorial for the engineering programming course on thursday, then the lab on friday and then after the lab i have my core. this seems like a weird order to have the classes in? Is there anything wrong with this? Also for the programming course should the lab number and tutorial number match???

Don't forget you're going to be starting your labs and tutorials a week after your core classes starts.

And no, I don't think there should be any issues with that...

For Eng 1D04 the lectures have very little to do with the tutorials/labs, which is where most of the learning actually takes place.

For eng 1d04, tutorials = what should be taught in class but is taught by the TAs. Labs are supposed to be a learning place but they are like mini tests. So prep well in advance for this course.

Why do some Biology 1A03 sections offer lectures twice a week where as the rest offer it 3 times a week?

Are these the same lectures? Which one would it be better to take?

I apologize if this question has been asked, but what has to be done in order to switch an elective with another course? Do I just go onto my SOLAR and change a course selection from the list I initially created for my timetable?