<p>I'm an incoming freshman for fall. I'm majoring in PEIS (Political Economics of Political Societies).</p>
<p>What should I be choosing for my classes? Basic ones? Or should I already start seeking classes needed by my major (such as Econ 1 or 2 and IAS 45, which I don't know is)?</p>
<p>I have a few AP scores under my belt:</p>
<p>AP Euro: 4
APUSH: 4
AP Eng Language and Composition: 3
AP Chem: 3</p>
<p>and two more I'm taking this year</p>
<p>AP Calc BC: ?
AP Lit: ?</p>
<p>So could anyone please help me with the nomenclature of Cal's undergrad classes and where I can find any other advice?</p>
<p>If I were you I would at least take IAS 45, which is “the survey of world history”. Its world history and standard for PEIS, but don’t be deceived by the name because many classes here at Cal are much more work than they seem. I thought Geography was going to just be memorizing cities on a map and boy was I wrong…by a long shot as I learned much more than HS World history/Geography. The classes here are hard but in a good way in that you will be more mentally stimulated and think in a different way not just hw, take a test and get a grade. Some extra advice is that entering freshman are advised NOT to take Econ during their first semester as it can be an overwhelming course. Another class that you might want to take your first semester is Poli Sci 2 (Comparative Politics), which is also needed for your major and I hear good things about this class from my friend who is currently taking it.</p>
<p>Try to take courses in the major that you plan to declare (in your case PEIS) to make sure that its really what you want to do. It would kind of suck if you completed all the pre reqs and then realized that you didn’t really like it.</p>
<p>So I should start focusing on pre-reqs right as I get in as a freshy? And the myth that freshmen just take basic studies and whatnot is false?</p>
<p>Also, the courses you were talking about, IAS 45 and Poli Sci 2, those are semester-based courses, right? Not year-long ones? I remember a friend telling me that courses at his school are quarterly-based and I told him mine were semester-based. Is my interpretation of semester-based right?</p>
<p>The advantage to taking prereqs early is that you can see if you are actually interested in the topic. If you take Econ 1 this semester or next, and realize you hate it, there’s time to readjust your plans, for instance.</p>
<p>You are correct IAS 45, Stat 2 and I think pretty much 99.9% of Berkeley classes only last for one semester (NOT a whole year). By the way the good thing about L&S majors is even if you want to switch majors then some classes that would have gone to your ex-major can be used for breadth and the sorts so you really aren’t that behind. L&S majors seem to be made for people who are unsure of their major since many majors only require a couple of lower divisions. Like my friend is barely decided what she wanted to major in (next month the school year is over), but by no means is she behind because for the most part she has been working on her breadth and some overlap with her new major. I assume you can only be behind if you make a radical shift, such as going from Engineering to Literature or like when your a junior.</p>
<p>PEIS only has like only 5 lower division course. Did you think you were going to take them and been done for the first two years? Well breadth class are in 7 categories in which you have to take at least one class in each (AP wont allow you to op-out…I know it sucks, but I’m in CNR so I don’t have breadth for the most part :]). It is a way to have the L&S students be well rounded in all subjects.</p>
<p>Well, 7th breadth classes…hmm, well, if they’re semester-based, then I guess I’m fine.</p>
<p>So how many should I take my first semester there of those? I was thinking of taking up IAS 45 from your description and maybe some other stuff. How many of those classes should I take of those next semester?</p>
<p>And what’s this letter-graded and pass/not passed business? Isn’t anything above a D a pass regardless? So why would I want to take a class just based on pass/fail?</p>
<p>The recommended amount is 13-14 (3 technical class that are usually 3-4 units and a decal or seminar which are usually 1-2 units). Some people will try to tell you to take 16 units, which is not difficult, but lets be serious this is your first semester in college. The kids on my floor who took 16 units usually stayed in their room and studied all day. College for was more of an experience for me. Sure I studied and got good grades, but I only took 13 units which gave me time to do what I wanted to do. I made so many great friends, joined clubs, explored San Francisco, frat parties (after a while they get old but a must in terms of college experience =]) and lived up my time in the dorms and made many memories. I talked to my friends here and MOST (not all) agreed that we would rather have a fun time in college and make friends and get a okay GPA/less classes during our first year rather than having a sad and miserable experience just studying and basically just existing and getting a better GPA. </p>
<pre><code> You take a class P/NP if you want to take it, but not invest the time. Some kids do this in classes that they know will get a “C” and don’t want to look bad on their transcript. The thing is you are limited to what you can P/NP. It can be only 1/3 of your total units and they CAN’T be in classes that go towards your major.
CNR is the College of Natural Resources =)
</code></pre>
<p>Fiesta - there are multiple possible requirements. There are seven breadths for College of Letters and Sciences students. Berkeley has an American Cultures requirement. The UC system has a requirement for American History. The UC system has a reading requirement; you will take a test this summer to see if you can skip. There are Reading and Comprehension requirements. Some of these requisites can be skipped based on your high school classes or AP or SAT scores, but only a few. </p>
<p>That is one set of courses you need to work on across your four years and thus shoudl start on in your first semester. In addition, there are requisite courses for your potential majors, thus they should be taken early. not only do you get them done to permit you to declare the major in two years, but they let you know, as others have said, whether the major is a good fit or not. If you are considering medical school, then you ALSO have to plan to take all the requisite classes needed by the med schools. </p>
<p>L&S has an online advising site that helps you build a candidate list of requisite courses and suggests priorities for all those things I mentioned above. You use it to be prepared for CalSO and for your first registration during CalSO.</p>