College Blahs
I spent the last few weeks trying to put together my schedule for UH Fall 2008. It's hard because there's a lot of overlap, and I have to keep at least one day a week free for volunteering at the kids' school. I really wanted to take a biochemistry class. Unfortunately, that requires taking Organic Chem 1 & 2, each with their own labs. Eesh.
Not because I don't like Chemistry. In fact, I rather enjoyed General Chem 1 &2 and their respective labs. What's awful is that organic chem lab is SIX HOURS LONG. Six hours in a row once a week. Mine is scheduled for Mondays from 11am to 5pm. I wonder how I'm going to feel halfway through the semester when the walls start closing in around me. :D
So, I'm looking at 6 hours of school on Mondays. In addition to that, I'm taking classes from 8:30am to 4:00pm on Tuesdays and 8:30am to 5:30pm on Thursdays. Those two days are Organic Chem lecture, two education classes through the TeachHouston program (because I'm minoring in Education), and Physics 2 with its lab.
I had to get into the classes I scheduled because they're at the trunk of the "class tree" for my major and my minor. I'm leaving a lot of the Core classes (required to be taken by everyone to graduate) until later. Really I only have a political science class, two history classes, a visual/performing arts class, and English Comp 2.
Right now that's the plan. If the Calvinator can't get off the waiting list and into day care at UH child care (or another child care center), I don't know what I'm going to do. (I am keeping "having a nervous breakdown" as one of my top options. :o )
I'm done with the actual classes this semester. Yay! I still have a Physics final that's 25% of my grade, but I found that if I get at least 72%, I'll have a B for the class (without taking any potential classwide curve into account.) The downside is that the only way I can get an A in the class is if I score 100% and the overall grades are curved up 3 percentage points. (The average curve is somewhere between 3-7% depending on the grades.)
If we get a 7 points added, the target number drops to 83.7% on the final. (Of course, this assumes 90% is an A and not an A- ...I don't know what the grading rubric is exactly!)
How sad is it that I'm not happy that I can get a B in the class without too much effort and I've got a spreadsheet to calculate my grade and points needed?!
Not because I don't like Chemistry. In fact, I rather enjoyed General Chem 1 &2 and their respective labs. What's awful is that organic chem lab is SIX HOURS LONG. Six hours in a row once a week. Mine is scheduled for Mondays from 11am to 5pm. I wonder how I'm going to feel halfway through the semester when the walls start closing in around me. :D
So, I'm looking at 6 hours of school on Mondays. In addition to that, I'm taking classes from 8:30am to 4:00pm on Tuesdays and 8:30am to 5:30pm on Thursdays. Those two days are Organic Chem lecture, two education classes through the TeachHouston program (because I'm minoring in Education), and Physics 2 with its lab.
I had to get into the classes I scheduled because they're at the trunk of the "class tree" for my major and my minor. I'm leaving a lot of the Core classes (required to be taken by everyone to graduate) until later. Really I only have a political science class, two history classes, a visual/performing arts class, and English Comp 2.
Right now that's the plan. If the Calvinator can't get off the waiting list and into day care at UH child care (or another child care center), I don't know what I'm going to do. (I am keeping "having a nervous breakdown" as one of my top options. :o )
I'm done with the actual classes this semester. Yay! I still have a Physics final that's 25% of my grade, but I found that if I get at least 72%, I'll have a B for the class (without taking any potential classwide curve into account.) The downside is that the only way I can get an A in the class is if I score 100% and the overall grades are curved up 3 percentage points. (The average curve is somewhere between 3-7% depending on the grades.)
If we get a 7 points added, the target number drops to 83.7% on the final. (Of course, this assumes 90% is an A and not an A- ...I don't know what the grading rubric is exactly!)
How sad is it that I'm not happy that I can get a B in the class without too much effort and I've got a spreadsheet to calculate my grade and points needed?!