<p>OK so I'm out of state (and not attending calso) and really have no idea how easy/rigorous to make my freshman fall semester schedule (EECS major). This is what I have so far, but looking at the courses on courserank and other sites, many of them have warnings about difficulty:</p>
<p>I’ve only had one friend who took H7A. And he struggled most of the time. It seemed like a very rapid, fast course and he was a physics major too. (I think he actually got tired of physics though in the end and switched majors lol).
1A/1B isn’t bad. Don’t know how easy they are compared to 53 because I haven’t taken any math above 1B, but 1A is fairly easy in terms of concepts (except for the lovely delta ep proof) and 1B is tougher because there’s a lot more stuff to know, which can pretty much be solved by doing a lot of practice problems. I’d imagine that that (doing a lot of problems) would be kind of standard for problem-solving math courses though.</p>
<p>To answer your question though, the schedule does look tough because it’s pretty much 3 tech courses and you might be in for some long nights depending on your strengths. But it doesn’t seem over the top crazy…</p>
<p>I don’t understand why people take honors classes at Berkeley. They do not improve your GPA if you do well. The only thing that they do is make you suffer! Why go through that trouble when you can take a regular class?</p>
<p>@stevenboi27 You could say i’m crazy, but im not necessarily in it for the GPA, and i’ve heard that if you put effort in, H7A is amazing in comparison to 7A</p>
<p>Some people do have a very strong interest and ability in the subject, so an honors course would be appropriate for them.</p>
<p>However, the threshold for “very strong interest and ability in the subject” is much higher for a university level honors course compared to a high school honors course. Most students at Berkeley probably found most high school honors courses to be easy; this would not be true for honors courses at Berkeley.</p>
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<p>For the OP: the proposed schedule seems like a fairly normal course load for an EECS major, other than Physics H7A instead of 7A, and L&S 44 instead of some other R&C B course or other H/SS course. The latter two substitutions probably increase the work somewhat compared to a normal course load. Note, however, that courses with labs and CS courses with programming tend to be more work than many other types of courses.</p>
<p>Note that course materials and books for CS 61A are on-line:
Fall 2011, using Python: [CS</a> 61A: The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs](<a href=“http://61a-fa11.appspot.com/]CS”>http://61a-fa11.appspot.com/) . Both Dive into Python 3 and Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs books are free to read on the web (links provided on the CS 61A web page).</p>
<p>The CS 61A course materials and lecture videos from Spring 2011, using Scheme, are here: [CS</a> 61A Home Page](<a href=“http://www-inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61a/sp11/]CS”>CS 61A Home Page) . You can use them to preview which CS concepts you will see (even though it is in a different computer language).</p>
<p>Both Python and Scheme interpreters can be downloaded free to install on your computer.</p>
<p>If you want to get a head start on L&S 44, here is the book list:
[Class</a> Textbook and Course Materials Requirements courtesy of Cal Student Store](<a href=“Official Online Store”>Official Online Store)</p>
<p>Judging by what all of my friends that have taken H7A say, it’s a fantastic course. But since you’re an EECS major, why are you so intent on getting such a thorough understanding of mechanics? Classical Mechanics (beyond a basic knowledge, which you obviously have since you got a 5 on AP Physics C: Mech), is USELESS for most people… You will likely never see a mechanics problem again after the class. </p>
<p>So I have a better idea: take Physics 7B your first semester with the other three classes you mentioned. Not only will it be less work than H7A, but you won’t believe how much schedule flexibility it will give you. This would allow you to take EE20N and EE40 your second semester along with CS 61B and Math 54. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in EE, you could jump straight into upper division EE classes in your first semester of sophomore year. Or, if you’re only interested in CS, you would NEVER have to see another EE class after your first year…incredible flexibility.</p>
<p>nights where you don’t have a problem set due, you’ll be reading/writing a stupid paper. mixing 3 tech courses (esp that honors one) with an R&C req sounds tough. </p>
<p>i think if you’re set on taking the h7a, 2 tech courses + the R1B is a good idea (+your choice of breadth/easier class)</p>
<p>thanks for your input guys, I decided def not to take h7A. I have a question though, is 7B dependent on 7A, like I said I have a 5 on AP Physics C but that was junior year so im not so sure about how much i remember</p>
<p>You can also see if you can look at the Physics 7A textbooks (link found on [this</a> page](<a href=“Home | Physics”>Home | Physics)) to see how well you know the material in Physics 7A.</p>
<p>You don’t have to take the Physics 7 series in any order. I know several people who have taken 7B (and even C) before A.</p>
<p>7A, 53, 61A, and L&S R44 seems like a good schedule. It could itself be a little too much to handle since you’re basically taking 3 technical + R&C + Breadth, but you can always adjust within the first 2 weeks of classes.</p>
<p>thanks! im pretty sure I don’t remember a lot of it. Taking 7A while having an AP credit won’t look bad/different on a transcript will it? I remember reading something scary about “duplication of credit”</p>
<p>Retaking courses where you have AP credit is common, though many people unnecessarily do so (wasting time and tuition), while others move too far ahead and struggle. If you take a course which duplicates the AP credit, then the AP credit may be canceled (it would have been just generic units, though those can sometimes be helpful for class standing purposes or to graduate early or after taking light course loads).</p>
<p>Since the Physics Department generally does not recommend skipping 7A with AP Physics credit, it won’t look bad to take 7A (unlike, for example, taking Math 16A after getting a 5 on AP Calculus BC).</p>