<p>So I’ve heard most classes have their grades based almost solely on tests.
Is this true?</p>
<li><p>And do professors really get students to understand the material?</p></li>
<li><p>Or is it more like they just give students examples and such so they can study for the exams and that’s it?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’ve even heard some professors lecture right out of the book which worries me.</p>
<p>I’m worried I won’t get as high a quality an education as I would at cal poly because of the large class sizes, professors having their own research, TAs teaching, etc etc. If it’s just all exams and no real teaching from professors then that just means I might as well just study everything on my own.</p>
<p>In general this is what I’ve heard anyways.</p>
<p>I don’t mind the stiff competition, but I care more about the quality of my education.
(accepted materials engineer major)</p>
<p>Comments, opinions, and experiences please.</p>
<p>It really depends on the class for most of your questions.</p>
<p>1) Personally, as an Econ/Accounting student, my grades are solely based on tests. There are small assignments that are given that help determine my grade, but since those assignments are easy for everyone, they do not determine my grade at all. </p>
<p>2) From my experience, no. The classes are too big to ensure that students understand the material. It’s basically “Does anyone have any questions,” and that is it. It was the same kind of care as a high school. No one babysits you in either. </p>
<p>3) They try to teach and give you examples to learn by. Then you go home and practice it more by yourself. You will have to do a fair amount of studying and learning by yourself. At least for my major, if you could learn everything perfectly in each lecture, major props to you. It’s a lot of information to cram into a 1 hr 20 minute class.</p>
<p>It realy depends on your major and the classes you take. My daughter is a freshman this year she has a lower div. comm studies class with only 25 students in it. It is basically a speech class but she says they only did two speeches. I asked her what else they did then and she said there was lots of discussion, learned to listen and think critically and be analytical about the topics discussed. There was no TA so obviously tons of contact with the professor. She also had a French class with only 20 students. Her larger lectures have all had profs that were very accesable and so far she has enjoyed her TA’s and had very good luck getting time with them and lots of personal contact. So it really depends and you must be willing to put the effort in. I would say that so far this year her experience has not been anything like the previous posters so your major and the types of classes you take will make a big difference. She also took a freshman cluster which is basically the same class or group of classes with the same students and professors/TAs for the whole year. The last quarter you are in a seminar with only 20 students. Overall her grades have been based on tests, papers, essays, participation and many things other than just tests.</p>
<p>My friend is an materials engineer. Her first two years consisted of lower divs in classes anywhere up to ~300 people (which is the same for any engineer).
However, the materials engineering department is pretty small and her upper divs consists of about ~15 of the people/class. So lots of contact with the professors/TAs.</p>
<p>Grades are mostly from exams and labs (if there is a lab component) and yes, there is a curve. </p>
<p>The teaching style varies widely from professors to professors. I’ve had some that teach straight from the book and others that don’t use the book at all. And some that give tons of helpful examples and some don’t. Just gotta learn how to work with both.</p>
<p>My advice? Relax! If you find yourself needing more help, there are Professor and TA office hours for additional clarifications and help. :)</p>
Yes, for most classes this is the case. Usually one or two midterms a quarter plus a final. Some do have a large project component, however.</p>
<p>
Most at least make an effort to do so. It is kind of hard to ensure that everyone understands everything in a large lecture, so you may need to take the initiative to go to office hours, etc. And generally you can find a good TA to help you out in discussions.</p>
<p>
Professors give examples so that you can get some practice beyond the basic theory that you’re taught in class. This is especially important in engineering classes which are all about solving problems.</p>
<p>
You’ll find professors like that anywhere, not just UCLA.</p>
<p>
Don’t expect that you won’t have to do some outside work to learn on your own, even at Cal Poly. And TAs don’t teach at UCLA unless it’s a very small lower-division (i.e. first or second year) course.</p>
<p>
Yes, get used to classes curved to a B- average.</p>
<p>I’m also interested in this question of educational quality. </p>
<p>Another question along this vein: Do professors sometimes discourage students to come to office hours (by saying go to TAs first)? An engineering friend who is a freshman there told me this, so I wanted to check the validity.</p>
<p>And for upper division courses, do class sizes drop dramatically so that it’s more discussion based? (like in majors like engineering, as the OP asks, and Biology/Neurology/Cognitive Science for me.)</p>
<p>It really depends on ur professor. Yes there are some that discourage ppl go to go office hours but those are really rare. Most of my professors have been awesome. They love to help students out and everything. So choose wisely when you pick ur classes cuz the professor really makes a difference…</p>
<p>From my experience, I’ve never had a professor discourage office hours - they encourage it although you might have to set up additional times if they don’t work with your classes. Lower division classes can be huge, so they’re not going to baby you and make sure everybody understands all the material unless you make an effort to ask questions and see them outside of class. With my upper divs, my department (bioengineering) has been really good about things especially its a small department (very new) and there are about 60 juniors or so. Upper divs have been much smaller as well, but in general, professors will want to help you out if do things in a professional manner and aren’t just running to them with late assignments etc.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>That’s correct. You usually have 1 or 2 midterms worth 15-20% and a final worth 25-30%. It depends on most of the classes, but there are 2 or 3 big tests which generally can determine your grade, so make sure you prepare for them.</p></li>
<li><p>Professors do what professors do. Some are good and some are bad, just like in high school. Usually there are ratings on websites like [url=<a href=“http://www.bruinwalk.com%5DBruinWalk%5B/url”>http://www.bruinwalk.com]BruinWalk[/url</a>] and [url=<a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessor.com%5DRateMyProfessors.com%5B/url”>http://www.ratemyprofessor.com]RateMyProfessors.com[/url</a>] for them so you can check them out before you enroll in their classes. Most professors do care about their students, though, and encourage you to seek extra help if you need it. Then there’s free tutoring around campus that you can go to if your professor sucks. Otherwise, you can ask questions either in lecture or in discussion with the TAs.</p></li>
<li><p>They lecture like they would in high school, then give you examples based on what they just said. It is usually helpful to go through the book later and on your own to reinforce what they told you (although I never do). Once again, it varies from professor to professor the quality of each class, and, in most cases, if there are horrible professors teaching a class you need a certain quarter, you can just wait to take it later when there’s a better professor available.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Basically, just do your research before you enroll in a class. Ask other students, post on forums like these, or check out ratings sites. If you do get stuck in a bad class, don’t worry because there are others suffering right alongside you. Study groups are your friend =).</p>
<p>The main thing about college is that nobody is going to hold your hand anymore. If you’re suffering in a course, it is up to you to change it, because nobody is going to approach you and say “hey, do you need this explained further?” All professors are required to have office hours where you can ask them questions.</p>
<p>As for the quality of education, you can’t beat the name recognition of UCLA with Cal Poly. The education is pretty good here as long as you apply yourself and make sure you don’t put yourself in a bad position.</p>
<p>I’m a Computer Science Major and I’ve got a friend in Material Science, who has had most of the same courses as me which were all pretty good.</p>
<p>UCLA is separated North Campus and South Campus - literally and figuratively. </p>
<p>South Campus is Sciences, engineering, Math, etc - where grades are 95% based on tests. They don’t care about attendance, cute face, sunshine personality, etc. All they care about is what you produce on paper. </p>
<p>North Campus is the humanities - Art, Sociology, English, etc- and they have about 80% tests/papers/projects, 10% attendance, 10% how much they like you. And the grading is very subjective…</p>
<p>classes are usually separated into 2 parts: lecture and discussion. Lecture is 400 students in a giant classroom with Prof lecturing out of the book. Discussion is TA led 25-30 students with examples and Q/A forum. Then there are office hours where you can meet 1-on-1 with prof and TA with any specific questions. Finally you can always make appointments.</p>
<p>And there are a lot of tutoring sites/study sessions on campus for anyone who needs help.</p>
<p>Can any former ucla engineering majors help me out with this question.
Do you still use your engineering degree?
And if not please tell me you went into engineering management or something that’s better.</p>
<p>My uncle has a PhD in civil engineering from ucla and isn’t doing so great now. I have heard of similar cases where engineers from UCs don’t use their degree anymore (for better or worst). I don’t wanna end up like that which is why I still can’t decide between ucla and cal poly (where I’ll definitely use my degree for quite a while)</p>