| If you are considering a major in science or engineering, or a preprofessional science program such as premed, you should start your college coursework in math and chemistry as soon as possible. Students who start as freshmen at the UW and are planning on science majors usually complete, in their freshman and sophomore years of college, a year of calculus and several quarters of chemistry and/or physics. You should plan to do at least as much in your first two years of community college. |
MYTH: You should postpone those difficult math and science courses until after you transfer to the UW.
FACT: It is a BIG mistake to postpone math and science courses. |
There are two good reasons why you should be well into your math and basic science courses by the time you transfer:
| Don't delay taking math and science courses because you are worried about having a high enough GPA to transfer to the UW. The progress you have made toward your intended major is one of the factors considered when you apply for admission. Also, if you can't do well in math and science courses at a community college, it is unlikely you will be able to successfully complete a science major at the UW. Those difficult introductory courses are going to be even more difficult at the UW, and you will need good grades in them for admission to many of the science and engineering programs. And the upper-division courses in science majors are even more challenging. |
MYTH: You shouldn't take hard courses in your first two years of college. If you get low grades, you won't have a high enough grade-point average to transfer to the UW. FACT: If you get low grades in math or science courses, you need to discover this at the community college so you can get started on a different type of major before you transfer.
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Find out what your strengths and weaknesses are in your first two years of college and, if necessary, adjust your plans. There are almost always several ways to reach a particular career goal. If it looks like your original plans aren't working out, talk with advisers to see if there are any other ways to reach your goal. If not, start looking at other options.
