<p>My major is Physiology and Neuroscience, not sure how tough it's gonna be.</p>
<p>I’m very curious too how difficult UCSD is for the first 2 years…i’m quite worried. and my major is Computer science (w/ no previous knowledge/experience lol)</p>
<p>Honestly the first two years are not that bad if you’re willing to put in a decent amount of work. You’ll mostly fill your schedule with GE’s and lower divs. Getting a 4.0 will be hard, though.</p>
<p>I’m in the last quarter of my first year and so far, it hasn’t been very hard. I’m an economics major with a computer science minor and classes are pretty basic thus far. Some majors have it tough, such as mechanical, electric, or aerospace engineering, but I’ve got to admit, social science majors like me have it pretty easy the first year.</p>
<p>@purplet1ger: I know a few computer science majors who started this year knowing nothing, are are getting As in their CSE classes, at least. If you take your first programming class and you’re either bored or find it very difficult and do not do well, then consider changing your major. Probably your hardest classes this first year will be the science major requirements, like physics.</p>
<p>Depends on your classes. Just put in the effort so you have no regrets.</p>
<p>what are upper/lower division classes? i’m confused.
@adam: thanks! but i heard you start taking the classes required for your major during the last 2 years?</p>
<p>Upper division classes are classes between the numbers 100-199 while lower are the ones below it. Upper div classes tend to be harder, more time consuming, and have more pre-reqs.</p>
<p>Most people start taking their major classes right away. That way, you can get a better feel early on about what you’ll be doing and you can split the GE requirements across your 4 years. (GE’s tend to be easier)</p>
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<p>Agreed! </p>
<p>While it depends on your major, I think the first 2 years can be just as trying as the last 2 for the very reason that they’re the first years, when you have to adjust to living away from home, motivating yourself and finding out what you’re capable of. As long as you’re careful (i.e. don’t load up on hard classes, pick good professors, don’t miss deadlines to drop/change grading options) and put in a good effort every quarter, you should be OK in college. </p>
<p>Some people may also think that since you take upper-division classes in your later years, those classes must necessarily be harder. It depends on the major, but not necessarily. While I can see that being true for math, engineering, and other sciences, many lower-division courses can be “weeder” courses that cause a lot of students to drop out. I think if you do fine in those classes, you’ll also manage with upper-division courses when it comes time to take those. No one goes through college totally prepared for every new thing (starting upper-division classes, starting programming, etc.) but I think if you make a daily, or near daily effort, you should be OK as the challenges come at you. It’s always a work in progress.</p>
<p>Both sets of years, first two and last two, are hard for different reasons. </p>
<p>First two (Lower Division)</p>
<p>Difficult b/c of breadth, there is just a large volume of information that is not covered in detail. It is also hard b/c the subjects are covered in a manner that is not deep so it’s hard to know what to study for.</p>
<p>Last two (Upper Division)</p>
<p>Difficult b/c of depth. There is alot of detail for certain aspects of each subject that you have to know alot of. It is hard b/c there is alot of stuff you have to remember for the exams and then you have to put the ideas together in order to answer the challenging questions. </p>
<p>Suggestions</p>
<p>First two
Study broadly and understand the big picture. Know some pertinent details (i.e. examples) to illustrate the main points and focus on the lectures. Find a good TA, less important than upper division classes. </p>
<p>Last two
Attend all TA sections and find the TA that is the most knowledgeable and has the best teaching ability. A good TA can make ALL the difference. I can count how many times a good TA has saved my ass. Know what the Professor focuses on and figure out how everything ties together. </p>
<p>This is key for upper div labs → Pay attention in Lab lecture and take good notes! Most/All of the lab reports require you to regurgitate some and apply some of what was learned in lecture and in the lab manual. </p>
<p>Finally,
**Take/Audit BILD 2 (Dr. Darwin Berg recommended) even if you have credit from the AP Bio test right before Mam Phys. It will help you TREMENDOUSLY for BIPN 100 (Mammalian Physiology). One professor told me that students do on average an entire letter grade better than those without BILD 2. It worked very well for me and the first half of Mammalian Physiology I seemed like review with additional details.</p>
<p>hitoyzx illustrated a good point: the stuff builds over time. If you didn’t do well in the prerequisite LD, it’s going to be tougher in the upper div class because of the added depth. Basic kinetics from genchem show up in biochemistry upper divs, and a lot of bild1 concepts are expanded upon in bicd100. So you can’t just say the LDs aren’t directly for your major, because…they are.</p>
<p>I do think the last two years can be made less difficult if one has a solid foundation built from the first two years. This includes more than mastering the concepts in LD classes, like knowing your study habits :)</p>