Accepted, bunch of questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
1

<p>So I was accepted to the UCSD class of 16, at Eleanor Roosevelt College. I live here in SD (about a 20 minute drive), so I won't be living in dorms but I have a couple questions.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I like to party yet still be able to balance my school work. What are considered the "best" fraternities in terms of social-life, if there are frats. Also, would I be able to party and hang out with people I meet at their dorms even if I don't live on campus?</p></li>
<li><p>How's ERC? I've read it's heavily focused on writing/history, but i'm not worried about that at all. I just don't understand the whole 6 college system, will i be taking all my classes in this Eleanor Roosevelt college area? What is the purpose of the six colleges. </p></li>
<li><p>Is it possible to start in the summer and get ahead on credits? Is it worth it if so?</p></li>
<li><p>I've read about the good/bad professors and how people advise to try and not get the "bad" ones, do you get to pick your professor ahead of time, or how does that work?</p></li>
<li><p>How does the week schedule work, does it depend on your classes or do you go everyday for a certain amount?</p></li>
<li><p>What is a manageable amount of units to take, not too little but not overkill?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I'm sure i'll come up with more, but that is that for now haha. Is there a FB page for all the Class of 16' students yet? Getting to know people before the fall would be cool.</p>

2

<p>Ah just remembered few more things. I got in as undeclared, I’m not exactly sure yet but I think I want to follow the Business/Econ/Poly Sci route. I eventually want to get a Masters in Business but UCSD doesn’t have any program geared towards that correct? Would that hurt me in any way? Would majoring in Econ/poly Sci be fine for MBA in grad school?</p>

3

<p>Welcome to UCSD! Glad you got in!</p>

<p>I’m a freshamn so I will answer to the best of my knowledge.</p>

<ol>
<li>No idea</li>
</ol>

<p>2.How’s ERC? I’ve read it’s heavily focused on writing/history, but i’m not worried about that at all. I just don’t understand the whole 6 college system, will i be taking all my classes in this Eleanor Roosevelt college area? What is the purpose of the six colleges. </p>

<p>*ERC is easily the best college there, and yes it’s biased because I am in ERC!! The purpose of the six college is somewhat interesting. It creates this sense of divide and unity and the same time. Think about it this way, the individual colleges help you unite with fellow college students, and at the same time you are taking classes with other college students. A sense of divide and unity. In addition, each college promotes different values, different teaching methods, etc. They focus on specific things and have their own way of “creating” graduating students. </p>

<p>Like i said above, you are going to be taking classes with other students from other colleges (except MMW which is ERC students only, but lectures locations are not in ERC; however sections are usually in ERC area). Thus the majority of hte classes you take will occur on different colleges. For example, a lot of the Chem 6 A/B/C classes are held in York 2722, which is in Revelle College. At the same time there are some classes in Warren Lecture Hall [Warren College]. *</p>

<ol>
<li>Is it possible to start in the summer and get ahead on credits? Is it worth it if so?</li>
</ol>

<p>* I don’t know if you can start taking courses AT UCSD, but you can get a head start by going to say a community college Check out [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“Welcome to ASSIST”>Welcome to ASSIST) for more info. [basically it will tell you which college courses are eligible for UCSD Units. I think it’s worth it because I want to graduate ASAP and get out quickly, save myself a few thousand bucks and then make my way over to grad. school, but that’s me. *</p>

<ol>
<li>I’ve read about the good/bad professors and how people advise to try and not get the “bad” ones, do you get to pick your professor ahead of time, or how does that work?</li>
</ol>

<p>* Yes you get to choose your professors, but only if they are available [ie. have space in their lectures, but of course you can wait list]. Basically you will be given a time and a date for enrollment. Then you will be able to select your classes with the professor you want. You can see the courses and professors before hand, so it’s not a last minute thing. It feels a bit hard describing how to do course registration, but trust me it is extremely easy and takes only seconds to register for your course (assuming the classes are available at the time of registration). Also, since you are in ERC, I would recommend Prof. Herbst for MMW. He is a fantastic lecturer, and even though it’s boring ol’ history, he manages to keep my, and the entire classes’, attention very well. He is a superb prof., and kind, nad simply great. He is the BEST!!! *</p>

<ol>
<li>How does the week schedule work, does it depend on your classes or do you go everyday for a certain amount?</li>
</ol>

<p>* You choose your week schedule, lolz this is college not high school!. Basically there will be two things per class. So take for example you are taking Chem 6A in the fall. the first thing you will have is Lecture; and the second thing is Section. Lecture is well lecture, and Section is a smaller “discussion” like group where you can ask questions to TA’s and do hw problems, etc. You may be wondering if it is required to go to section, and it depends. If it is mandatory then duh!, and if it isn’t then it’s up to you if you want to go. It isn’t high school where attendance is taken in lecture or section (unless mandatory section). [BTW MMW Sections are mandatory]. My advice would be to check out section. I myself started going to all the non-mandatory section my first quarter. Slowly I realized that it ate into my time, so I stopped going (unless we had quizzes in section), but that’s just me, I have different methods. *</p>

<ol>
<li>What is a manageable amount of units to take, not too little but not overkill?
*~16. The max is 19.5 i think, so taking about ~16 units or about 4 classes is just fine. Since you are a freshman in Fall, I would suggest you look into some Freshman Seminars. They are extremely interesting, and I am sure you will love it. *</li>
</ol>

<p>With that all, welcome to the University of California- San Diego. I hope you will enjoy your 4 years here.</p>

<p>***Thank You, Come Again :wink: ***</p>

4

<p>Thanks a lot, really helped. Ive also heard parking is horrible, any tips or suggestions? Best area/structure with least traffic, etc.</p>

5

<p>hmm no can do from me. I commute so I find great parking along Gilman. But just recently i have started parking in parking lots of shopping centers or on Nobel.</p>

6

<p>If anyone can answer this question along with #1 that would be greatly appreciated</p>

7

<ol>
<li><p>I’m not involved with greek life, so I wouldn’t know the specific fraternities, sorry D: There are a wide variety of frats though, so you don’t have to worry about that. You’ll see a LOT of advertisement during your first few weeks here for rushing and such; you’ll be informed! Depends on whether you’re shy or not! It’s really not too hard to make friends in class or outside of class (in clubs, and especially if you’re in a frat) if you’re not shy about it.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m a Warren student, so I don’t know the specifics. You will be taking classes all around campus; you pretty much only live in ERC when it comes to the area. </p></li>
<li><p>Dunno! :)</p></li>
<li><p>When you choose classes, you can usually see the professor beforehand. Then you just search him on like ratemyprofessors.com. Sometimes the ratings are accurate, sometimes their not, so try to ask friends for their personal experiences too.</p></li>
<li><p>Depends on your classes, of course! You can schedule all your classes in the morning, or spread apart, or only on Tuesdays/Thursdays, etc. Depends on you and the availability of classes.</p></li>
<li><ol>
<li>Which is four regular, 4-unit classes.</li>
</ol></li>
</ol>

8

<p>How long is each class if you do 16 unites? Is it an hour per class or his does it work? Also can someone answer one of my above questions about Economics/Business.</p>

9

<p>In terms of an MBA program, any degree can be used. It’s sort of similar to law school in that respect, so an undergrad Econ degree will work. Try to take management science though. The math involved is much more rigorous which will only help you. For an MBA, they are really looking for work experience. No one gets into an M7 MBA without at least 2-4 years of work experience and a good GMAT score. Your institution and major don’t really matter.</p>

<p>1) No Greek life here either, but you won’t miss them on library walk if you decide to walk by there throughout the first five weeks of the quarter. In my opinion, it gets rather annoying. No one likes getting barraged by flyers.</p>

<p>2)I’m an ERC student as well. MMW is not a terrible course. It’s time consuming, but if writing is easy for you, then it should be a walk in the park. I enjoyed Chang this quarter, so try to get him if you can. As has been echoed, there are only a few classrooms in ERC. Thus, most of your classes will be held in other colleges or sites of campus. I don’t find that troublesome though, for it gives you time to walk and burn some calories. The residence halls are very nice and fairly new. Beware of the dining hall. They need to step up their game. It’s horrendous in comparison to other dining halls.</p>

<p>3) I think I remember asking the same question last year. They won’t let you enroll in classes at UCSD, but you can enroll in GE’s at your local CC.</p>

<p>4) This question has been answered twice, so I don’t see the need to say the same thing. One caveat I would add, they are now instituting the “two pass” system for registration. This should allow you to get some of the professors that you really want. Be prepared to take a few you are not too excited about though. However, I have found that these ratings are not very accurate. Most of the kids who rate must have been spoiled with the world’s greatest professors/teachers in high school because I have found nearly all of my professors to be excellent teachers. To each his own I guess.</p>

<p>5) Each class allots a certain amount of lecture and section time per week. How it works-one unit per one hour of classroom time. That’s generally the norm, but there are a few exceptions. Most people transition from a Tues-Thurs heavy schedule to a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule quarterly based on the classes they were able to register for. Either way, expect to spend less time in class but more time alone hitting the books. </p>

<p>6) As has been said. 16 is the norm. Your writing intensive courses take up 6 units each though, so most kids take 18 during those quarters.</p>

10

<p>Wow thanks for the great response, makes everything much easier. Would taking a Econ/Poly-Sci route be fine, or Econ/Management Science be better? </p>

<ul>
<li><p>Also, I won’t be living on campus since I live relatively close to UCSD, thus I’ll be driving to school. Is parking a hassle or does it tend to be pretty calm?</p></li>
<li><p>I stated this earlier but I don’t think anyone noticed, even if I don’t live on dorms does that mean I can’t hang out with people who do? </p></li>
</ul>

<p>Thanks</p>

11

<p>So I just graduated fall 2012 to answer your question about the greek system at UCSD, I was a SigEp, Sigma Phi Epsilon. We do have a decent greek system. It’s not your typical greek system because there is no frat row, so frat houses end up being a house where 5 or 6 members live. My suggestion is to no worry about reputation or which is top house, just go out, meet the guys and find the best fit for yourself. You can go ahead and end up in the top house, but if you don’t get along with the guys its absolutely pointless. Like anything the greek system is what you make out of it. You’ll have your parties, semi-formals, formals, and exchanges with the sororities just like any other college you just don’t have a frat row. It’s a great place to meet people but again just go out to the rush events and meet new people. OH and even if you aren’t interested in a particular frat, just go to their event because most give out free food so you get 1 week really of free dinners.</p>

<p>Driving to school blows, to be honest with you. Parking at Hopkins, Pangea, or Muir lots are pretty much your only options in the heart of campus and those fill up quickly usually by 8am. Some people will park off campus at Ralphs, Doyle Park, and take the bus to campus. For me the best was parking at Regents parking lot and shuttling to Price Center, takes about 10 minutes or a 20 minute walk.</p>

<p>Finally, if you dont live in the dorms its pretty hard to meet people your freshman year. Since you do live near campus you might have more friends that are going to UCSD living in the dorms and can meet people that way. However, from my experience its hard for commuters to meet people especially in the dorms because most people will wonder why a random person who doesn’t live in their dorm is in their dorm. Best suggestion to you would be go to ALL welcome week events, and again even if you don’t plan on joining a frat, rushing their events will help you build a better network of people. It doesn’t have to be a frat either, the clubs on campus will work just as well, its just my experience was in the greek system.</p>

12

<p>Ah that kind of annoys me that it’ll be harder to meet people since I won’t be living on campus. How was your experience with the frat, worth it? Price wise? Also, is rush week just meeting everyone and not having to commit?</p>

13

<p>As for your Econ/ManSci vs Econ/Poli Sci question:</p>

<p>Management Science is essentially an econ degree with more math. Thus, you couldn’t double major in Econ and Management Science. If you want to double major, an Econ/Poli Sci would be fine. In all honesty, study what you are interested in studying. My Aunt got into UChicago’s business school with an English degree for undergrad. She just happened to have a good job for 3-4 years, and a good GMAT score. Now, in terms of landing a job after undergrad, an Econ or Management Science degree is probably more marketable than a Literature degree. But, in the end, if you study what you love, you will find a job that you love, and that will open the door to a good MBA in the future.</p>

14

<p>Thanks for the above response as well, I probably will be taking the Econ/Poly-Sci route, I have great iinterest in politics top.</p>

<p>-Along with my previous question, is the only way you can party with frats/sororities by being in them?</p>

15

<p>Along with that, say I do join a frat… Would it be possible since I’m going to be living at home?</p>

16

<ol>
<li>I like to party yet still be able to balance my school work. What are considered the “best” fraternities in terms of social-life, if there are frats. Also, would I be able to party and hang out with people I meet at their dorms even if I don’t live on campus?</li>
</ol>

<p>Honestly it would be ideal if you could live on-campus for at least a little while because those who start off living off-campus seem to have a harder time forming a network of friends. Also, dorm life is a good part of the college experience! If you’re going to join a frat, though, that might be the solution to that problem. I’m sorry to say I can’t tell you too much about the frats, but you can look up their websites if you want!</p>

<ol>
<li>Is it possible to start in the summer and get ahead on credits? Is it worth it if so?</li>
</ol>

<p>You can if you want to, but it’s really not necessary unless you think you may not have enough credits to get the professors you want.</p>

<ol>
<li>I’ve read about the good/bad professors and how people advise to try and not get the “bad” ones, do you get to pick your professor ahead of time, or how does that work?</li>
</ol>

<p>Yes, you can pick which professors you want! However, whether or not you’re able to get into his/her class depends on your enrollment time. The more credits you have, the better enrollment time you have. If you want to find out information about the quality of the professor, there are CAPE evaluations available, and ratemyprofessors is a great resource. Also, AS has released a new page that lists the grade distributions for each course and professor. You should check it out. [UC</a> San Diego Associated Students - GradeDistribution](<a href=“AS One - University of California San Diego”>AS One - University of California San Diego)</p>

<ol>
<li>What is a manageable amount of units to take, not too little but not overkill?</li>
</ol>

<p>It depends on you, but for your first quarter I would recommend 12-16 units. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

17

<p>Alright. Only thing I’m wondering is if I can still rush for a frat while living at home?</p>

18

<p>Anyone? ^^^^</p>