<p>In your freshamn year how did u adapt to the huge class sizes.....Can someone tell me about their experiences....thank you</p>
<p>I im asking a lot of questions on this board.....but this site has helped me with sooo much in getting into the schools that i wanted to get into....and i just wanna make sure my deciond is fully thought out...</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>You have to know your TA really well. Make the effort to talk to them before, after, during class, and kiss ass. You have to swallow your ego and pride at UCLA because you have to do a lot to get the grade you want</p>
<p>I sat at the front of the class. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I learned to suppress my gag reflex.</p>
<p>Sacrifice a more desirable GE for a less desired one for the smaller class size. (Hey you might actually like it too! History of Opera turned out to be one of my favorite classes although I was hesitant at first to take it.) </p>
<p>Take a course off-season. (e.g. Physics 1A spring quarter instead of winter quarter) Some quarters, classes are more full.</p>
<p>i sat in the front as well, the professor well recognize your face in office hours. also, if you really want that A, show up for more then one discussion whenever you are lost or have time. TA remember students like that and when it is time to do grades and your on the B+/A- range, they well remember you and give you that A-, at least from my experience, i am not going to say it will work for every TA but I am batting 1.000 in that department sort of speak.</p>
<p>for me, the size of lecture doesn't really matter. if you're the type to ask questions of the professor, sit in the front. otherwise, ask your TA when there are only 20 people in the section, not 200 something.
sitting in the front is a good strategy even if you're quiet, because not all teachers use a microphone, and if they write on the blackboard and you don't have the best eyesight (hell, even if you do) you'll want to be up close. also, when you're sitting toward the front, you only see a small percentage of students in the room. anyone behind you really doesn't matter. so the class will FEEL smaller, and you'll feel more involved.
BIG grade booster!
get to know your TAs. true, maybe not all of them will be worth getting to know (for simple subjects where you don't need extra help in OH), but if the class is for your major, it can't hurt to know the people in that department! and if the class is easy, go to the TA to talk about more advanced topics that might interest you more. it's another good way to keep you interested in classes that might not challenge you on the surface.
also, some classes have honors sections. this gives you a chance to go into the subject in-depth, WITH the professor (not a TA), and with a very small group of people. right now i'm in the stats 10 honors section, and we'll be doing a project where we examine data on a topic of our choice. doesn't sound interesting on the surface, and personally i think stats is... boring... but i decided to do this extra work to give myself a (hopefully interesting) challenge.
there are many ways to make large classes smaller. you've just got to be savvy at figuring out how to do it :)</p>
<p>I prefer the large class size. :)</p>
<p>^ so do I.</p>
<p>But I do have a lot of small classes this quarter.
CS ~ 40 students
fiat lux - 15 students
lab ~ 20 students
crypto - 13 students</p>
<p>heh, this is all pretty good advice for me too since I rarely go to discussion and usually sit in the back of classes :P
Maybe I'll do an honors section and drop the fiat lux & crypto</p>
<p>get to know the professor well. stop by his office right before office hours.</p>
<p>take physics 1a fall instead fo spring (spring is full)</p>
<p>get to know people in your discussion sections and work with them!</p>
<p>what's crypto?
all i keep thinking is cryptography... is there really a class on that? and for what major?</p>
<p>i'm taking a class with 450 people this quarter, and no TAs to get to know. you just have to memorize and be proactive. funny thing is, everyone complains about this professor when hes actually really good. they just fall behind b/c theres no TA watching over your shoulder, and whne the midterm hits,t hey arent prepared.</p>
<p>go to office hours (TA and professor if necessary) and make one or two really good friends in each class. Also, refrain from interrupting lecture and raising your hand to ask a question.</p>
<p>yah.
search for the college life thread on how annoying people find that lol...
if you have questions, that's GOOD... but if they're specific or pertain to your interests, they don't belong in lecture.
questions aiming to clarify course material, however, are fair game! xD</p>
<p>namaste, is that the Phy Sci 5 course your speaking of</p>
<p>^yah, so far it's the most interesting class i've taken here. what do you think of it?</p>
<p>Large class is good for a B. Small class is very dangerous. Last quarter I was in class of 60, people in that class didn't need to pay attention to what the prof said and just talked about sports all the time (these people are freaking annoying) , yet they had so many things to write during exams. The curve was freaking high... even other people agreed. That was a hard upper division course...</p>
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In your freshamn year how did u adapt to the huge class sizes..
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<p>Size doesn't matter. As flopsy said, sit in the front and you won't care about the size of the class.</p>
<p>As for competition, there are always the lazy and unprepared students who will pad the curve. (speaking of lower division courses)</p>
<p>Most professors are approachable, and definitely TAs are.</p>
<p>For lower division courses, you have 3 lines to go to for help:
- professor
- TA
- AAP/Covel tutor</p>
<p>If you are shy to ask questions, then I am sorry but you will not be successful at UCLA.</p>
<p>liyana: you're right, it's Applied Cryptography for I guess Math-computation majors</p>
<p>huh... that sounds cool xD</p>