<p>The engineering curriculums are pretty strict about what you take and when, so does it make a difference whether you get early registration/counceling by going to CalSO?</p>
<p>(it would be nice to save the $500+ this'll cost me)</p>
<p>exactly. you will be screwed if you can't get into the certain classes due to limited spaces.</p>
<p>unlimitedx: I think you're a bit too harsh...</p>
<p>"The engineering curriculums are pretty strict about what you take and when"</p>
<p>what?</p>
<p>it doesn't matter if you know exactly what you want to take. they don't help you all that much when it comes to schedule planning, but you still want to go to calso to get your classes. your first semester will probably be some combo of chem 1a, physics, math, R&C r1a/b, and a class specific to your major (e28 for ME's or CE's, maybe start CS61 series for EECS, etc). all these classes are either impacted or include labs on top of lecture (chem 4hr lab, physics 4hr lab/dis, math 3hr dis, e28 3-4hr lab, CS 4hr lab (?)). you'll find that there are only a few ways to fit all your classes/labs/discussions together without overlap. you will -need- to get into those specific labs and discussions. the earlier you go, the better your chance of getting the schedule you want.</p>