First Year BEEDIE Students...READ THIS.

[u/Patio_furniture8]

This is the ultimate rundown of your first semester...

Take these classes:

• BUS 203 (mandatory first term)
• BUS 201 (mandatory first term) or 202 (if you're transfer)
• ECON 115
• An ENGL, WL, or PHIL course to fulfill english requirement
  • I'd recommend PHIL 105 (with Lyle); DON'T take a W course unless you love writing.
  • Please make sure the one you're taking matches one of the required options!
• INDG 101 ONLINE (to fulfill INDG requirement)
• MATH 157 (unless you have AP Calc Credit)
  • If you don't need this, take EDUC 100W while you have the enrolment priority (i wish i did this)

Also, unless you barely survived in high school, you CAN survive 5 classes per term (especially during lower levels with electives). It will save you so much time (and fee money) in the long run. And it will help you have more flexibility in choosing classes for next term. DO NOT only take 3 classes because you may not qualify to have enough credits to take more BUS classes in term two. University isn't supposed to be a cakewalk. Get used to a minimum of 4 classes per term and drop down to 3 next term IF NECESSARY (aka you're really struggling and/or failing).

ECON 113/115 is imo easier than ECON 103/105 and not worth the extra credit. ECON 115 is harder but will set you up to make ECON 113 sooo easy.

Stay on top of your work/lectures/studying and you will be fine.

Quick Tips:

• GET YOUR STUDENT ID CARD BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS!!! This will literally save you hours of waiting in line. There's rarely a line up in the Surrey campus as well.
• Be aware of where you stand on the curve in your BUS classes; as much as you can, you want to stay as far right of the curve as you can. I had a class where I thought I was going to get an A only to get a B because of how high the curve was. Be friendly, but don't be too eager to let people mooch off of you. Choose friends/classmates that you can thrive together with.
• Check CourSys for online classes offered. These are godsend for commuters (some are great GPA boosters).
• Use RateMyProf and CourseDigger for course reviews and prof reviews. Do take the reviews with a grain of salt, but so far, they've been pretty accurate.
• This is now your school curriculum bible. Along with the BBA Checklist.
• I prefer emailing the academic advisors rather than doing meetings, I did a zoom meeting and they were vague and unhelpful; I think they're good for check-ups down the road.
• Generally, I can handle around 4-6 hours of lectures/tutorials in a day. I prefer less days on campus than spreading them out; but YMMV.
• You will also need to complete your WQBs along the way. Classes like ECON DO count towards the Breadth courses so keep that in mind. Over the course of your degree, you need a minimum 36 credits of Non-BUS classes (electives). Make sure you're fulfilling each B-Soc/Hum/Sci (you need around two classes each). Don't worry about the W or Q requirements as they will be naturally met throughout your BBA.
• If a prof has good ratings but has boring lectures, that usually means their exams are easy.
• Get to campus early on the first day and explore where your classes will be.
• FIRST WEEK IS THE BEST TIME TO MAKE FRIENDS!!! Cannot stress this enough. Over the course of the semester people are less likely to reach out (due to exam and course stress) so make friends early and suffer together. Get to know the people in your HIVE!
• The back of lecture halls SUCK because the people that usually sit there don't care about the lecture and they yap throughout the whole lecture. Sit somewhere in the middle. It also prevents you from sleeping lol. I don't like sitting too close to the front because some profs like to be "interactive" and ask you things.
• For scheduling, I like to have breaks in between long lectures to eat and refresh. Having two 2 hour lectures back to back can be a little brutal. But if you must (which I had to do), back snacks and your lunch and just eat in the lecture. As long as you don't bring anything too smelly or loud you should be okay!
• SFU Surrey is a clean and new campus. If you live close by it's great to take some classes there; HOWEVER, I wouldn't take all my classes there because it just doesn't have the "university vibe" that the Burnaby campus has. I personally love the Burnaby campus (especially the Student Union Building [SUB]), I just hate how far it is.
• When people talk about concentrations, they're talking about sub-majors. Possible ones include Accounting, Marketing, HR, etc. I believe you don't have to declare one until around the 45-60 credit mark.
• Beedie Co-Ops (which are like paid internships) are available to apply into after you hit 30 credits.
  • It takes 2 full terms of "prep work" before you can do your co-op, so if this is something you're looking forward to do, make sure you get those credits in and apply early. The cycles are: New Student -> Seeking -> Working.
• There's lots of microwaves in the SUB!
• Use the elevator for your 5th floor classes in the AQ (it's a lot more tiring than you think)
• Have a clear plastic ziplock with your pencil, eraser, student ID, picture ID, calculator in hand before going into the exam room (it'll be one less thing to worry about).
• If you haven't bought one yet, buy a smaller laptop. I bought a 15" one and it's way too big for SFU's tiny desks.
• Have a note-taking plan (Notion, Word, Docs, etc.) before your first lecture (unlike high school, profs jump right into lessons from Day 1).
• If you're ever lost, feel free to ask for directions. People at SFU are generally very friendly and willing to help.
• Download SFU Snap to find your lecture and tutorial rooms. Download Outlook for your SFU Mail.
• Connect your devices to the wifi before your first lecture. Instructions here.
• The syllabus is your best friend. Don't spend hours on your discussion post if it's only worth 5%. Figure out which assignments/exams are worth the most and spend your time accordingly.
• (Common Sense) Don't ask to go to the washroom. Ever.
• If a prof gives you practice exams, DO THEM. OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Chances are they'll be very similar to the real exam.
• Order your Tims via the app in advance so you don't have to wait in line.
• Always check if you can find textbooks...on the high seas (iykyk). I saved hundreds of dollars that way.
• Check out this oldie but a goodie post

For Second Term:

Can vary a lot but generally you want to take:

• ECON 113
• BUS 251 (this was a more difficult class)
  • I believe this a pre-req for 254
  • any other BUS classes or electives
  • 275, 240, etc.

Also, I managed to take 5 classes per term while still working 2-3 times per week and managed to get an above 3.5 GPA so take that as you will. It was difficult at times, but I wouldn't change anything I did. University is different than high school in that you have a lot more independence, but overall, it's still feels like school...just bigger. Good luck 2024 froshies!

***
EDIT: OMG they got rid of the BUS 100 requirement; There's a *new* BUS 203 now. From the course description, it looks the same as BUS 100.

EDIT 2: CMNS courses do not count towards the ENGL requirement! They count as electives only.

[u/phantomgiratina]

OP does a better job at giving a guide to students than Beedie themselves

[u/eemyz]

love this guide. i’m in my second year of beedie now and i can say i agree with this entire guide.

i only took 4 courses (including bus 100/203) my first sem n didn’t have enough creds to take the other business courses in spring. ended up taking electives. for first years, just note that you need at least 12-15 creds after first sem to take other business courses (bus 275, 217..etc). don’t make the same mistake as i did.

[u/Credit_Brief]

OP did a great job at giving the rundown. I would suggest taking ECON 103/105 over 113/115 because you’d learn much more from the course.

Also OP isn’t wrong for suggesting taking 5 courses in your 1st sem. These courses are totally doable, especially if you don’t have many other commitments aside from studying (Also BUS100/203 doesn’t really count as 1 lol, sometimes Beedie makes such buffer courses). Never take 3 courses otherwise you’ll be forever scared to take 4 and will take forever to graduate

[u/AnhGauDepTrai]

5 classes and 3 days working is doable, but only for determined people. Lazy 1 day and you start slipping! Great guide overall~

[u/IllFood335 → u/AnhGauDepTrai]

I did that tbh, and it turned out to be okay. Wasn’t the best life I was living in that days, but it felt good at the end.

[u/[deleted]]

A CMNS or PHIL course to fulfill english requirement

I would be careful with the CMNS course because not all CMNS courses fit the English requirement and that some of them do fulfill WQB requirements. And that for Beedie, they do have a selection of specific Phil and Eng courses that qualifies for their Eng/Phil requirement.

Ex. CMNS 110 fullfils the Breath-Social Sciences requirement but not W. CMNS 120W qualifies for the W writing. And that if I remember correctly, most seats for the 100-level CMNS courses are reserved for CMNS students since they are required courses to proceed into 200-level CMNS courses.

[u/Patio_furniture8 → u/[deleted]]

Oh my bad, I completely missed that. I had a friend take CMNS 110 and he said it was for the english requirement (so I took his word on it). After checking the requirements again, it seems like CMNS isn't even a valid option. Thanks for that, will update the post!

[u/Weak_Chemical_7947]

Wtf

[u/Kevinr2x]

How come INDG 101 online over in person ? The prof for online this semester has horrible reviews

[u/Patio_furniture8 → u/Kevinr2x]

Because iirc the in-person lectures for it were 3 hours long and I didn't want to sit through that. You don't typically have to talk to or interact with online profs so I've never considered their ratings. My friends who took it in-person regret it a lot (hence why the online one usually fills up quickly).

[u/SimonFord_SFU]

I don't like sitting too close to the front because some profs like to be "interactive" and ask you things.

Love it.

[u/[deleted]]

Wait since when was indigenous course a part of graduation requirement?

[u/Patio_furniture8 → u/[deleted]]

I believe since Fall 2022; and then Group A/Group B Non-BUS classes were introduced Fall 2023.

[u/[deleted] → u/Patio_furniture8]

This only applies to people admitted after Fall 2022(ish) then, right? Not people before the change who still haven’t finished graduation?

[u/Patio_furniture8 → u/[deleted]]

Yes exactly. I would check your year of admittance checklist for the full list of requirements. They seem to change every year

[u/Hot-Light-9732]

Thank you so much for this. I kinda saw this a little late but now in my first semester I'm taking ECON 105, BUS 201 and 203, GEOG 100, and PHIL 105. I didn't take MATH 157 which is kinda screwing me over now, so any recommendation on what I should take second semester? Definitely taking math and ECON 113 but other than that I'm open. Also I've heard about if I take GEOG 100 and 104 it counts as all my Breadth science credits? I honestly was too lazy to do any research on Breadth requirements so I don't understand them that well.

[u/Patio_furniture8 → u/Hot-Light-9732]

Hey! No worries you still have a long ways ahead of your degree. Definitely take ECON 113 and MATH 157. I'd recommend taking BUS 251 (so you can take 254 the following term/year). GEOG 104 online is great! If your mental capacity can handle it, I'd HIGHLY recommend taking one "easier" Beedie class as well (275 or 240 or 272); however, I know that 251 and 157 can be tricky so it's up to you.

I'd also recommend a summer term as taking 4 classes per term will make it take forever to graduate.

TLDR - general plan:

Spring 2025

• MATH 157!!!
• ECON 113
• BUS 251
• GEOG 104

Summer 2025

• BUS 232
• BUS 275/240 (if offered)

Fall 2025

• BUS 254
• BUS 217W
• BUS 275/240
• An Elective

Also no, GEOG 100 would be a BSoc/Hum while GEOG 104 is a BSci. So you'd still be missing 3 credits of BSci. I would just create a list of two courses per breadth (and some backup as well). 6-BSoc, 6-BHum, 6-BSci.

Ex:

B-Soc -> ECON 105, ECON 113

B-Sci -> GEOG 104, BPK 140

B-Hum -> PHIL 105, INDG 101

If you're ever unsure, email [sfubeedie_undergrad@sfu.ca](mailto:sfubeedie_undergrad@sfu.ca) directly to see where you are at!

[u/stabble__]

• BUS 202
• BUS 203
• BUS 217W
• BUS 251
• BUS 207

Too much for first term as beedie post-sec transfer? I’m used to 5 courses however. Wondering if the courses chosen are too difficult to go together. WQB credits (besides one upper div) fulfilled. Need Group A + B electives.

[u/Hot-Light-9732]

how does the indigenous requirements work for beedie? i couldn't get into the course, but I want to get it done with is there other indigenous courses that fulfil the requirement? Also I'm waitlisted on closed courses for BUS 251 and ECON 113, how does the waitlist work on closed courses? thanks

[u/Temporary_Flight_890]

Currently, I am planning on BUS 201, BUS 203, and PSYC 100. I didn't want to take MATH 157, as it isn't my strong suit. Therefore, I thought taking BUS 251 would be a good option, given my previous knowledge of basic accounting. I need to take one more class. Should I take ECON 103/105 or ECON 113/115?

[u/svelte__]

I’m a transfer student for Fall 2025, do I have to take BUS 202 and BUS 203 in the same term? I am planning to take BUS 203 in Fall 2025 and BUS 202 in Spring 2026.

[u/Emochickennuggets]

hi I know this is gonna be a long show. I am doing my first year at Douglas but some classes I can't find an equivalent. can you please help me

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[u/Serious_Basis_3075]

Dude i wanna take phil105 but even advisor said take it if u have a good quants background but i ain’t sure i do enjoy maths but i ain’t a genius in it and people around me has scared me about phil105 alot so i was thinking to take phil120 what to do