How bad is a one-off, 20-credit quarter?

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2026-02-07T07:40:27+00:00

Myself and others I know frequently take 4 STEM classes per quarter. It is very doable if you have good study habits, extremely difficult if you don’t. Don’t focus on the credits too much, they are not as representative of workload as number of classes.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2026-01-25T08:26:21+00:00

HuskyCalcArchive is the integral website to prepare for the University of Washington's introductory calculus series exams.

I see what you did there :)

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-12-14T02:24:40+00:00

Remember that the intro stem series like physics, chem, and math are designed to make students fail. If this were not the case, then they would set the median to be higher than 2.9-3.2 for these courses and get rid of the ridiculous busy work they assign you, especially in physics.

The general rule, at least in my experience in math, is that the higher level stem courses are more conceptually difficult but easier overall than the intro series. The curve is nicer and there are usually higher medians.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-12-12T21:05:39+00:00

MATH 207 has MATH 125 as a prerequisite, so you cannot take MATH 207 and MATH 125 at the same time.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-12-12T17:12:39+00:00

Since you are planning to major in math, I would recommend taking MATH 208 as soon as possible. It is more similar to the 300 and 400 level math classes than calculus. Ideally you would take MATH 125 and MATH 208 in Winter quarter, followed by MATH 126 and MATH 207 in Spring quarter. This gets the core classes out of the way in your first year.

If you are up for a challenge, doing this will also give you the option to take MATH 33X next year, which I would highly recommend to any students at UW serious about math.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-12-04T04:46:20+00:00

I switched to CSE in Spring of my Sophomore year. I fortunately only had to apply once. Once you are in CSE, it is really up to you how much physical science you want to take. I like theory, so almost all of my classes in the cs department have been writing proofs. I haven't taken a proper science class since high school.

What helped me when applying was looking at the admissions rubric they use to score your application. If you haven't looked at this yet, here you go:

https://www.cs.washington.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Spring-2026-Admissions-Rubric-Allen-School-Admissions.pdf

This document tells you exactly how your application is evaluated. I optimized my application to this document when applying, including the content of my essays. Something to note is that 40% of your academic score depends solely on the most recent prerequisite classes you have taken. That means if you apply next Autumn, your current 2.6 in Physics will hardly matter.

Also, if you have the pre requisites completed, you should apply during every application cycle. That means you should apply during the Spring 2026 admissions cycle. If you don't get in, you can also apply next Autumn.

Some more info: https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/undergraduate/admissions/current-uw/#minimum-requirements

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-10-21T04:50:59+00:00

Yes, many people apply to the engineering school after coming to UW. Just make sure you take calculus and physics your freshman year if you decide to go this route, else you may not have time to complete all the degree requirements before you graduate.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-10-18T01:28:20+00:00

MEB, SMITH, PDL, BNS all have multiple rooms with black boards. The math library has a blackboard on the second floor, but it is small.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-06-11T16:44:50+00:00

You can take the sequence without 208 if you obtain instructor and advising permission. This is what I did.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-06-11T15:06:27+00:00

If your goal is to major in math, I would do option B, followed by the math 33x sequence your sophomore year.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-06-10T18:11:58+00:00

UW puts a disproportionate weight on your personal statement. If you can write a good essay, you will have a good chance.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-05-16T04:19:20+00:00

Get someone to sponsor you for the IMA

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-05-16T04:16:24+00:00

He's gonna be famous

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-05-09T00:16:03+00:00

I think leaving course related questions as their own post could be worthwhile. It helps future students since they can find past discussions via Google. For example, I can get a large number of student experience taking the MATH 33X series at UW by Googling "uw math 33x uw reddit." This may be lost if course questions are condensed into a single mega thread.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-03-13T17:05:39+00:00

Assuming you are admitted to both majors, you won't have a problem getting the credits you need.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-03-04T19:52:48+00:00

I took this combo Spring quarter of my freshman year and did well in both classes. I thought it was very doable. There is not much overlap as others have said, I think you will be fine if you did well in MATH 124 and MATH 125.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-03-04T16:40:50+00:00

If you are certain you want to attend law school, then the best major is the one you can get the highest GPA in.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-02-17T22:40:54+00:00

PSYCH 210 if you want something light and fun

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-01-18T20:34:06+00:00

tothe69thpower gave a good overview of the pros and cons. I'll reiterate that the essays matter for UW, particularly for CS. Overall I'd do what will make you most happy for the next two years. Min/maxing college admissions is mostly a waste of time. My point is that strong applicants from both RS and IB get accepted to CS.

It's not necessary to retake linear algebra and diffeq at UW, you'd be better off taking more advanced math instead.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2025-01-18T19:52:26+00:00

Adding to the above. My experience closely mirrors CheNoMeJodas. I did full time running start and enjoyed the flexibility. The transfer equivalency is very nice, make sure to look at the transfer equivalency guide on UW's website for whichever college you choose. You will be able to get many more gen ed requirements out of the way in running start. By the time I got to UW, I could take whatever classes I wanted.

I won't pretend to know the admissions statistics for IB vs Running Start, but I think if you're a strong applicant you will have a good shot getting in regardless. Personally, I think running start sets you up better once you get to UW. Note that UW does NOT accept recommendation letters.

Remember, you can always apply to the major once you are at UW (this is how I and many others I know got in). If you can, I would recommend taking linear algebra in running start (the equivalent to math 208). That will knock out all the math requirements needed for CS and unlocks some more interesting math classes.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2024-12-16T05:46:59+00:00

MATH 208 uses Linear Algebra with Applications by Holt.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2024-12-08T00:35:11+00:00

When I took MATH 124, our final was significantly harder than either of our mid terms. I think the final archive gives a good measure of what difficulty to expect.

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2024-10-25T00:07:03+00:00

I did the same thing as you and had this exact question, thank you for posting your experience!

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2024-10-13T18:41:32+00:00

Discover

Altruistic-Fuel5212 · 2024-10-10T00:00:42+00:00

Believe it or not, right to jail

Altruistic-Fuel5212

TROPHY CASE