Is this First Semester Schedule Too Much?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>Hi everyone, I will be a first year student at Cal this fall planning on double majoring in Integrative Biology and Political Science. I have heard in many circles that it is best to take only 13 units in your first semester, but I was considering taking 15-16. I was wondering if anyone who is even remotely knowledgeable about Berkeley course load and classes could review my proposed schedule and offer advice/suggestions. I do have a number of AP credits and a few community college units as well, but I feel that a double major does not lend itself to a light course load, especially at a public institution (I am Regents if that matters to anyone, so I will get priority registration beginning in Phase II this year).</p>

<p>Anyways, here is the schedule I'm thinking of:</p>

<p>Bio IB/Lab (4 units) - Integrative Bio prereq
History 4a (4 units) - Poli Sci prereq, breadth requirement
Math 1a (4 units) - Integrative Bio prereq
Nutrition 10 (3 units) - Elective
Ethnic Studies 24 (1 unit, P/NP) - Freshman Seminar (Kind of... optional? May or may not take)</p>

<p>Does this seem like a reasonable schedule? Should I be focusing more on fulfilling breadth requirements than major prereqs? (I do not have to take the first semester of R/C due to AP scores and am waiting on my AP Lit scores to see if I have to take the second semester. I have also fulfilled Entry Level Writing, Quantitative Reasoning, and American History and Institutions).</p>

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<p>I think your schedule is fine, since the most important thing is that you didn’t go over more than 2 science/math classes in your first semester.</p>

<p>As for the freshmen seminar, is this something you really want to take? or would it fill any requirements? Because I found that in my first semester, I took a very similar schedule to yours and also took a freshmen seminar unrelated to my major (MCB) and although it was interesting, I found it really boring eventually because I wasn’t required to take it and there was no letter grade so it wouldn’t boost my GPA at all. Just make sure you enjoy it, because freshmen seminars are just fun classes, you don’t really learn anything in depth. To be honest, I would recommend a DeCal over a Freshman Seminar, but that’s just me.</p>

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<p>Thank you :slight_smile: I will look into DeCal courses.</p>

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<p>What AP credit and transferable CC courses (see <a href=“http://www.assist.org”>http://www.assist.org</a> ) do you have?</p>