<p>come visit. Talk to other students (here and in person). </p>
<p>Some of the common classes that are needed by a large part of the undergrad bodies can have large lectures, but they are not simply a single large class. The student signs up for the lecture where the professor speaks, but also for one of many related discussion sections of that same class. The discussion sections are generally no more than 25 people, where a graduate student instructor will help answer questions, amplify the points and guide a more interactive experience. Thus, having two sections, lecture and discussion, lets many students have access but compensates with a small class experience through discussion. Finally, almost any professor even for those huge lectures is easily accessible with office hours each week. It is one of the surprising realities at Cal that one can get that personal face time, in spite of the size of the university, when you might have assumed otherwise that their are huge lines or that you can only speak with the GSIs. </p>
<p>For a chem major, even your largest introductory class is smaller than the intro classes for the bulk of students. While many take Chemistry 1A, the introductory chemistry class for non-chemistry majors, you would take Chemistry 4A. Chem 1A has lectures with 600-700 students (although still uses discussion sections of 18-25 students), but Chem 4A lecture is only a quarter to a third the size, plus has discussions. </p>
<p>With any major, once you get through the early classes that are common to so many students (math and first introduction courses as well as the pre-medical requirements for the huge population of aspiring physicians), class sizes even in lecture become quite reasonable, where you might have 15 or 30 students in the lecture section.</p>
<p>Another reason to visit is that there is the fundamental difference of small environment such as a liberal arts college versus large institutions like Cal. At a LAC, a professor might call you if you are not in class one day just to ask if you were sick. That has positives like hand holding and personal attention at all times, but has negatives as well. At Cal or any large institution, you have to learn some self reliance. Support and answers are there but you have to look for them. If you sit in your dorm, don’t go to class and don’t speak with anybody, your roommates might notice but your professors are not going to see that. If you go to office hours, the professor will come to know you, but if you don’t you can stay anonymous. Sometimes, when you are prepping for a key midterm in another class, you can skip going to the lecture in person, instead watching the webcast of it later when you ready. As you see, plusses and minuses. It becomes a personal decision about what environment you want. Some come from small private schools and hate the idea of going to just another copy of their HS experience - they want the diversity and richness of the large institution. Others want and need the comfort and personal attention. Visit, that will help you figure out which you prefer and need.</p>