<p>So, many pple have advised be to not get involved in research or dominant extracurriculars my first quarter at ucla.... but i still wanna get the opinions of others..is it advisable to just stick to academics the first quarter and get used to everything before taking on research/volunteerting?</p>
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<p>:rolleyes: who told you that?</p>
<p>and unless you’ve got connections or prior experience, good luck getting into a research lab your very first quarter</p>
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<p>These “pple” sound like the orientation counselors…god they were so useless. They advised us to take 3 courses our first quarter…which I think was the worst advice I’ve gotten at UCLA.</p>
<p>^why? Is 3 classes a quarter too easy?</p>
<p>I was planning to take 3 (pre-bizecon major)</p>
<p>I think a lot of South Campus students are capable of taking 4 courses during their first quarter. Many advise just 3 because of “adjusting”, having fun during first quarter, taking it easy. No one can make the decision except yourself on this one. There are tradeoffs in the two options.</p>
<p>Personally, I would take 4 courses if you have good work ethics and attended a high school which gave you challenging work. Taking 4 also motivates you to do well and keep you busy so that you won’t slack off. I know people who took 3 during first quarter and got C’s and D’s on GEs, which they totally regret not putting effort during first quarter. As a result, couldn’t get in Biz-econ or even Econ.</p>
<p>Counselors say take just 3, but only because they don’t want to be liable for blame if you get poor grades after taking 4.</p>
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<p>it couldnt have been OCs because orientation didnt start yet did it? anyways in their defense theyre given scripts that they memorize and regurgitate and get tested on. im glad i took just 3 classes my first quarter because i had a ton of time and just went crazy with ECs. the 4.0 was also a good confidence booster. if i added another class i probably would not have been able to do as many ECs as I did then, and I probably could have pulled it off grade-wise, but I wouldn’t have been as happy overall</p>
<p>who the heck told you that? DEFINITELY explore research and extracurriculars (go to the Enormous Activities Fair during Zero Week), as recruitment and outreach will be the most active fall quarter. </p>
<p>i wouldn’t want first quarter to be just academics. personally, i follow the three classes per quarter plan, as that allows me more time to devote to research and my ECs. it’s all about balance and time management.</p>
<p>I second Jinobi. Go to the Activities Fair! You better be walking out of that thing with a full bag of flyers. Explore all you want while you still can! Stick to three courses; the best thing I ever did for myself my first year was dropping my GE cluster. </p>
<p>BoHall is just recommending four classes because he’s a nerdy engineer with no friends.</p>
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I’m going to be a senior in the fall. Only reason why I recommend taking 4 classes (at least for engineers) is because classes get a lot harder in the later years. IMO, it’s better to take some stress away from the later upper-division courses.</p>
<p>Also, another piece of advice my OC gave me was to retake Physics 1A to “relearn the concepts” since they were oh-so important. Although it was a nice GPA booster, I kinda regret it now since I could have used the time to get ahead or take something I’m interested in.</p>
<p>Anyways, it IS your choice…since your OCs try to give you the best advice in order for you to adjust to UCLA. I’m just trying to give another perspective.</p>