<p>Ok, so how are the new freshment doing during this first quarter?? Is is harder than high school, easier, or about the same?? Has the life in the dorms been what you expected??</p>
<p>ill respond to this one.</p>
<p>im a freshman at erc and i love it. there's pretty much a scene for everyone here, whether you just want a chill atmosphere or a huge party scene (= tj).</p>
<p>i honestly cant really tell you if this is harder than high school... but it's definitely different. i'll just say, i've never studied so much in my life. i think it's because wherever you live, some of your suitemates are studying and you realize how hard you have to work to keep up with everyone else. the quarter system is brutal... once you get to about week 5, you have midterms incessently until finals. dont even get me started about finals week! i have never had so much coffee/tea to stay awake in my life. yes, it's been pretty stressful, i think i've learned to work harder subconsciously so it seems about the same as high school</p>
<p>as for dorm life, i pretty much like it... you make an instant bond with the people living on you floor/suite... and that's really awesome. however, ucsd can be boring. on weekends, you cant expect parties or fun things to be going on around campus... it looks like a commuter school on the weekends. but if you try to get yourself involved, it's not so bad.</p>
<p>i just wanted to reply bc no one else did... if anyone has any qs, dont hesitate to ask</p>
<p>Starlet464, What are your classes like? Are they taught exclusively by TA's? Are they in enormous lecture halls? And how did you come to decide on UCSD? Thanks!</p>
<p>xtx,
i took math, chem, a core class for my college, and a language this 1st quarter. basically, you learn the material in lecture (with 300+ students) and you have section at least once a week and the TA will clarify any questions you have. if you happen to get a sucky TA, it complicates things but you can usually get around it, like going to a different TA or talking to the profs during office hrs. i never went to office hours, so i had to teach myself most of the material, which is something you learn to do no matter what, so it was ok</p>
<p>the classes are in enormous lecture halls, but it's not that big of a deal. if you're thinking "omg it's gonna be so bad bc the classes are too large," (like i thought b4) it's so not true. though profs become somewhat magical creatures who you never talk to, if you have a problem and are willing to take initiative to go to his office hrs, big lecture halls are not a problem. however, from what i noticed, there's not a lot of opportunity to go to office hrs for all your classes bc the conflict with other classes.... so you have to decide what your priorities are.</p>
<p>and to your last question, why did i come here? well, my siblings went to LA so that was way played out, and i didnt want to go to berk, i didn't want to go out of state, and UCSD ROX!! haha no really, it's beautiful there, so chill and laid back, and it's not cutthroat competition.</p>
<p>hope my comments helped! i remember just reading stuff on this forum around this time last yr and i knew nothing about ucsd and the academic/college systems then. i wish someone was there to tell me details about this stuff, so if you have questions, it's not a problem.</p>
<p>Starlet 464,</p>
<p>Have you run into any interesting organizations on campus?</p>
<p>Also, what is a typical weekend like for you at UCSD?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I think we should all work to troll UCSD on the forum so more people know about it? hahaha. At least when they apply to colleges, they will at least rank them in an informed manner. When I applied, I saw that Marshall emphasized social justice so I picked it. I didnt know how they emphasized it and what programs were available.....lol</p>