Easy A's or not? (u of c course suggestions)

[kirant]

Originally Posted by Wombat19

My easiest A had to have been the first year engineering design course. All you had to do was show up and do a drawing every other week. Sadly I don't know if that class is offered to anyone outside of engineering.

Really? I despised that course because the logbook lady who marked how much you've written have an almost impossible standard. You could spend an hour a day filling it out and still get 7/10 easy. Then comes having to do the final reports...for a full year.

[Arsenal14]

ECON311 used to be pretty easy, not sure if it still is. Basically it's a "How to use Excel" course which a lot of CPSC students took for easy As. Requires both ECON 201 & 203 as prerequisites, so if you are just looking for one easy A it won't be of much use.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by ricoFlame

I just remembered that there was this hilarious CPSC class, friggen hilarious: make a word document, make a webpage, excel thing, ect... easiest class I ever took, and not brutally boring either. I have no idea what the class number was, but i doubt it's still offered...once agin, it was 10 years ago.

This class, I think it is CPSC 203, now includes some Access data base design and the other stuff like excel, ppt which are pretty simple.

[K1LLswitch]

Back from 2000 - 2005 the easy courses were:

GOPH 375 - Quakes for Flakes
CPSC 203 - Bits for Twits
GLGY 209 - Rocks for Jocks
ASTR 205 - Scopes for Dopes

Easiest A's ever (i took them all)....I heard from my brother that Astronomy 205 was changed after I took it and was actually made difficult. Comp Sci 203 I almost died of bordom as they taught about modems and printers and the assignments were "create a word file". I wonder if that's still offered....

[Cecil Terwilliger]

A lot of this really depends on the prof. How the course is presented, the type and # of tests etc.

Geology 209 is pretty simple seconded for Giovanni. She's kind of militant but a good prof. I don't think she has bonus marks anymore.

Engl 399 or 395 or whatever, fair amount of reading and work but you get to read Lewis Carol and TDK, Watchmen and stuff and then write essays on them

Geog 213, Astronomy 205, Coms 363 and Rels 205 were all quite difficult, but only sort of. Usually it was a bad prof, sometimes it was the way the presented it or the grade make-up or the type of tests. Also crappy, boring, uninteresting material is hard for me because if I hate the class I don't usually do very well.

The most important thing when looking for an easy A is to maybe follow some of the advice for courses in this thread but make sure you have a good prof with a good course outline. You have like 2 weeks to drop a course. If it seems as though the prof is there to punish people who take his course as a GPA booster get the hell out of there. Giovanni in Glgy 209 is quickly approaching that status though. She likes to post her quizzes on a Friday night. That means you only have until Sunday to finish. Drives me nuts. I hardly ever check my email on the weekend. She does it intentionally to eff with people.

[TylerSVT]

It's all a crapshoot for classes really. Ive taken entry level courses that were supposed to be really easy and they were hard, and ive taken 500 level econ classes that have been easy despite the amount of work load.

Like Cecil said its all about the prof and how you learn and whether their grading scheme is fair.

For instance im in one class this semester and the prof seems hell bent on grading on a curve. Regardless if you get everything correct for an assignment you are lucky to get 75% because she is hell bent on keeping the class average around the 66 mark. Another class im in ive got a 90% going in to the final paper because the prof marks based on if you are right or wrong...

[IliketoPuck]

FNCE 597 Mergers & Acquisitions was a breeze......

[IliketoPuck]

But in all honesty, I was god awful at picking courses that were easy as my electives. Physics? Really? What the hell was I thinking.

I did take a fun English course that was about writing/reading Science Fiction, can't remember what the name is right now. I had a cute British prof.

Oh and any Econ class with Tracy is a pretty safe bet. The guy is hilarious too, would always yell at people passing in the hallway for being too loud.

[YYC in LAX]

Philosophy classes are fun, interesting, and easy. If you can get in class with Tanner or Janzen I would definitely recommend it. Expect 2 papers (approx 5 pages double spaced) and one written test.

If you write down what Janzen writes on the board you will get an A. No textbook required. Took his courses last year.

[TylerSVT]

Anyone else think it is redic that you must take a course on like English or law and society if i am taking a geology major???

University blows.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

Anyone else think it is redic that you must take a course on like English or law and society if i am taking a geology major???

University blows.

I have heard this so many times. "Isn't is redic (?) that X discipline needs to take an Englilsh coarse lolz".

Fact of the matter, if you can't communicate properly you're dead in the water. I've seen so many science and engineering students that can't string a sentence together to save their lives. I think that the technical disciplines would be better served to take more communication based courses.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

I have heard this so many times. "Isn't is redic (?) that X discipline needs to take an Englilsh coarse lolz".

Fact of the matter, if you can't communicate properly you're dead in the water. I've seen so many science and engineering students that can't string a sentence together to save their lives. I think that the technical disciplines would be better served to take more communication based courses.

I received an engineering degree without taking an English class, but I did complete higher level English IB.

The only part of this thread I found suprising is how utterly absurd some classes (which wouldn't qualify for an engg degree) are. Playing hockey with your buddies is what you do to blow off steam, it's not a course. Also, I would have expected anyone who could get into university could use Word and Excel. I won't even get into the one with the balloon.

[renny]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned ENTI381.

By far one of the easiest and fun courses I've ever taken. You actually get to run a business for a week. The earnings you get during that week are yours to keep. What other class actually PAYS for itself?

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I received an engineering degree without taking an English class, but I did complete higher level English IB.

The only part of this thread I found suprising is how utterly absurd some classes (which wouldn't qualify for an engg degree) are. Playing hockey with your buddies is what you do to blow off steam, it's not a course. Also, I would have expected anyone who could get into university could use Word and Excel. I won't even get into the one with the balloon.

I agree about the absurdity of some courses but most of them are faculty specific. For example, I remember trying to get into some Kines classes (squash and kayaking I think) but being rejected back around 1999.

Also, I can guarantee that you are a rarity with that English IB. The vast majority of science and engineering students are either not allowed or actively avoid taking any sort of communication class. I think that's a shame.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

Anyone else think it is redic that you must take a course on like English or law and society if i am taking a geology major???

University blows.

University is about learning to learn. 90% of the course material is irrelevant to any job out there.

Anyone can do well in a course that really interest them, it is what you do with material that is on your periphery or not in your realm of interest at all that really determines how well you learn as person.

I don't know about other people, but the ability to learn is without exception the most important skill I would want in one of my employees. Job related skills are nice, but honestly unless you have worked that exact same position before, they won't be relevant enough to the situation to make you better than someone who can pick things up quickly.

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

I have heard this so many times. "Isn't is redic (?) that X discipline needs to take an Englilsh coarse lolz".

Fact of the matter, if you can't communicate properly you're dead in the water. I've seen so many science and engineering students that can't string a sentence together to save their lives. I think that the technical disciplines would be better served to take more communication based courses.

I need to learn about Othello and A Raisin in The Sun to get an econ degree?????

I get that some courses make sense but some are just plain useless and retarted.

Sometimes tech schools have the right idea.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

I need to learn about Othello and A Raisin in The Sun to get an econ degree?????

I get that some courses make sense but some are just plain useless and retarted.

Sometimes tech schools have the right idea.

I'm not talking about tech schools. I'm talking about technical disciplines at University. The subject matter of Othello or A Raisin in the Sun is useless for most degrees (aren't those books high school material by the way?) but the goal is to process the information and communicate it to others. A key skill.

Many students in engineering and sciences have piss-poor grammar and spelling and have never made a public presentation. The worst is that a lot of them don't care either. They assume that they won't need those skills in their adult life, which is blatantly false if they want to progress with their career.

Back on topic however, I would recommend that the OP look into some Canadian studies courses (don't remember the numbers, sorry). I recommend Canadian Cities, which was much more interesting than the course title suggests.

[TylerSVT]

Canadian Economic is good too, cant remember if 201/203 are prereqs but it was really fun, you played a lot of games and most of it everyone already knows.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

I need to learn about Othello and A Raisin in The Sun to get an econ degree?????

I get that some courses make sense but some are just plain useless and retarted.

Sometimes tech schools have the right idea.

–re·tart·ed   
[ri-tahr-tid]

1. characterized by retartation : a retarted university student.
–noun
2. ( used with a plural verb ) persons who are challenged by the rigors of the proper spelling of the words in the English language. : that class was retarted.

I assume you notice the irony, if not, ask your English prof.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

+1 for Janzen for Phil. He's an amazing prof.

Lots of girls in his classes too. I've known at least 2 girls that took a Janzen class because he's "dreamy".