<p>I wonder how hard it is for an incoming freshman to take Math 53, CS 61A and Physics 7B, plus an easy AC class all in the fall semester? I heard that classes with labs like CS and Physics take up a lot of time and freshmen generally take a light load in the first semester, but my CalSO counselor told me that it is a lot but nevertheless doable. What should I do? Any input is highly appreciated!</p>
<p>By the way, I'm an EECS major. I'm very good at math and science and my AP scores will probably put away Math 1A, Math 1B and Physics 7A.</p>
<p>It's extremely doable. Physics 7B doesn't really have a lab. You show up and it's more of a discussion. I did 53 and 7b my first semester, along with 3 other classes and it was fine. Have you taken E&M? If you did, you probably won't even have to go to the 7b lectures. Math lectures are always boring so you can skip all of those lectures too. Come to think of it, I heard 61a lectures are pretty boring too. If you have programming experience, it should be a breeze.</p>
<p>I'm thinking of doing Math 53, CS 61A, Chem 1A plus 3 more classes (E92, E 10 and one more), first semester, so you're not alone :)
Good to hear that it's possible to do it.</p>
<p>I really dislike seeing comments like phroz3n's. I will reiterate: Never listen to a person who tells you that a class is easy, or "a breeze," unless you truly trust that person.</p>
<p>Orochi, I probably would not have done very well if I had taken Math 53, CS 61A and Physics 7B my first semester. cppdev, I probably would not have done very well if I had taken EE 40, CS 61A and Math 54 my first semester. But that's me.</p>
<p>The time required for each of these classes is not absurd, so the primary issue is probably your adjustment to college life. If you're sure this won't be an issue, then you'll probably be just fine. Otherwise, you might as well go for the extra classes and just drop a course if you feel overwhelmed.</p>
<p>What's wrong with what I said? Let me explain what I mean. They asked if it was manageable...I answered it was indeed manageable. I said the class should be easy if you've had programming experience. If you understand the concepts of for, while, if loops, and know about recursion and everything else they teach, you should be fine. If you've never programmed before, I would say it's not as easy and I recommend going to lectures, labs, etc.</p>
<p>Same with physics. The hard thing about E&M is understanding the concepts. It's not really calculation-intensive. If you've taken E&M in high school and understand the concepts of E-fields, magnetic fields, etc, then the class shouldn't be so hard. If it's your first time learning it, then yeah it'll be difficult.</p>
<p>That being said, I recommend overloading. You never know what you're capable of. If it turns out to be too much, simply drop a few classes. It never hurts to sign up for more.</p>
<p>k_twin, I think that's manageable as well. Are you an international student? From what I've seen, international students seem to have no problem taking a lot of classes. I did the same number of classes first semester, though I don't know how tough E10 is since it's a new class.</p>
<p>phroz3n, I accidentally missed a lot of Math 53 lectures, which is why I failed the final. Failing finals is not fun. Lectures are very useful for many students. "Math lectures are always boring so you can skip all of those lectures too," eh? You could skip lectures. That doesn't mean others can. I think you need to be more careful with your recommendations.</p>
<p>(And again, I'm not a lightweight. I'm staying at Cal for my MS.)</p>
<p>I'm going to have to disagree with phroz3n here. Unlike him, I recommend underloading, at least for your first semester. 3 techs is not only tough, but you're doing advanced techs like 53 and 7B whereas most first-years do 1A, 1B, and 7A. CS61A is also a class that many complains about. It's DOABLE, but you're not rushing to get out of college in 3 years (or are you) and you're ahead of the game already. I'd say take the first semester to get used to the surroundings, how college works, the classes, make some friends, and if you feel it's too easy, then kick it up a notch your second semester. But like phroz3n said, you could always sign up for this right now and decide to drop one later (5th week is deadline except for 7B), if you decide it's too tough. However, usually midterms are later, and that's when things get really busy, so if you're thinking of dropping a class you do need to think ahead.</p>