<p>Like just because we dont get to take the classes we want because they fill up doesn’t mean we won’t be able to take the classes in the next semester. we sign up for classes via semester right? so the only real advantage of calso is signing up for the first semester courses???</p>
<p>CalSO is not worth it. Really, there is no legitimate reason for Berkeley to withhold our ability to schedule. It’s a way for them to make money, expecting us to pay for our advisor codes. The counseling and games were useless, annoying for me. Detrimental even. They tried to scare me away from taking math 53. “You won’t be ready! Sign up for a lower math!” Yeah…that was bs. I had hella fun in math 53 and aced it. But during the time, those CalSO people were able get me kind of scared…luckily, I talked to an upperclassman afterward who advised I just take math 53. </p>
<p>There is a way to schedule for your Phase I at the same time as others’ who attend CalSO…all you need is a particular URL in order to receive your advisor code. A bunch of my high school friends signed up for classes without attending CalSO.
I’m pretty sure that CalSO people don’t want the public to find out, though.</p>
<p>^ very true. A lot of the CalSO counselors I encountered were non-science majors and didn’t have experience advising for pre-med for instance. I am assuming that since CoE has their own separate CalSO the counselors there are either engineering majors or have more experience in that… but anyway, the counselor (who was a haas student) told me not to take Chem 1A and Math 1A together because it’s too much hard to handle first semester. These two classes together are practically the norm for pre-meds!!</p>
<p>I agree that the only good thing about CALSO is you get to sign up for classes earlier. I thought the advising was completely useless and they tried to scare you into not taking anything (UGBA 10, higher math–basically intro level classes). I ended up not taking their advice about UGBA 10 and did perfectly fine, though for awhile there, they had me scared. I still regret not skipping over Math1A with AP credit though. If I could go back, I would’ve done Math1B my first semester instead. Math1A is not worth repeating and is definitely not an “easy A” even if you’ve taken calculus before. In fact, you’d probably get the same grade whether you start with 1A or 1B your first semester so what’s the point?</p>
<p>Every single person I’ve talked to in the COE, has been helpful and has helped me alter my intended schedule to work better for me. I expect them to be similarly helpful at CalSO.</p>
<p>I dislike the fact that other colleges have earlier dates, but I think that the experience will be fun (get tons of information about courses, schedules, and intended plans) and hopefully will have time to relax.</p>