my first semester at berkeley, advise me...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>hello, i'm starting in spring and these are the classes i'm prepared to take.</p>

<p>Math 1B<br>
English R1A<br>
UGBA<br>
Classics 28<br>
Physical ed 2 (volleyball) .5 units</p>

<p>total 15.5 units</p>

<p>I would like to know your opinions on this schedule as in, is this plausible and a "comfortable" schedule. </p>

<p>I heard Math 1B is a KILLER course, with the highest flunk rate of all mathematics courses. My roommate even told me stories about people who failed it several times before passing. I passed out of Math 1a with AP Calc AB, but that was in highschool and I'm wondering is Math 1B going to be the insanity that I hear it to be? </p>

<p>With the other classes I'm comfortable because English R1a, people need to take it if they didn't pass out of it with English AP. Classics 28 my sister took it and said it was fun. UGBA, no idea, but my sister took it and was fine with it. Physical ed 2 (volleyball) I'm guessing I don't have to be a pro, but I also hope there aren't people who have played volleyball all their lives and join this intermediate/ beginner class?</p>

<p>In general, my roommate has told me Berkeley is VEEEERY VEEERY HARD (he's an o-chem major), and I would like to know your thoughts on this too.</p>

<p>Thanks for your comments...</p>

2

<p>Clarifications:</p>

<p>His major is o-chem, that is why he says it's very very hard. However, I'm not saying Berkeley is easy.</p>

<p>What you earned on you AP Calc exam or grade you earned in that high school class no longer matters.</p>

<p>Classics 28 fun? That's weird. Maybe because I have a different definition of fun :p.</p>

<p>UGBA 10 (if you mean that)- course curve designed to weed students, esp. those who want to apply for Haas.</p>

3

<p>about the AP Calc passing out, I know it doesn't matter, but should I have taken Math 1a here instead?</p>

4

<p>it's a personal decision. i chose to start with 1a, but i hadn't taken calc since junior year. the other thing about 1b is which teacher did you get?</p>

5

<p>my teacher is ratner i think... i may follow my roommate's example and study like crazy before class has even started just to be sure i'm alright...</p>

6

<p>not to scare you, but i think ratner is supposed to be the hardest of the three 1b professors (or at least according to my math gsi from last semester)</p>

7

<p>^ yep...other sources holds the same opinion.</p>

8

<p>hey, wat are the math requirements at UCB i applied as a poli-sci major, and i gotta good shot of getting in, but i hate math, i mean really, hate it with passion (at least things like algebra, trig and w/e) do u have to take 2 semesters 3 semesters of math, or is it less than that?</p>

9

<p>All of the smart Calculus students in high school seemed to find 1b very challenging.</p>

<p>I need to take English R1A eventually. How is that course?</p>

10

<p>i took math 1b first semester, it's basically a more in depth version of second semester of bc. if you did ok in bc, you should be fine in 1b with a certain amount of work/studying etc. </p>

<p>i found math 1b fine and those rumors of it being the "hardest math class ever" are really blown out of proportion imo. make sure you have a good gsi tho.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
hey, wat are the math requirements at UCB i applied as a poli-sci major, and i gotta good shot of getting in, but i hate math, i mean really, hate it with passion (at least things like algebra, trig and w/e) do u have to take 2 semesters 3 semesters of math, or is it less than that?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>For the poli sci major, as long as you fulfill the quantitive reasoning requirements, you don't have to take anything.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I need to take English R1A eventually. How is that course?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You can take many different classes to fulfill the reading and composition requirement. They range across many subjects, and have the similiarities of lots of writing assignments, text reading, and paper editing. How enjoyable and hard it is depends on the prof/GSIs/TAs, how you get along with them, how much you enjoy what you're studying, and you.</p>

12

<p>wat are quantatative reasoning requirements?</p>

13

<p>oops, my math 1b teacher is actually Hutchingson not Ratner, I'm very glad. I didn't take Calc BC, but rather Calc AB in highschool. I don't know if taking math 1b was a good idea, since I took the math 1a part in school.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
he's an o-chem major

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I wasn't aware that Berkeley had a major in OChem.</p>

15

<p>i think people like to make things sound more dire than they actually are, it's not like every single person fails math 1b (i know lots of people who seem to have done well). it's a hard class because a lot of it like methods of integration and sequences/series is about seeing some manipulation you're supposed to do so if you don't see the manipulation you don't get any points. In short, it's a little different from more familiar math where you can just sort of recognize a problem type and follow an algorithm. Also, i thnk the professors might set the curve to be harsh because it's "supposed" to be the math weeder.</p>

<p>math 1b is generally thought to be the hardest lower division math. Supposedly it's harder than math 53/54/55. and as for math 1a-math 1b, i don't think math 1a helps that much because the hard stuff in 1b (the stuff i mentioned earlier, methods of integration and sequences/series) aren't really taught aggressively in math 1a.</p>