<p>3 or 4? 12 units, 15 units, 19 units, or more?</p>
<p>3 classes 13 units. I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to take 4 classes winter quarter, but I didn’t want to be too stressed out right at the beginning.</p>
<p>i think 4 classes (1 fiat lux) with 14 units</p>
<p>3 classes, but ill need to take a PEERS workshop as well.</p>
<p>lol @ peers</p>
<p>3 classes = 12 units</p>
<p>im transferring and i dont wanna stress myself out too much, just relax and get use to the ucla environment. I also wanna get involved in a lot of activities as well :)</p>
<p>why “lol @ peers” zzzboy?</p>
<p>do you really need assistance from peers? it doesnt help you get research, and the workshops are reputedly useless.</p>
<p>im not going to sway you, though.</p>
<p>^were you in the program? or have friends that have been in the program?</p>
<p>Probably 3, maybe with a fiat lux, so 12-14 units.</p>
<p>my roommate last year was in it. he says the workshops are useless. dont know much about his research status.</p>
<p>3 + fiat lux
15 units</p>
<p>zzzboy:
Well dude I had to make a quick decision as to whether i should join PEERS or not and the only information I had at the time was the brochure and information they sent me in the mail. I thought it would be somewhat helpful so I applied. I certainly don’t want to be wasting my time just as much as the next guy. If after a quarter (or year) can you drop out? Or do you sign a contract to remain in the program for the full 2 years?</p>
<p>im sure you can drop it at any time lol. just dont attend anything. but try it out first quarter and see how it is. maybe youll meet some important people…who knows.</p>
<p>Does anyone think that 4 courses/20 units is more manageable for social science/humanities than for the sciences? I am a political science major, btw.</p>
<p>I took 3 classes every quarter my freshman year and this fall I’m still taking 3 classes, 15 units total. Haha I’m such a nub :X</p>
<p>Oh yeah and about PEERs. I was in the program. You can PM me for more info, but basically Fall Quarter you have to attend two 2-hour “workshops” from like 4:30-6PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays and you have a “seminar” on Tuesday afternoon.</p>
<p>First of all, the “seminar” is crap. It’s basically one hour of a “lecture” that teaches you “How to study for a test,” and “How not to be depressed after getting your first C, D, or F.” Complete waste of time and extremely frustrating. And the worst part is, they’re mandatory! You miss more than 1 and you get dropped from the program.</p>
<p>The “workshops” are nothing more but tutoring sessions, only you don’t get tutored! You go into a small classroom with probably 20 people and the PEERs TA’s will give you worksheets (chemistry/math, depending on which workshop it is). The worksheets are essentially just like homework problems, only there are no solutions, so the only way to know the right answer is if you ask the really smart guy in your class. The TA’s will explain how to do the problem if you ask them, but buddy there are 20 students in the class, good luck with that. The workshops are also a complete waste of time as it is mandatory and missing more than 2 or 3 will get you dropped from the program.</p>
<p>Oh and here is the worst part!! At least once a quarter you have to attend a PEERs event. And yes, you MUST attend them, they do check your attendance! The events are usually in the evening from like 6-8 PM (woo, there goes hanging out with friends and 2-3 hours of study time). It sucks big time when you have a midterm the next day as well. And no, studying for a midterm is not an acceptable excuse for them. The events I went to were a poster convention, where you meet UCLA seniors who are doing research. They show you pictures/posters of their research and explain exactly what they are doing. In addition, once a quarter you must meet with a PEERs counselor who will “plan your schedule for you” and will also warn you about stuff like academic probation. Be wary of the counselors, for they are very ignorant. I don’t advise you listen to him/her.</p>
<p>This my experience:
Fall quarter I took Chem14A (Lavelle), Math 1 (Pre Cal), and GE Cluster 60A (60s Cluster). When planning my schedule with my counselor, I told her I would take Chem14B, Math 3A, and a GE. She told me, in a rather melodramatic tone, that I could not take Chem14B because I had not taken Math 3A yet. Earlier in the quarter, Prof. Lavelle said that anyone can enroll in Chem14B as long as they are taking or are CO-TAKING Math 3A. Even on the website it says that! My counselor told me that Lavelle was WRONG and that the site needed UPDATING. So prior to winter quarter enrollment, I was freaking out on what to do cause I really wanted to take Chem14B, I didn’t want to be behind. Finally at the last minute, probably a day or two before enrollment, she emails me saying “Oh sorry, turns out you could take Chem14B while taking Math3B. My mistake.” (not verbatim, but it was a really short one sentence email with a simply ‘My mistake, sorry.’)</p>
<p>OHHHHH and also a very cruel and evil thing they do. During 0 Week (this is the week you’re suppose to have fun with your new friends, rush Greek, and simply ENJOY UCLA without any worries of classes!) they make you attend a mandatory 2-3 hour seminar where a UCLA researcher talks about his research project. For us, the project was about plants and conserving energy or something like that. Again, it really ruined some of 0 Week for me cause my friends all went out to Westwood that night and I was stuck in a stupid boring lecture that nobody ever talked about again.</p>
<p>As for “HEYY PEERS HELPS ME GET INTO RESEARCH THOUGH!!” Um…it’s kind of a lie. Not being racist, just giving out the facts here, but you only have a good chance of nailing a research job with PEERs if you’re Hispanic or Black. Tough luck if you’re Asian or White. You wanna know evidence that supports that? All the “successful” PEERs students that are juniors and seniors that they make you meet are all Hispanic or Black! No Asians!! No Whites!!</p>
<p>Overall, PEERs is stupid, a waste of time, and it will simply reduce your life span by giving your brain a tremendous amount of headache and your body high blood pressure from the intense anger you get from dealing with their stupid mandatory events, workshops, and “seminars.”</p>
<p>Oh and to answer your question, if you get accepted to PEERs, you CAN try out the program for 1 quarter and drop out the next. Do yourself the favor, don’t even apply and just enjoy your first quarter of college.</p>
<p>^haha thanks im quitting that</p>
<p>Well Im black so woot! Lol.
Quite frankly, its not just about that, if you go through all that crap you can still put on medical school applications that you were part of the program, which will look good, it looked good when you applied didn’t it? And nonetheless, say you stick it out, and dont get a research job, cant you get letter of recommendations later on, when applying to grad school</p>
<p>^hmmm you make a good point, i’ll weigh it out for a quarter then and hang out w/ peer homies after lectures</p>