#yonsei uni

[uicyoulater]

Yonsei How to Pt 17.4 - Scheduling Tips

How do I make a good schedule?

What a good question imaginary person! How your classes are structured is almost as important as what classes you take sometimes and organizing them can be confusing. Lucky for yall, I’ve learned from my mistakes and I’m here to offer some advice in a few rules! Granted, I’ve mentioned a lot some of these before, but here is a good long list. Also, all schedules are different and sometimes you’ll end up with a bad/busy day here and there.

This advice is Yonsei- and Sinchon-centric, but most of these suggestions apply to anyone trying to schedule classes at any level and at any school. 

1.      Even out your days

Don’t have one heavy set of days and one light set. With the exception of Friday, try to have an equal amount of class on Tues/Thurs as on Mon/Wed. If you don’t want to have Friday classes, it’s totally possible, but I like having 2-3 hours of Friday classes, usually in the morning. Why should you have equal days? You don’t want to get tired out throughout the day. Simple.

2.      Have smart breaks

Having class for 4-5 hours straight is occasionally unavoidable but isn’t nice even if it’s only 2-3 actual subjects. Breaks allow for snacks, resting, HW, and test prep. I am the type of person who can’t do anything if I’m hungry, so I really need this.

But don’t make your breaks too long. In Songdo you can take some short naps, so this doesn’t always apply, but Sinchon is different.

I’ll talk about me for a sec. I live in Hapjeong, so any commute to Sinchon uses at least 1 transfer and takes at least 25-30 minutes. Could I live closer? Yes, but I don’t really care. Some of my Korean friends commute from Anyang or Gangnam so mine is pretty easy. If you live anywhere off campus there is going to be time/hills involved. If I want to go home and then come back in the middle of the day, there goes a whole hour just on transport. Once I get to campus, I’m there for good. If I have a test then a long study break is great, but if I’m just wasting time then having more than 2 hours of break can get me off track.

3.      Don’t take max credits

Yes, my friend did fit in like 20 credits her first semester. It was stupid and she went crazy. Try to add a club, sport, or job on top of that and you’re dead. Try to aim around 16-18 per semester. This number generally assures that you will finish all of your requirements to graduate and won’t have too little to do. It’s better to take fewer classes and get better grades than rush around and then fail a class and have to retake it. Also, try not to take all difficult major courses at once if you can.

4.      Separate course types

This might be confusing. I talked in the syllabus portion about class types like lecture, group project, writing, etc. The advice here is that you should mix up your days if you can. There’s nothing like going from 2 hours of lecture to another 2 long hours of lecture. It might be better to schedule lecture classes and discussion classes close together or any other combination. Even if the courses are different during class, if two courses both have weekly writing assignments due then you might want to try and get them on alternating days to spread out the workload.

5.      Think about transition time

Note: Not applicable in Songdo. You can get pretty much anywhere on Songdo campus in less than 7 minutes. In Sinchon, getting from class to class is a bigger issue. Buildings right next to each other are fine, but sometimes distances seem smaller on a map than when you have to actually walk them carrying your backpack in the winter. Don’t be too deterred by this, but be wary if you’re a late person or hate rushing. Let’s look at some maps.

Now, this map seems nice. While the two circled buildings look farther away than some others, they don’t look too bad, right? Lies. This is a full 10-12 minute walk at a slow/normal pace. This map makes them seem way closer than they really are.

This is a bit more accurate. Most Yonsei buildings are massive and this shows a more realistic scale. Same buildings, same walk. I want to remind you that Yonsei is on a hill as well, so get excited.

Now, don’t worry too much. Professors will understand if you need to run to a class, and classes generally have a 6 min grace period, but it’s still close. If you’re an Econ major like me, have fun. I will note that there are shuttle buses between parts of campus, but they’re kinda useless between classes.

6.      Take classes when you’ll be productive

Do you hate mornings? Don’t have a 9am class. You will be in hell. If you’re commuting to campus as well then double no. Unless it’s a very specific class, just don’t do it. Evenings are also not enjoyable because it limits social activity and club participation and gets kinda sad when you’re stuck in class at like 7pm when you could just be done already. This is more of a personal choice.

7.      Take Chapel early on

You need only 4 semesters of it, so take it early when you have more flexibility. That’s it.

8.       Be OK with an imperfect schedule

Sometimes you need a class for major credit, sometimes the section you wanted filled up fast, maybe you clicked on the wrong thing, maybe Chapel is just messing up everything. That’s life. Your schedule probably never end up being 100% perfect. The goal here is to maybe just hate one day of the week and not 4 of them. The most important thing is that you take the classes you need/want to take in the best way possible. A better schedule will lead to less stress and better grades overall and life can just be a little bit better for you.

 In general, try to give yourself these little advantages when you can. You will probably never have a perfect schedule and that’s OK. You may also have different preferences than I do. I love 9am classes for some strange reason even though I usually hate mornings. I don’t follow my own advice sometimes and that’s OK.  

As always, ask me questions. I actually think a lot about this and am not just pretending I know what’s up here.

[uicyoulater]

Yonsei How to Pt 17.3 - Mileage Basics

So I just finished my first round of course registration this semester. *yay* Maybe… I’ve talked before about course reg. for Freshmen/2nd round and beyond. A quick refresher, you click really, really fast. 

You might be wondering what people do after freshman year. I didn’t want to talk about it until I had done it, but now I have so let’s talk about mileage. Disclaimer, I have done this once now and am in no way an expert. Now, for this system, you don’t need to click well, just gamble. Here’s a run-down of how mileage works in bullets:

·        During mileage (+1 hour before) the system is open for you to search classes and compose a wish list

·        Once mileage starts, you have points that you can allocate to each class you want

·        The number of points depends on credits (credits*4, mine was 72)

·        For every course you apply to now, you must allocate a minimum number of points (usually 1, but some courses have a higher one)

·        The highest you can apply is 36 (some are lower, like 24 or 12)

·        For low-competition classes, apply very few points

·        For high-competition classes, apply more credits

After the period is over, you can check if you got into classes. If you did, you can just do nothing or drop the course if you want. If you didn’t, you’ll be put on the waitlist. If your waitlist number is very high (20), try to find an alternative. If anyone drops the course, you have a chance to move up the waitlist so stick it out if your number is pretty low.

I mentioned low vs high competition classes. Which are which? When in doubt, if the course has fewer spots then it will be more competitive. If you have a choice between two identical classes, the one at a better time (ie not 9am or 7pm) will be more competitive. If you are applying for a major course and the major exists both in UIC and general Yonsei, it will be more competitive because sometimes Korean students will want to take a course in English. There is also a way to estimate using the past mileage result data.

Here is an example of a competitive class:

Now, I’ve cropped out most of the list and some info, but you can see that this class is very competitive. For 50 spots there were 116 “bidders” and most of the people who got in gave up the max points. Here you can also see the min points and average. In the enrolled column, O means they got in and X means they didn’t. You will notice that the top 10 or so that I’m showing are all seniors, as they do get priority. Major students can also get priority in major courses. For classes that have a grade quota, the per-grade participation will be more spread out.

Some things to note about this result data. 1) This is a popular class because of the subject matter for all students, so not all classes are like this. 2) This course this semester is taught by a completely different person. 3) This course, in a way, has many substitutes in that there are many other PoliSci courses that can fill the major credits for this, so more people would be likely to switch out if their schedule changed. 4) This course this semester is at a totally different time.

Now let’s look at a less competitive course.

As you can see, people in this class put both the min and max points and still got in. It also filled to less than the quota. Why is this course less competitive? It is a level-measured language course so there are fewer people that qualify for it and/or want to take it.

Now, you have to remember that it isn’t always going to be like this. This course has 0 alternatives, unlike the above. You can’t just skip a level of language if your schedule changes. For any other course that only has one section, it could be more competitive depending on demand.

Also, always remember that these results are for previous semesters and won’t always be accurate to demand. It’s annoying, but it’s the only thing you have information about.

That’s pretty much the mileage basics. Remember, I’ve only done this once. Yonsei also gives no help which kinda sucks. (They give a 1-page guide in the general course reg book and that’s it.) If you have any more questions or want to know my results, just ask me. I might not know the answer but hey.  I really just miss the clicking.

Also, if you are a prospective student please do not worry about this. Apparently I scare y’all sometimes with these things that are really just not important in your college choices and I really don’t mean to do that. Mileage is just fancy blind betting and pretty boring. 

[uicyoulater]

Yonsei How To Pt 17.1 - Courses (An easy syllabus)

I told y’all I would do this so here I am doing this. I am going to give a guide (in a few parts) on how to choose courses (good for any grade) and course registration (only good for freshmen sorry).

#1 advice for anyone looking at a course is to read the syllabus carefully. Why? 1) So you know if you’re allowed/qualified to take the course 2) So you know if you want to study what’s being taught 3) So you know more about the class structure and grading 4) So you know if the class plays to your strengths (Academic writing, math/science assessments, lots of HW, no HW) Will the syllabus tell all? Not always. 

The first step to courses, in general, is to know what’s offered by going to the course catalog system. Everything about courses and syllabi in the next few posts can be found here unless I say something different.

Start off by going to the Yonsei portal homepage. It will initially be in Korean but can be changed to English. You don’t have to have a login within the Yonsei system to access this info so anyone can see the courses offered this semester and back many years. Go to the catalog by clicking on this icon.

You will then come to the catalog. Its search parameters will be at the default as shown below.

To start off the search you must change the parameters. Since this blog is more centered to perspective/first-year students, I will navigate to the UIC Common Curriculum (CC) courses offered at the International Campus (YIC). Note: Don’t change any boxes that mention “English Courses Only” or any variations, as this weirds-out the system within UIC courses.

I recommend that everyone do this even before they apply and again once they get in to get used to the system and to see what’s offered. You can see other semesters or years by changing the semester parameters if you wish.

Now that you’re here you can see the courses offered, you can open the syllabus to learn more about the course. ALWAYS READ THE SYLLABUS. I’m going to use only classes I’ve taken in my examples for this and future posts. (Or maybe a course that I want to take/haven’t completed yet when the semester starts.) I’ll try to take out contact info, but this is, of course, publicly accessible.

This course is Beginning Korean 2 offered in Songdo during 2017-1. (FYI all photos are of this same syllabus, it’s just long and hard to screenshot) This is a very good syllabus in my opinion and very easy to understand.

There are a few things to notice here. (Moving from top-left) 1) The course title (is not circled but important) 2) The location (you can find the translation of this on the website/in your course manual once you arrive (Veritas B #207) 3) TIME! You can’t take 2 classes at the same type. The system actually won’t let you. Yonsei runs times from period 1-10, with 1st hour starting at 9 AM. 5-6 means 1-3 PM, usually with a 10-minute break in between. 4) Instructor information. If you have any questions for the professor you can email them, call them, or visit office hours and this is where to find that info. 5) Target students. This is important because you don’t want to register for a class that won’t take you. Some classes are for certain majors only while some have prerequisites that aren’t courses (IE, an ability in math or language, academic writing practice or lack of)  6) Prerequisites 7) Requirements. This can list rules or information about grading and class work. This is often where a professor may mention if their course has certain types of tests or group projects or what the weekly homework might be like. 

8) Grading policy. Fairly self-explanatory, but some syllabi will have more detail (%, timing) than others. 9) Texts. Some classes have all-online texts and some have no texts. For paper texts, you can either buy them in the school bookstore or copied books in the copy center. I don’t recommend buying the books before the class starts unless the syllabus gives instructions to do so. Copy center books usually take about a week into the semester or at least a few days anyway. When in doubt, go to class and the teacher will tell you. 10) Period (Week) You will notice that this “week” or “period” does not start on a Monday. This past semester, the week started on a Thursday because the semester always starts on the 1st or 2nd of the month (September or March). There are 16 total weeks in the semester. 11) Weekly Topic. Here you can see what the professor has *predicted* you will study that week. If there is a sickness or delay in the schedule the professor has the right to do that and it will usually happen. Still, this is a good way to see individual topics you’ll learn. 12) Materials and Assignments. Here is where you’ll see what you’ll be reading in the textbook (if you have one) and online as well as major assignments. 13) References/Add-Drop. The reference column is very important since it contains all academic dates like holidays and course markers. School festivals or other non-public holidays are not listed here. The Add-Drop is the first important date. This is the period when you can add and drop courses without any penalty online to change your schedule. After this point, you will usually get a withdrawal on your report card. Note that you do have classes during this period and you should go to them to see if the class is right for you, even if you don’t expect to attend in the long term just to tell your professor that you are dropping.

14) + 15) Midterms. As you can see, your midterm exam could (theoretically) be anytime between 4/17 and 4/22 during 2017-1. This isn’t always true, as some professors have them earlier or later than that, but it’s the general timeframe. This exam was originally supposed to be between 4/20 and 4/26, but was actually on 4/19, an example of things changing. 16) + 17) + 18 (next page) Holidays. Other holidays and days off are also listed here on the side. If it’s listed, you will have the day off (usually). Note, this semester we also had an election on 5/9 that was not listed, but was a public holiday and a day off. Sometimes unpredictable things change the academic calendar. 

19) + 20) Study week and Finals. As you can see, you have a review/reading period before finals, making the total finals period from 6/8 to 6/21. Your exam can theoretically be any time in between. For example, my first exam was Macro on 6/8 and my last was a Philosophy essay on 6/21. After your final/after review week, you will usually stop having class for the subject or classes will be optional review sessions. Your exam may or may not be the same time as the usual class.

That’s the whole thing. This is a very easy syllabus because it has a constant textbook and is well-written. Sometimes, very little detail is in the course catalog syllabus, which is why you should try out the class and get more info in the first week if you’re unsure. Not every class is the same, even if it has the same title so read carefully!

 As always, feel free to ask me any questions you have about this. This will be a multi-part installment so I will go into more detail later.

[dreams-of-japan]

afternoon, spring by Kwon il Woo

[chiriahs]

sometimes i feel like i will be the odd one out when i'm studying in korea cause everyone who goes there seems to love to go clubbing or something and drinking and there's nothing wrong with that but alcohol just has no effect on me so it's kinda boring for me but ughhh i just hope i'll make friends i don't wanna be alone i'm a really fun person i swear ;__; 

[chiriahs]

yo so i'm leaving for korea in like five weeks or something and i was just wondering if you guys (i talk like i have people on here who actually give a shit about my life but whatever) think i should start a side blog where i just post stuff about my life in korea or if i should just post it on the blog i have now? 

thank you very much i would be really happy if someone gave me some advice!!

[dreams-of-japan]

afternoon, spring by egowrappin on Flickr.

[chiriahs]

hey hello i need some advice from people who have studied or are studying at yonsei university about if you think it's better to live on campus in yonsei's dorms or if it's better to live in a goshiwon/hasookjib? it would really be so so so helpful to me if anyone could give me their opinion/advice :-)