Freshman Scheduling - phase I?

<p>Hello, I am an entering freshman at UCB and I have been wondering a few
things for a while now. I have contacted both the admissions office, Undergraduate Advising, the Office of the Registrar about these issues and they haven't been much
help.This question may be something that requires an in-person appointment,
however, I live in Connecticut and am unable to come to California (due to
some financial restrictions) until move-in day.</p>

<p>I was wondering if someone could guide me in picking the right classes for
the fall semester. I am still in the process of learning more about how
Tele-Bears works, but I would like to know what courses are okay to take
as a potential English major. I am involved in the UConn Early College
Experience program, which contain the same curriculum as University of
Connecticut courses and may be transferred to certain schools for college
credit. I have taken UConn English, Biology I&II, Calculus I&II, and
Statistics. The admissions office said these courses may possibly be taken
for credit, but I will not be notified until later. </p>

<p>Should register for L&S requirements before I know that I
have fulfilled them (UConn transcripts are not available until the middle
of July). What do you suggest that I do? I also would like to know if I
should focus on electives/minors as of right now. I am interested in
pre-Haas and continuing my Spanish studies. Should I worry about t
hose yet or simply focus on other L&S/English requirements?</p>

<p>I apologize for such specific questions but I am in desperate need of
advice/guidance since this is all new to me. If anyone that could give me a
guideline for a typical pre-Haas & English major course schedule to ask
for in Phase I & II that would be amazing! I'm assuming I should worry about
other electives/interests until after this first semester and I can talk to
a counselor in person, correct? Anything you guys can offer would be great!
Thank you in advance!</p>

<p>Have you taken the online orientation set up to help incoming students like you who are not attending a CalSO? [L&S</a> New Student Orientation](<a href=“http://ls-orientation.berkeley.edu/ws/]L&S”>http://ls-orientation.berkeley.edu/ws/)</p>

<p>It will walk you through a set of recommendations and possible courses to take.</p>

<p>There are many requirements for your degree, some of which could be satisfied already based on SAT scores, AP tests, high school courses taken etc. Of the remaining requirements, those that you need to address, some are higher priority to take right away. Most important are generally to address reading and comprehension (R&C and entry writing) and to start on pre-req classes for majors that you potentially will declare; at L&S, you enter as a undeclared student and have roughly two years to decide, complete the pre-requisite courses, and then apply to be listed as a major in a specific area. </p>

<p>If you have taken the online orientation, it should have helped give you some ideas and we can help you refine them. If not, it would be much more productive for you to take that orientation first, then post here when done.</p>

<p>Oh, yeah I forgot to mention that!
I already completed the orientation, and it ended up confusing me a little bit. Basically here’s what I know I have completed:
*the Entry Level Writing Requirement
*Quantitative reasoning
*American History and Institutions</p>

<p>Here are the requirements I’m not sure about:
*Biological & Physical Sciences - I have UConn Statistics completed and UConn Biology I/II, so I’ll have to see if those transfer as credit
*R&C- I am still waiting for my AP exams to come back, but I’m fairly sure that I have at least completed one half of this req based on how I did (I also completed a UConn ECE course in English but, again, this may or may not be UC-transferable)
*Foreign Language Proficiency - I certainly plan on continuing my Spanish studies, however, an AP class was not offered at my school. Is there a proficiency test that I can take to determine what language-level class to take?
*pre-Haas requirements (which may or may not be fulfilled with UConn Calculus/Stat)</p>

<p>Req’s I definitely don’t have for L&S:
*Historical Studies
*International Studies
*Social & Behavioral Sciences
*Philosophy & Values
*American Cultures</p>

<p>I know that I need to take some specific classes for the English major as well. A representative from the English department suggested that I take a Freshman Seminar, but I have heard from other students that seminars are a lot of work for few units that don’t really count towards any major, so I’m not sure of the benefits?</p>

<p>Thank you so much for replying!</p>

<p>With English and Haas as your targeted majors, it is pretty easy to figure out your pre-reqs. </p>

<p>You figure out the requirements for the major from the department web site. For English it is <a href=“http://english.berkeley.edu/undergraduate/major.html[/url]”>http://english.berkeley.edu/undergraduate/major.html&lt;/a&gt; which will inform you that you need:</p>

<p>English 45A or English 45B
Completed both of the R&C courses
One other course from among English 45A, 45B, 45C, 17, 117A, 117B, 117J, or 117S</p>

<p>Basically four classes and you are ready to declare, two of which are also needed for the R&C requirement. If you pass out of one half or both due to your AP scores, that also satisfies the department. All they care is that you are done with the Reading and Composition requirement; they don’t care if it is waived or take as classes.</p>

<p>For admission to Haas, see <a href=“Admissions - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas”>Admissions - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas; and the prerequisites are more extensive and then you apply for admission instead of simply declaring as you will for English:</p>

<p>one semester of calculus - can be math 1a, 16a, 1b or 16b
one semester of statistics from among Stats 20, 21, or 25
the R&C courses must be completed
one course in english literature in addition to the R&C requirements
one semester of economics, either econ 1 or 2
UGBA 10
Finished your foreign language requirement
All 7 L&S breadth courses</p>

<p>However, there is a notice that for those that will be admitted to Haas in Fall of 2012 (which is you unless you can nail all the prereqs and get accepted during your first year at Cal, which is very very unlikely given the credits and courses you will enter with). For those entering F2012 or later, meaning you, you need a second semester of Calculus, do not need to have finished all the seven breadths by time of applying, and no longer need the English course. That is a shame, since your very first prereq for the English degree would have satisfied that Haas English requirement. However, being able to take the seven breadths over a full four years and not all in the first two years is a big up side. You will need to be careful with the breadth courses, as Haas does not allow a course to count as a breadth and as another requirement simultaneously, while English and basically all the other L&S departments will permit this (thus a prospective bio major who takes a bio required course can also use that to count for the bio breadth requirement, but a Haas student who took Econ 1/2 could not use that to also satisfy a breadth).</p>

<p>From all of this, you will have to take the following courses in your first two years as pre-reqs:</p>

<p>Math 16A (could be 1A and the next could be 1B but they are harder)
Math 16B (deciding which Calc to take involves an online self-assessment test)
English 45A or English 45B
One other English class from 45A, 45B, 45C, 17, 117A, 117B, 117J or 117S
Econ 1 or 2
Statistics 20, 21 or 25
UGBA 10
R&C A (unless you AP out of it)
R&C B (unless you AP out of it)
Foreign language credit (you can pass a proficiency test or just take the second semester of language. Spanish 2 satisfies the requirement and you are eligible if you completed two years of Spanish in HS)</p>

<p>The only dependencies are that Math 16B(or 1B) needs 16A or 1A completed first. The rest can occur in any order. Once you do those, you could potentially be declared as an English major and/or admitted to Haas for your last two years.</p>

<p>HOWEVER, there is a reasonable shot that your Calculus and Statistics coursework from UConn will be accepted and thus satisfy the Haas requirements for calc and stats. Similarly, you think there is a decent chance that your AP score will cover part or all of R&C. You need a 5 in AP English Literature and Composition to bypass both R&C. A 4 on that test or a 4 or 5 on the AP English Language and Composition test will only waive the A part of the requirement. While the English course has a decent shot of granting you unit credits, it is quite unlikely to be accepted as the equivalent of the English major prereq courses. </p>

<p>Thus, I would hold off on taking R&C, Calculus, or Statistics until your AP and transfer credits are resolved. </p>

<p>The list of classes to potentially take in your first semester is thus:
English 45A or English 45B
One other English class from 45A, 45B, 45C, 17, 117A, 117B, 117J or 117S
Econ 1 or 2 (1 is easier, no advantage to taking 2 as far as Haas admission)
UGBA 10
Spanish 2 - assuming you took two years of HS spanish and don’t take a proficiency test instead to waive out of the requirement. </p>

<p>Spanish 2 is filled already. Econ 1 is the closest of filled of the remaining four, meaning it is a pretty likely phase I candidate for you. Similarly, you want to get one of your english classes covered, thus 45A or 45B is your second phase I priority. Throw in UGBA 10 in phase II and a DeCal or seminar to get to minimum units and you will be good to go. If UGBA is filled in phase II, go for one of the breadth or AC requirements. If Econ 1 is filled already in phase I, throw in UGBA 10 instead for phase I. </p>

<p>NOTE I see inconsistent information about the Spanish 2 class - the catalog course listing says you cannot take it if you have 3 years of HS spanish but the schedule listing says this is the one to take if you have 3 years of HS spanish. Will need to check this out or ask someone who knows on this forum). </p>

<p>In addition, you will need seven breadth courses for L&S graduation, the American Cultures class, the requirements of your two majors for upper division coursework, and any additional units to meet all the L&S degree minimums (120 total units, 60 from L&S, 36 from upper division courses . . . ). The breadth and AC are your ‘filler’ classes to add once your priority classes are locked in. Generally you need one of these per semester but they don’t start getting urgent for registration priority unless you miss a couple semesters worth. </p>

<p>Since phase I can only be used to sign up for 10 units of academic work, it would be a decent idea to throw in an English seminar once you register for an English course and Econ 1 (or UGBA 10). That would get you to 10 units and require you to only find one more course worth 3 units or more in phase II - probably a breadth or AC would be a good idea. your first semester is a transition time and it is best to err on the side of caution with workload. Thus, use a breadth or AC as your third non-seminar course). Once you hit your stride you can ratchet up. </p>

<p>Later, when the AP and transfer answers are resolved, you can fine-tune the plan to add in any required math and R&C coursework.</p>

<p>thank you so much! this is incredibly detailed and helpful information. once i have time to get more organized, i will certainly be using this as a guideline to choose my courses. </p>

<p>i can’t believe spanish 2 is filled already! i have four years of spanish, but i want to keep studying it throughout college. i’ll get my other reqs sorted out before picking a language level though. thank you again!</p>

<p>ok do these classes seem normal for a freshman (16 units altogether)
ECON1
UGBA10
English 45B (i don’t know if many freshman take this right away)
English 31AC (this satisfies the American Cultures requirement)
Near Eastern Studies: Islam and Imaginative literature (1 unit seminar - was just interested)</p>

<p>I am holding off on anything I may get out of based on transferred credit or AP credit. Do you think I’m missing something absolutely necessary? Which courses should I request for Phase I?</p>

<p>Pretty much any intended English major would take English 45B or A or C their first semester. </p>

<p>While it is a representative workload for second semester onwards, many (but not all) would recommend a lighter first semester, as you are doing all sorts of adjustment - away on your own, new state, college, etc - and it is easy to have a rougher time than you expect.</p>

<p>Hello,
I’m planning on applying to Haas, and to satisfy the breadth, I would fall in the post 2012 category. In the recent past, Berkeley has stated that people are denied acceptance primarily because they did not satisfy the requirements, be it the prerequisites or the breadth. I had everything mapped out to satisfy the requirements, and then I read that the breadth is no longer required, and students are “encouraged” to spread it out over four years. This raises a few questions for me. First, would I be hurting myself by still satisfying the breadth and going against their recommendation to spread it out? Second, If I don’t have to satisfy the breadth, then what classes should I take? Should I just make sure I have the main prerequisites, along with a total of 60 units? If this is so, I could take higher unit classes and apply a lot earlier. I’m just afraid of going the wrong route, not following directions, and applying without the right courses. Any help would be wonderful. Thanks.</p>

<p>No, you won’t hurt your application by completed all the breadths early. </p>

<p>You make sure you have all the requisites and a good GPA.</p>

<p>@dnoland332: Well, I’m in the same boat as you, and I think it’s safe to assume that our main priority should be the Haas pre-reqs since we have two less years to complete them? So I would say focus on getting into classes that we are required to take before getting into Haas, and the breadth courses would fill in other gaps in our schedule. But that’s just my thinking, I’m sure someone else could give you a better answer. Maybe the L&S advisors?</p>

<p>Yeah, I’m calling Haas today, then I’m meeting an advisor from Berkeley on the 8th. I’ll post what I find out for you. Thanks for the input.</p>

<p>@dnoland332 - I had the same question as you did about the breadth! I sent Haas an email as well so I will post their reply once I hear back from them.</p>

<p>The email:</p>

<p>Collegebound111,</p>

<p>Completing all of your breadth in the first 2 years will not affect
the admission decision.</p>

<p>Thank you</p>

<p>At 09:19 PM 6/27/2010, you wrote:</p>

<br>

<br>

<p>@collegebound111 - Thanks for posting the info! It’s good to know that at least now we have a choice of whether or not to get the 7 breadth courses out of the way in the first two years.</p>

<p>@rider730 - I was just wondering, is there any course in particular that I just posted that would make my first semester a little hard to handle? I was thinking maybe if I replaced economics with a Social & Behavioral Sciences breadth course, I would be giving myself a lighter workload?</p>

<p>ugba 10 is the course that would most benefit you to postpone for a semester - most competitive, yet as an entering freshmen you won’t be adjusted to college nor fully understand what is necessary to push for a high grade in a very very competitive field of students.</p>

<p>Oh I didn’t realize UGBA was that competitive. I assumed that economics would be most difficult. How tough is Econ 1? Mind you, math is a weak point for me. I struggled a lot through AP Calculus and I’m not sure how the math in economics compares.</p>

<p>Econ is not an easy A with low effort, but it is not unusually hard either. Econ 1 or 2 have no prerequisite for Calculus - the math intensive stuff comes in with the upper division coursework. </p>

<p>I just have heard from those that took it that UGBA, being a key Haas prereq, is a pretty competitive “weeder” kind of class.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any experience with the lower division History of Art courses? I’ve been interested in R1B and 10/11. I’m not sure if it’s a potential minor or not but I was thinking about taking a course to fulfill from requirements.</p>