<p>Okay, so I've heard that you will not be allowed to take upper div classes in your first sem, you can only take them starting second semester of your freshmen year. However, my friend successfully registered for an upper div class during CalSO so I don't know what's going on with regards to this? Under what conditions can you take an upper div class during your first semester?</p>
<p>I reaaally want to take Econ 100B to satisfy my prereq during Fall. :/ Thanks!</p>
<p>Telebears does not enforce many restrictions including pre-requisites. It is possible to set up the class to lock out entering freshman (when the class has slots by category and they set up a category for “new student and freshman”, giving it zero seats so that no new freshman can register for it but other students get into the other categories that pertain to them). This is rare. Usually that is not how the restrictions are policed.</p>
<p>If they are enforced, it is by the department or professor (or GSI acting on their behalf). Someone may scan the enrolled students and check that they have met the pre-requisites. If this happens, you could be bounced from the class and it could happen even after classes start, when it is much harder to find a substitute. </p>
<p>However, this is college not high school. The pre-requisites are not always or fully enforced as the student is expected to take some responsibility. </p>
<p>The right way to think about upper division classes as an entering freshmen is that it is strongly recommended that you not take them now. Most don’t have a formal prohibition. It is just not a good idea. </p>
<p>This is advice - as is most of what is posted here in response to questions and just like what you will hear from your advisors. You are free to ignore it, but also free to deal with the consequences. It isn’t high school anymore.</p>
<p>Thanks rider730, that’s a big help. So what you’re saying is…the prereqs are more like guidelines than anything else? Meaning some professors enforce it while some are pretty lax with it?
Let’s say I really want to take Econ 100B and I think I am fully prepared for it (as a matter of fact, I scanned the material and there are a lot of it which I have already learned in high school) and the professor makes sure no freshmen gets to sign up on telebears… do you know of people who successfully negotiated with the prof to take the class? Thanks!</p>
<p>Well, firmer than guidelines. </p>
<p>Strong suggestions is maybe the right sense. Particularly since at Cal you will find that simply knowing all the material is far from all you need to get an A in a course. College is different and after a semester or two you have a much better sense for what is needed to do well.</p>
<p>Some few courses have a hard block using the category system of telebears - they have a category for registration of “New and freshman or sophomore” which will not allow registration.</p>
<p>I don’t know why there would be a restriction on 100B… Try signing up for it on Telebears and if it lets you in, you’re in the class and nobody’s going to notice/care that you’re a freshman.</p>
<p>If Telebears doesn’t let you in, send an email to Olney. The only reason she would possibly not let you in is if the class is full and they can’t let in everyone from the waitlists.</p>
<p>Looks like what I’ll be doing, thanks flutterfly and rider! :)</p>
<p>My advice - prerequisites are nonsense usually - at times, they can UNDERSTATE what you need to have.</p>
<p>The major problem with your plan sputnik, is whether or not you have the requisite maturity. If you know what is expected, then who cares - go for it. But most frosh would get creamed
because they’d not know what’s expected.</p>
<p>I understand where you’re coming from mathboy, thanks for your concern. 
I know it’s not going to be easy but I’m fairly certain (after having looked at its syllabus and tested material) that I will be able to handle it - in fact, preferably as soon as possible, before I forget all the econs taught at school, haha.</p>
<p>I know I’m going to be taking on a pretty heavy load during my first sem, but I’m ready to make a few sacrifices because grades have always been my first priority, and having fun second.</p>
<p>I guess that leaves very little time for sleep, hahahaha</p>
<p>Since so many have come into Cal with similar backgrounds and expectations, only to be surprised first semester, it will be interesting to see how this works out.</p>
<p>Haha I might not stick around in this forum long enough for you to find out, but I can only hope that the advice my seniors (who are in Cal now) gave proved right!</p>
<p>
Can you give an example where a class’s listed prerequisite understates what background knowledge is needed?</p>
<p>@JBeak: E7’s a good example, from what I’ve heard. Apparently it’s unlikely anyone will do well without Math 54, at least concurrently.
On the same vein, I tried taking Math 172 because its only prerequisite was Math 55 and it was pretty difficult.
I think it would be more appropriate after Math 113 given that it has some abstract algebra content. 172 also has Math 54 content (matrix-tree theorem) but fortunately I had just finished the linear algebra part of 54 at that point.</p>
<p>Oppositely, Physics 7B is structured in a way that you don’t need to really know Math 53 to do it, despite it being a prereq. Useful, maybe. necessary or even prominent, no.</p>
<p>JBeak - material like a class on crypto could need the maturity of a decent number of upper division math classes, but may understate this. And many practical (engineering) classes will understate the need for linear algebra, and try to work in its language implicitly, which is a flop.</p>
<p>What about History 127AC? Would that be a stretch to take first semester? (along with Physics 7A, CS61A, and CS70).</p>
<p>I see, thanks. I thought E7 was like CS 61A? CS61A does not need Math 54 though, right?</p>
<p>61A doesn’t need 54.
Yeah, for some reason they used to/still have a lot of requirements for majors saying E7 or 61a, which is weird. 61a is pretty conceptual and not really applicable for most engineers outside of CS. E7/matlab is useful for engineers, i think, but quite different than 61a except for the label of a “programming class”.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Totally, and in fact, I don’t see how 7B (mark my words, not H7B) is much different if at all different from the AP curriculum. Of course the AP exam is probably way easier than the exams you’ll get in 7B, but the curriculum seems to be the same.</p>
<p>Well, there’s thermo, which is completely useless for at least EECS, which I got owned on. lol.
But yeah, they have pretty much the same curriculum besides that. It’s probably because the physics department thinks they’re all that.</p>
<p>I’m not bitter or anything. I’M NOT BITTER!</p>
<p>:P</p>
<p>I hear AC classes are easier because people taking it are taking it to fulfill AC and so don’t want to work as hard. So it should be doable.</p>
<p>I’m taking 7B right now, and the textbook is almost identical to the one I used in AP (Giancoli). The only difference was they use more calc 3, like triple integrals flux.</p>
<p>I don’t mind because it makes it so that I am just learning it at a higher level, and it makes it so I can focus on my English (which is so much harder than I expected).</p>
<p>We have our thermo midterm next week, and I feel pretty good about it (EECS as well), but I’m definitely looking forward to the E&M material.</p>
<p>I would probably feel comfortable skipping 7B, but I’m kind of glad that they force you to take it even if you got a 5, because I’d probably be taking 7C this summer and that would probably be unnecessarily difficult.</p>
<p>Hopefully having taken the AP test and using a very similar textbook will make this class not too bad.</p>