<p>I am an incoming freshman at UCSD's Roosevelt College. I just wanted to know what to expect in September. I'm undecided about my major, but it will be in the social science department (PolySci or Psych) definitely not a science or engineering major.
1.I want to know what teachers I should get for my GE's and also what TA's, because they grade most of the work anyways, and what classes, if any, are GPA boosters.<br>
2. Also, I hear from some people that the people at UCSD are anti-social, but then I hear from others that it is easy to find parties if you just look and that the people at UCSD are generally friendly. I'm not looking to go crazy, but I do want to have fun.<br>
3. Did anyone go to the Wilderness Orientation, and did you like it?</p>
<p>Thanks in advanced for answering my questions</p>
<p>*Please only answer if you are a current UCSD student or UCSD alum</p>
<ol>
<li>First, you need to figure out what GEs you’ll be taking. Then, using the Tritonlink class schedule, you figure out which professors are teaching each class during a specific quarter. Finally, you can go to ratemyprofessor.com to see reviews. This has been a good strategy for me. You generally don’t get to choose your TAs though, just a warning. If you get a bad one - you either transfer into a different section or you’re stuck. if the class is full, you’re definitely stuck.</li>
<li>Go greek if you want to be social and have fun! It definitely makes the campus seem smaller, I love it.</li>
<li>I have heard mixed reviews.</li>
</ol>
<p>@ucsandiego915 Thank, I was thinking about going greek, but I never really considered by self the sorority girl type, and the negative stereotype that they are shallow and stuck up deters me from joining. If I do decide to rush should i do it my first quarter or should I hold off until by second or even sophomore year, and what is the best sorority to rush.</p>
<p>there are so many girls in my chapter and in other sororities who aren’t typical sorority girls. The stereotypes are often false and perpetuated by others. You should definitely at least go through recruitment and see if you like it, the worst that can happen is you drop out - not a big deal, it’s non binding! The only thing you lose is your fee which I think is around $30? You’ll still be able to make friends in your recruitment group.
All the sororities here are amazing, and if you go through panhellenic recruitment you’ll meet girls from all of them. More info here: <a href=“http://www.panhellenicucsd.org%5B/url%5D”>www.panhellenicucsd.org</a>.</p>
<p>I am personally really glad I rushed my freshman year. Every year 2nd years go through that really regret not doing it their first year. It is so much fun and I’ve met lifelong friends, as cheesy as that sounds.</p>
<p>I know ucsandiego915 is a sorority girl but… honestly no one can really recommend what the “best” sorority to rush for is. Rushing isn’t binding, it’s basically you getting to know more about a sorority. So I suggest you look around and “shop” around. Rush week is an entire week so you could rush different sororities. You’ll find some that are cool and totally your type but others might not be your style. It’s hard to tell you what sorority would be best for you. Either way, going greek is pretty awesome ^^.</p>
<p>But you don’t have to be greek in order to have fun.</p>
<p>@xpenguin Thanks, I have a couple questions about rushing.
Is there only one rush week or can your rush during the second quarter?
Can you rush during fall quarter and then defer until winter quarter?
Is it hard to balance school work and sorority life? I have heard from other people that sorority girls have some of the highest GPA’s, but I find that hard to believe.</p>
<p>I know I mentioned this before but if anyone has any different answers to by first set of questions I would love to hear them, and it does not have to be about greek life (although that’s fine too). I just want to know as much information as possible before I leave in the fall.</p>
<p>Only a couple sororities have winter and spring rush. To maximize your options and meet all the chapters, you have to rush in the fall. There is no such thing as a deferred bid. And yes, the panhellenic GPA is higher than the all-campus GPA because we have study hours, etc.</p>
<p>Great advice xpenguin! It’s true, you have to wait until you meet them to find the best one for you.</p>
<p>You can rush during the second and third quarter… it’s just that not every sorority will be recruiting then.
You can’t defer a bid.
It depends on your major. Honestly, some majors are harder than others and if you have a relatively easy major that requires very little studying, it’s a lot easier to maintain a high GPA in that major than one which requires a lot of studying. Balancing school and social life is a skill that you’ll learn in college. </p>
<p>Oh and do look at sororities with open eyes. The Hollywood stereotypes that they have been given will break when you discover what the sororities are like.</p>
<p>2) I always felt people at UCSD were much more open and willing to meet others as opposed to people from high school. You may see people eating or walking around campus alone, but I feel this is more of an independent respect-for-other-people’s-and-your-own time sort of thing rather than antisocial behavior.</p>
<p>If you are rushing and pledging, ready yourself to do some last minute studying. Some of my friends did not have that much time to study since rushing + pledging were time consuming. Many people don’t do too well academically fall quarter.</p>
<p>But definitely do go out of your way to meet and talk with people fall quarter. It does get a little cliquey when winter + spring quarter comes around.</p>
<p>i’m an incoming freshman also, but when I visited the campus a while ago I got to talk to a handful of students and imo, UCSD students are quite friendly and easygoing. I did also bump into some not-so-nice or aloof people but they’re in the minority. most people were enjoying each other’s company and I didn’t get any feeling whatsoever that the student body in general was anti-social, stuck-up, etc. </p>
<p>ie. when I got lost on campus, i would stop people in the street who were having a conversation and they helpfully and politely pointed me in the right direction. no one acted annoyed or impatient. overall, i’m looking forward to ucsd. my visit definitely left me a good impression and makes me feel confident about getting along with people. just my $ 0.02 :)</p>
<p>EDIT: I second what MiniatureDrone said about people being so much more open than high school students. at least that’s what struck me about UCSD students. it’s just a much happier, freer atmosphere than high school or at least the one I went to.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for the imput. I had a feeling that the people bashing UCSD were just haters. Everytime I have been to UCSD people have seemed friendly, but after hearing all of the negative feedback I was like “Am I missing something?”
Also @MinatureDrone did your friends rush at a Philhellenic sorority or one of the others ones b/c either ucsandiego915 or xpenguin said they had study hours.</p>
<p>Hey guys,
I have another questions about classes-upper division v. lower division. I know lower division classes are the classes with two digit numbers and the upper division classes are 100+ classes. I wanted to know if upper division classes are significantly harder compared to lower division classes. I was thinking about taking a 100 class- will that be hard? Also is it a good idea to start off with lower division classes and work your way up or does it matter.
<em>I am specifically taking about Regional Specialization
*</em>Sorry if this question is confusing, wasn’t sure how to word it</p>