<p>Taking classes such that they fill up all/nearly all your 20.5 units, then dropping one or two of the least interesting/hardest/time consuming/unimportant/highest curved ones within the first two to three weeks?</p>
<p>Yes, that’s a good idea in general, though you’ll want to drop very quickly or you will get overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Seems like an interesting idea. Go for it!</p>
<p>That’s what I always try to do. Another thing instead of trying to fill up to 20.5 units is stack two classes that you’re interested in during one time slot so that right before school starts you can decide what you want to take without worrying about not getting into the class. Then when you decide, you can drop what you don’t want.</p>
<p>Considering the sheer amount of burn most classes have, I’d be surprised if a good chunk of the student body didn’t do this.</p>
<p>No harm, no foul. Just MAKE SURE you know when the drop deadline is for the classes. There are some classes with early dates, too! And be sure to drop yourself, because you can’t rely on the professors to do it for you, no matter what they say their drop policy is.</p>
<p>How do you find out what the drop deadline is?</p>
<p>Week five for most classes, but a few are Early Drop Deadline (EDD) and must be dropped by the Friday midnight of week two. Here is the most current list of EDD classes:</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley Registrar : Early Drop Deadline Courses](<a href=“http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Scheduling/edd.html]UC”>http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Scheduling/edd.html)</p>
<p>Bio 1A/B, Physics 7A/B and 8A/B plus a smattering of language and other classes with very high demand. </p>
<p>The listing from schedule.berkeley.edu will also mention EDD if the class is one of the few.</p>
<p>Dropping after 2 weeks leads to a $10 charge per class, even if it’s PE, seminar, decal, etc. It adds up if you do that each semester.</p>
<p>so your best bet is to drop before 2 weeks regardless</p>