<p>I vote Penn. Not only is it an Ivy League but you’ll get a good,solid education there with good profs. I dont know specificlaly but I would bet that their intnl affairs or whatever program is really good, given that they have Wharton- which definitely has more than a few intnl business majors. GL!</p>
<p>awww…CC friends forever ;)</p>
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<p>Well, I started off taking Calc BC this year. After two weeks of it, I couldn’t stand it anymore because I couldn’t understanding anything my teacher was saying (she came straight from Taiwan and had the worst accent ever) and because I had 6 other IB and AP classes and was too lazy to study for the class. She didn’t seem to understand what she was teaching. I found the exact words she said in the math book. I know that Penn is notorious for having math teacher who teach in nonsensical jabbers, but will that be the case for Cal? </p>
<p>Anyways, I switched out to the AB class with a crazy but very interesting Canadian teacher who believes religiously that he was abducted by extraterrestrial beings 
and who is the best math teacher I’ve ever had. I’m taking the AP test and I believe I will do well on the test; the concept we learn is not at all difficult. I just have to pay attention at least once in a while. I probably will get a minor in economics (I’m making my own international affairs major since Berkeley doesn’t offer one). So does that require math? I think stats right? Urgh. Or do I take calc too? I hope I don’t offend you but my interest in math is limited. I don’t like to do stuff like math club and math leagues. I’ve only started to like math this year, previous years, math class was study hall period. But I still find myself not trying my best at all, and always cramming bio homework (I hate bio btw) in class, which is the opposite of what you probably would do, huh? I don’t know. Maybe the math right now is just too, what to say…monotonous. You get equations. You plug number in. you get numbers out. Done. Like you rarely have much to think about, just rules. Nothing like physics or sometimes chemistry. When you are ripping your hair out over one problem, you keep on thinking, what do I do what do I do??? And then, something clicked, and bingo! The rush of adrenaline, and then yay the answer!!! Yeah, I don’t get that with math. Btw, can organic chemistry be considered biological science? Please tell me it could. I would die if I have to take another bio class! and are physics classes taught by good professors? It doesn’t come naturally to me, and this year, I had a teacher who has a bs in chemistry teach us about physics. I know plenty about thermodynamics, but not so much anything else :p</p>
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<p>Haha let me put it this way. Cal’s math department is INSANE. In several fields it is unbeaten in the nation, and paralleled only by schools like Harvard and MIT. </p>
<p>This means the professors are such geniuses that depending on the professor, he/she may be unintelligible. But that’s why you look for the good ones! </p>
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<p>I assure you college math is not like this Basically, mathematics at a more advanced level is about extending a beautiful theory of abstraction whose necessity becomes apparent when one sees how intractable several objects we commonly see in nature are. For instance, polynomials – some of the most natural objects. Yet the simple-sounding problem of classifying integer solutions to X^N + Y^N = Z^N ended up taking centuries, and the proof’s occurrence in our lifetime is nothing short of a miracle. </p>
<p>While such glamorous mathematics is far out of reach for all but negligibly many of us, the process of attaining a level of understanding with which one could even begin to appreciate such problems involves learning of theory that <em>can</em> be understood and appreciated, and is very interesting. There is an appeal to math that is very different from the appeal in a subject like physics, which is also beautiful. </p>
<p>As for help with these subjects, you really should hope for good GSI’s. The graduate students at Berkeley are incredibly smart people on average, and if they’re also nice, they can be the greatest asset if you’re stuck.</p>
<p>“I assure you college math is not like this Basically, mathematics at a more advanced level is about extending a beautiful theory of abstraction whose necessity becomes apparent when one sees how intractable several objects we commonly see in nature are.”</p>
<p>haha…if you put it that way, how could I resist? 
and you weren’t lying when you said you were hardcore… :)</p>
<p>well, I’m not that crazy about math, but I’m willing to try. My lack of interest might be from my lack of good teachers. What do you recommend? Oh yeah, and can you answer my other question? Will organic chemistry count for a biological science class for the 7 course breadth requirement? Or does it have to be biology? </p>
<p>yeah, I’m really hoping for good GSIs. If I have to take a biology class, I’d better hope for thicker myelinated sheath or just a bigger cerebrum. I can’t seem to memorize so much useless crap :p</p>
<p>Just to throw this in…As much as you hear people complain about how they don’t want to live in Foothill, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll get Foothill. Last year, I applied for Foothill as all of my top choices but I got put in Unit 2 instead. I’m sure though that you can learn to enjoy your dorming experinece (most of the time maybe?). I think it really helps if you have good roommates.</p>
<p>There are also plenty of easier science breadths you can take besides the standard Bio 1A and 1B. I’ve heard that courses in the IB department tend to easier and I know there is one particular IB course that also fulfills AC requirements.</p>
<p>Well, one thing to note is that the first time I thought math was fun was when I took linear algebra. That was the first time it was somewhat more theoretical. Not the most beautiful theory, but there’s stuff to be built from there.</p>
<p>O-Chem – hmm, it may be a biology class, but honestly, if you want me to tell you how to get past requirements doing no work, I’ll be of great help. I sit in breadth classes and do math. </p>
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<p>Making me sound so arrogant! </p>
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<p>Friends of mine have said I should’ve been an English major ;)</p>
<p>^ haha I know. But I’m a regent; I’m guaranteed my first housing choice :). I got lucky and don’t have to deal with the craziness…hopefully. Yeah, I really hope I go get a good roommate. </p>
<p>hmmm what’s the IB department? It’s good to know that I don’t have to take bio1A or something…urgh. <em>cringe</em></p>
<p>Integrat(ive/ed?) Biology. </p>
<p>You can also take Nutritional Science. </p>
<p>Yeah you should be fine for housing if you’re a Regent.</p>
<p>My brother goes to Cal. He was on the waiting list for Penn’s Wharton School of Business but he got rejected in the end.</p>
<p>So here’s what he thinks: HE LOVES BERKELEY. It’s a very very liberal school where you have to be proactive (classes fill up uber fast). There are so many activities going on and the school is just much more alive/fun than UPenn is. Plus, there’s awesome restaurants like Chipotle right down the street. The stores are very close to the campus and my brother has a lot of fun with his friends (because most high schoolers love Berkeley and chose to go to Berkeley).</p>
<p>He visited Penn and said that the campus was just slow. It seemed like people were more sluggish and less cheerful (yanno, you can just tell if people are going through everyday with a smile). He liked the school too, but if he had to choose, he would definitely choose Berkeley (although my parents would force him to go to Penn). One good thing about Penn is this: smaller classes, you don’t have the danger of graduating too late.</p>
<p>“Friends of mine have said I should’ve been an English major”</p>
<p>yes, you are very good at brainwashing people. you brainwashed me into committing to Berkeley 
lol. </p>
<p>“Making me sound so arrogant!”</p>
<p>hey, hey. That was not my intention at all! Just doing some very objective observation there…;)</p>
<p>" if you want me to tell you how to get past requirements doing no work, I’ll be of great help. I sit in breadth classes and do math."</p>
<p>Please do! Organic chemistry I do want to take because my dad said that it’s really interesting and not so boring as the inorganic chemistry I had to learn in high school. Oh and I also love art, so I don’t want to pass up on that. Everything else…fire away!..please…</p>
<p>What’s Nutritional studies anyways? sounds like a health class to me…</p>
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<p>I’m glad to know. I’m glad that I made the right choice. I love lively and active campus and I love Cal </p>
<p>and Chipotle…yum!!! yeah I heard that Penn dining is pretty terrible. What about berkeley? is it all vegetarian like people said? urgh…i need to eat meat!</p>
<p>This is just my opinion but I don’t think I’ll have the danger of graduating late at Berkeley. In fact, I have the option of graduating early if I can because Cal accept more IB and AP test credit!</p>
<p>But thank you so much for letting me know!</p>
<p>lol you talk about so many things.</p>
<p>organic chemistry is hard. i know that for surrrrrre. good luck to all of us who will take it…</p>
<p>Well, remember, the classes I suggest for breadth will be easy, not necessarily interesting or bearable. I just ignore them and do math work in them! I’d like to take something interesting, but I prioritize. Also, I already finished Arts and Literature, and that’s the one requirement I actually care to fulfill properly, i.e. with something interesting. </p>
<p>For that, well I am partial to single-author Slavic Lit classes, but they’ll be quite some work. Slavic 134_'s will be good. </p>
<p>For history – take Math 160, History of Mathematics. Uhm, though that may require some mildly heavy math prereqs funnily, not sure. </p>
<p>For Philosophy and Values – take Mathematical Logic or Set Theory (kidding, there are lots of other interesting things).</p>
<p>Brainwashing FTW :)</p>
<p>Hmmm…Well there are two sets organic chemistry series: the 112 series and the 3 series. For the 112 series, you’ll need to take 4A and B, a general chem series again regardless of AP credit, because its for intended Chem majors. The 3 series is for everyone else and you can go straight to the 3 series if you have the AP credit. The only thing is that Chem 3A and its lab component 3AL are extremely time consuming. If you take it pass or no pass without the lab component for breadth, it’d be easily doable, but otherwise I’d just suggest auditing the course if you want to learn more about organic for fun.</p>
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<p>yeah you’re right. not a good idea to jeapordize my gpa when there’s already a deflation and yes, good luck to you maybe it would be a pass/fail class. just hope I dont fail :p</p>
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<p>O.O really??? OMG you LIED!!! lol. They would not be easy! I would actually have to make an effort in all those classes!! Were you fluent already or did you just pick that up??? hmmmm…I think I’m just gonna go with something I’m fluent in…like French or Chinese</p>
<p>Are you trying to scare me away with those ultra hardcore math stuff? I had no idea that math could appear in so many forms!!! It’s kinda frightening ;)</p>
<p>No, no you get the wrong idea! </p>
<p>These aren’t the classes I really took! Just stuff I think would be COOL. I will use a math course for my Philosophy requirement though. Those do legitimately count, and they’re also requirements for my major. </p>
<p>If you want ACTUAL easy as hell classes, try anything in the PACS (Peace and Conflict Studies) department. I can’t promise there’ll be much content, more of random presentations about nonviolence. I’m fine with anything that lets me pass without effort. </p>
<p>But as far as math, yes I can scare you plenty if you want me to there’s a ridiculous ocean out there (no worries, I’m scared of it too). So much so that a graduate student who’s studied in grad school for 2 years usually will still be very far from actually understanding current research in some of the crazier fields.</p>
<p>^Which is why I refuse to even consider majoring in math.</p>
<p>hahaha…wow…I’m slow. I hope it’s just because it’s so late and I really should be writing my IB english commentary…:p</p>
<p>Now, what did you really take? </p>
<p>How many classes did you take as a freshman? What would be the safe amount? Wait scratch that, not safe…but doable. <em>sigh</em> I should be taking a reading and comprehension class. Apparently I’m not understanding sarcasm and misreading verbal tenses, esp since the poster would have been a good english major and do you get your breadth courses out of the way first? btw that PACS just sounds ridiculous…easy, but ridiculous. Sounds like my current history class ;p</p>
<p>haha. Nah, that’s okay. I don’t want any nightmares tonight!</p>
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<p>If you get into Wharton undergrad, it will be worth it to go there, bc Haas is not a guarantee. </p>
<p>But if its Non Wharton UPenn… lolz i dunno why they even have a UPenn outside of Wharton. They should just have Wharton. But either way, yeah, Berkeley is way more famous globally than UPenn. </p>
<p>The only real Ivy’s IMO are Harvard and Yale. Princeton people always kind of strike me as kind of weird, like the people in that movie “Eyes Wide Shut”. So I’m hesitant to say Princeton, although deep down inside I do consider them a real ivy league.</p>
<p>Well, I was always the sort to take a good load, but nothing far above 18 units; the reason being, usually 1-2 of the classes on the list will take almost complete precedence over the others, given they demand much more work. </p>
<p>PACS is ridiculous. It’s easy, and ridiculous. That’s why it’s amazing :)</p>
<p>I’m one of those people who’ll probably be doing some breadth requirements in senior year, just because I brush them off. I also brush off major requirements I’m not a fan of and try to “replace” them with other classes in somewhat unorthodox ways. </p>
<p>Let me know whenever you would like nightmares. They can be lots of fun.</p>
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<p>Well it definitely can be a turnoff to some that even the most advanced students can’t do meaningful research until ridiculously much later. The key is to enjoy what you’re doing while you’re doing it – the path to getting to that research stage can be very fun!</p>