<p>I am transferring this coming fall, and I am realizing that I may want to stay a year longer just to get the most out of the experience and post-pone applying to grad school. I want to go to grad school, but I am still really unsure about what I want to do.</p>
<p>I am realizing that 2 years is an amount of time in which I will have to take 18+ units every semester; of upper-divsion courses. I am not sure this will be doable for me if I want to be involved and make the most of my time at a 4 year. I want a job, internship, time for clubs, study abroad, volunteering...? Anyone else freaking out about this?</p>
<p>It will take me 2 years to graduate after I transfer. Though I’m debating about staying an extra year even though I really don’t need to. I will probably cram and make the most out of my two years then graduate and apply to cpp’s master program. I’m leaning towards 2 because I really have no interest in sororities. At the most, I would do it so I have enough seniority to be a president at a club but idk how likely is that. </p>
<p>It will take me 3 years…CS major and lots of hard upper-division courses. I don’t think I can take more than 3 courses each semester…and also I like to take my time as well…doing internships, clubs etc. which I didn’t have the time to do while I was at my CC.</p>
<p>I’m in a dilemma… I can either graduate in 3 years at UCSD as a CS major or 2 years at UCLA as a cognitive science major (if I get in). I agree that rushing the last 2 years of a full fledged college experience with heavy course-loads every quarter is probably a bad idea. </p>
<p>I think most UCs expect transfer students to graduate in 2 years. I think I heard UCB has some sort of time limit for transfer students to graduate. </p>
<p>Regardless, this is something you would talk over with a counselor when you’re enrolling in classes for the first time.</p>
<p>^ taking 3 classes a semester is below what the excepted UCB STEM major would take. I see nothing wrong in weeding out people who will clog the system. </p>
<p>@bomerr I can see potential problems, as not everyone coming into UC (even Cal) is doing so with equal footing. Whereas one individual may be fully supported by their families, another person may have to work to support and pay for college themselves, or have other life situations which call for a delicate balance of time management (I know single mothers trying to work their way to a better future through college). That coupled with personal preferences for material absorption, you can very well have an issue with strict guidelines on how many units a person must take.</p>
<p>I’m sure a response would be to say that those kinds of people should seek education elsewhere, but I personally find that idea to leave a bad taste in my mouth. IMO everyone, regardless of circumstance, should be free to pursue a caliber of education such as UCB, if they want to put in the time.
Maybe there should be a minimum coursework load… but it should be reasonable enough to accommodate for a wide variety of situations that people may be dealing with in their personal lives.</p>
<p>UCB (at least CoE) will let you take an extra semester if you’re missing enough pre-reqs when you enter, that’s particularly useful for CS. Otherwise you need to petition for extra semesters here.</p>
<p>I’m in a different position from most people on here, I transferred almost two years ago (UCB, EECS). I’m actually on track to graduate this semester (so, 2 years total at UC). Be careful how many units you take, even 3 technical classes can really be a handful… put in a humanities or two, if you can. Summer session is also great for catching up or making schedules lighter, especially if there are lower division courses (like 61ABC at Cal) that you’re missing. If you’re seriously behind on coursework, look into taking classes the summer before you enter the school. Berkeley has a program called Transfer Edge, it’s specifically aimed at new transfers/freshmen who want to take summer classes. I’m not sure if other UCs have a program like that, but either way it should be open enrollment over the summer.</p>
<p>That said, I wish I had decided to stay a bit longer and take another semester… there are some amazing classes here that I didn’t get a chance to take, and some semesters were pretty stressful.</p>
<p>@Freetofly112
That is a pretty narrow point of view. The person spending an unlimited amount of time to purse his education isn’t do that in a vacuum, they are depriving another student a chance to pursue their education. A student who might I add is even more “qualified” given that they can finish on time.</p>
<p>And that is what it all comes down to “qualification.” If one person has obstacles that hinder them than so be it. Life isn’t fair and we have to work with what we have. </p>
<p>@bomerr I don’t believe it’s a narrow point of view at all. I understand the concern of depriving another applicant the chance of education by stalling in the system, however, the extreme scenario of an unlimited amount of time to pursue a degree is not consistent with what I wrote. I have agreed that there should perhaps be a limit, but I only want that limit to take into consideration the different situations a person might be dealing with. Perhaps the limits should be ascribed dependent on each individual scenario a student may present. I do not believe that someone taking 3 classes should be deprived of a high caliber of education simply because of the course load they find themselves constricted to. Just because life is not fair in many aspects, does not mean that it is okay to allow that unfairness to dominate, especially when there is an ability to mediate the circumstance.
There are many problems that could present themselves in a system by which only the most free to study are allowed to study at high caliber institutions. This being, partly, that the typical type of person with no need to say, work, is coming from a supportive environment (family). With that in mind, by preferring them over others, we help perpetuate a cycle in our social discourse which does not help those with a lower socio-economic upbringing to advance in the community.</p>
<p>Perhaps, in the end, we simply disagree! That is okay, we all have our different perspectives.</p>
<p>@bomerr you are simply being unrealistic, but that’s okay. Sure you might be able to finish in 2 years. But that does not make you more qualified than another.</p>
<p>One thing I have learned in life is that if people want something bad enough they will go out of their way to make it happen. In this case, that means if a person needs to stop working and take on loans (like I myself will do) then they will. </p>
Summer session is also great for catching up or making schedules lighter, especially if there are lower division courses (like 61ABC at Cal) that you’re missing. If you’re seriously behind on coursework, look into taking classes the summer before you enter the school. Berkeley has a program called Transfer Edge, it’s specifically aimed at new transfers/freshmen who want to take summer classes. I’m not sure if other UCs have a program like that, but either way it should be open enrollment over the summer.</p>