<p>Hi there,</p>
<p>I was thinking about taking Biology and Statistics in the 5 week Session I Summer period. I didn't want to spend my summer at Berkeley since I would have to pay extra for an apartment, and plus I would want to stay with my family for the duration of my summer.</p>
<p>There's no doubt that UCI has an excellent biology/medical program. But honestly, how much can you get out of a 5 week course? I didn't have good instruction in the biological sciences in high school, and therefore I want to take a college class to learn biology, not be overly obsessed with whatever grade I get. I just fear that a 5 week class will not adequately teach me the biology that I would hope to learn.</p>
<p>Any thoughts? How many of you have taken summer courses at UCI? Did you learn much from them? It's between UCI or Irvine Valley College, which has longer 8 week sections. But I feel the stronger and more motivated students I would be with at UCI would make taking courses there a more worthwhile experience.</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>I took genetics and molecular bio over the summer, but my professor (same for both classes, I took her the second time intentionally, since I liked her) was really good. Because of budget cuts, she’s not teaching anymore. It really is a shame that they cut great professors.</p>
<p>But good professor aside, you definitely learn a lot in 5 weeks because you meet up for the same time as a normal quarter. Class is an hour and 30 minutes and you meet three times a week (as opposed to 3x a week but just 50 minutes each time). The only problem about a 5 week course is not because you don’t have enough time, but because it’s just too short of a time period to expect students to absorb all that material. So basically what they have to do is cut out some of the material you would learn during the normal school year, a few things here and there. If that concerns you then maybe you should reconsider?</p>
<p>What is your major? 5 weeks is inadequate to absorb any material sufficiently–despite good prof’s or even ‘easy’ subjects. Classes meet for longer periods of time, usually twice a week for 3 hours. You <em>will</em> get tried and your attention will deteriorate. You cover 2 weeks of material each week. Bio is probably gonna have LOTS of reading, too. If you are Bio, I would suggest skipping out on taking a major course during summer, b/c chances are you will need to refer back to that knowledge when you hit your upper division classes. </p>
<p>I’ve taken 2 GE’s and 1 major requirement (History of Music-Rock, Math-Linear Algebra/Infinite Series, and Women Studies). The reading’s will probably pile up. Homeowork will probably be around the same as during the normal year, but will vary on the course. The hardest part for me was not having enough time to absorb the material. Your brain can only digest a fixed amount of material at a time. Midterms will come about ~2-3 weeks into the course. By then you’ll probably cover LOTS of material, but been in class for a mere 2-3 weeks. Its tough and extremely intense. </p>
<p>Majority of students at summer session are either trying to get ahead (ie doing GE’s), catching up (just recently changed majors) or retaking courses. </p>
<p>I hope that helps, its honestly about what you want to do. I would go to IVC, its WAY cheaper, here you will pay ~$270 per unit, and fee’s are WAYYYY too much.</p>
<p>Are you a MCB major at Berkeley? Are you looking to cover the Bio1A material?</p>
<p>I would take a CC course that transfers to UCB. It is cheaper and you get credit for it at UCB. The stats class might transfer over from UCI to UCB but I doubt the bio will. </p>
<p>Check assist.org before taking the class.</p>
<p>I have taken Neurobiology and Human Physiology as 5 week biology courses. Honestly, I found them sufficient. I took them over the summer because my undergraduate research dealt with electrophysiology and neurobiology and found that they adequately prepared me to understand the topics better. Even when I was taking review courses for the MCAT, the I understood everything in both topics. But then again, I did do the suggested reading during the summer course.</p>
<p>Even though it is 5 weeks, its the same amount of material (minus a chapter or two) in a shorter period of time. It requires more discipline when you’re actually doing it, but I still was in the top 10% of my peers when I took the 10-week corresponding laboratory courses for those classes.</p>
<p>“But I feel the stronger and more motivated students I would be with at UCI would make taking courses there a more worthwhile experience.”</p>
<p>You become a statistic at UCI. The biology classes range from 100-200+ students in the summer as well. The only interaction you’ll have is during the discussion section once a week, but even then, it is a brief 5 minute activity tops. It’ll be more competition because the classes are curved and you are being curved with other UC students (UCLA,SD,B) who are here for the summer. I guess that could be used as a motivator though ;)</p>