<p>Offering my advice/willing to answer your questions about UCSD!</p>
<p>Me:
Sr. Psychology major, Sixth College
SoCal native, female
Right now applying to grad schools for Social Work/ Counseling Psychology</p>
<p>After 4 years at UCSD I think I've done some of everything here. (Not a bookworm)
Def some things I would have done differently (classes, housing, clubs etc.)
Which profs are good/bad, classes worth taking, extracurriculars I WISH I had done for my grad school apps now. Pros and Cons about UCSD, etc.</p>
<p>If you've got a good question, not a generic "chance me" Esp. Questions about Psychology or Sixth college------ Let me know! And Good Luck on apps. :D</p>
<p>I have no idea if you would be able to answer this, but how hard would it be to graduate in 4 years as an Earth Sciences major in Warren? With the SIO lower division requirements and P of C’s, I’m worried. Haha</p>
<p>in general warren is not very hard in terms of GE’s. And I dont know any earth science majors that had huge problems making it out in four years. </p>
<p>For Earth Sci: Getting a lab job at Scripps SIO is huge though to getting employed after graduation, rec letters, experience for grad school. Those jobs are super competetive usually you do them junior or senior year---- so keep ur GPA up now if you want one of those later. </p>
<p>Make a 4 year plan now and be familiar with classes you’ll need to take. Some classes are only offered certain quarters and that can be a barrier toward grad at the end. </p>
<p>Get you GE’s done at Community College!!! You can take them in your hometown over summer. Just get as many as possible out of the way!!! OR once ur at UCSD you can take some at the nearby community colleges online or night class.</p>
<p>Thanks! For the record, I’m a HS Senior right now, hoping to go to UC San Diego. I put Warren first and am just kind of thinking ahead.</p>
<p>So I know you need 3 upper division courses for P of Cs, but you only need 2 of your courses for a P of C to be taken at UC San Diego. Does that mean I can take an upper division course at a CC to meet the requirement? Do CC’s even offer upper division courses? Haha</p>
<p>look online for ucsd graduation requirements for your major. On that page there’s a column for courses required for your major-- Usually these cannot be taken at cc’s but if you have something in mind you could talk to ur academic advisor and petition it.</p>
<p>The other 2 columns on the page have courses required by your college (warren) and courses required for all UCSD undergrads. These CAN be taken at cc’s. Check ASSIST.ORG to see transferable courses. I always try to ask an academic advisor online thru “VAC” (once you are admitted) to double check that the cc class i want to take will count.</p>
<p>I dont think CC’s offer courses that transfer as upper-div to UCSD. Or at least if they do I havent found any…If anyone knows of any that would be sweet.</p>
<p>“extracurriculars I WISH I had done for my grad school apps now.”
details on that please? o:</p>
<p>also are there any community service clubs that you recommend that are more focused on actual community service than socializing? (thats the impression I have from circle K anyway)</p>
<p>What course would you recommend to fulfill the Ethics requirement in Sixth College? I’d like something easy, but preferably not too boring either. It’s the only GE I haven’t taken.</p>
<p>this is a general question but can you elaborate on what u mean when u said “I would have done differently (classes, housing, clubs)” like u would participate more or what</p>
<p>I made the mistake of taking a few upper division psycs before taking the intro classes like psyc 103, 104 etc. So I was missing some of the basics taught in the intros. After you have taken some intro courses you shouldn’t have a problem with the upper divisions. Make sure you choose upper divs that you are interested in. I’ve only had a few difficult profs but u can check ratemyprof and the capes when picking classes. Try to repeat profs for future rec letters. All but a few of psyc classes consist of one or two midterms and a final all of which are multiple choice. Generally just alot of memorization but you actually have to go to class (or trade notes w/ a friend) b/c mc questions are tricky questions about something random the prof mentioned on a tangent one day.</p>
<p>I spent years looking for a community service club like you are talking about. Try the top floor of Price Center, above the Loft. There is a tiny community Service office up there- they are very nice but really didn’t have the info I was looking for. They can give you lists of some SD orgs but many on the list are no longer in existence etc. </p>
<p>B/C of the high unemployment rate tons of people are looking for volunteer jobs, either to boost a resume or do something constructive with their time. The Red Cross for example has wait lists to become a volunteer. Organizations are hesitant to take on college volunteers because we only stay a year or so. </p>
<p>I wish I had found an organization back when I was a fresh or soph and stuck with it through college. Then you can show that you have real experience with a non-profit org and really commited your time. Also to get a rec letter from supervisors. </p>
<p>UCSD Education dept has partnerships with some low performing San Diego public schools. Gompers, Lincoln, Preuss… want college student volunteers to tutor or mentor etc. I volunteered in a 7th grade classroom at the Preuss School, but only for a year.</p>
<p>I had a friend who volunteered at the VA hospital- but those jobs are a bit harder to get.</p>
<p>Just pick something and stick with it. good luck!</p>
<p>Eww the ethics req for 6th. I took Ethnic Studies my freshman year and I still remember that awful class. I remember some friends took gender studies and that class drove them crazy too. There is some sort of asian studies class so if ur interested in that it might be ok. They are kinda like CAT class. Ethics is a stupid req that sixth just had to throw in there to make us “cultured”. Pretty much you just have to suffer through it. Sorry :(</p>
<p>Always do the $200 health fee- the student health center is amazingly convenient you’ll be glad you have it!!</p>
<p>Get classes done at community college. (Mesa, and Miramar) are close to UCSD and better than they appear.</p>
<p>Keep track of add/drop “W” deadlines, ending up with a D on ur transcript sucks. </p>
<p>Even if you are totally sure you don’t want to go to grad school. Plan ahead and make it an option anyway by having some prof recs in mind and keeping up ur major GPA at least.</p>
<p>Intramural Sports were really fun you can get a group of friends together or join a random team, I did some volleyball and some flag football. It’s not time consuming but it puts you out of your element. </p>
<p>When looking for off-campus housing jr. year choose something on the Arriba/Nobel shuttle routes. Pick a cheap apt, don’t splurge on La Scala or Venetian. Living in the houses off governor to throw parties etc. is not worth the distance. </p>
<p>Rent a storage locker for summer break- there are some good/cheap ones on Miramar rd. </p>
<p>Get to know the SD community- like volunteering at a clinic or school.</p>
<p>Take random UCSD rec classes- amazing experiences- reduced fee for students- def worth it.</p>
<p>Craft Center Classes too. Photography and Glassblowing are good. </p>
<p>During Freshman year make friends outside your college!!! So when everyone in your dorm building is fighting you’ll have somewhere “far away” to go. </p>
<p>and tons more— let me know if you have a more specific topic :)</p>
<p>Were you able to get a lot of psychology-related lab/experiment jobs? I’m a first year psych major and I want to keep my options open for grad school. Do you have any general advice for that? I’ve been a traditional bookworm and I don’t know how to start finding ECs/research experiences, etc. I checked out Circle K like pinkberry and I also thought that there was a lot more socializing than actual community service.</p>
<p>When u get a chance walk around the psyc building Mandler like where the undergrad psyc office is and around the halls with the profs offices. There are random bulletin boards and flyers about research experiments that profs and grad students are doing and they need assistants. It’s called a “199” i think they usually want junior standing and a GPA of at least 3.0. So you can’t get those until jr/sr year. I never had the chance to do one but if you meet the criteria it’s not too hard to get a 199 position. </p>
<p>And ya circle k is more of a social club. There may be some community service and I guess it’s something to put on an app. but it’s really not focused around psychology.</p>
<p>In my opinion the only downfall of the ucsd psych degree is that the classes are all text based. There is no hands on experience into possible careers… except the 199 positions. For randomish example the sdsu nursing program sends freshman to observe a few of the VA hospital depression support group meetings. </p>
<p>You can try going to a meeting of the “UCSD undergrad psychology club” it’s overseen by prof David Peterzell, I took psyc 102 sensation/perceptions from him. I didn’t love the club but it’s def worth trying and if you stick with it can help meet pysc dept students/faculty.</p>
<p>On the first day of lecture the TA’s usually introduce themselves. Each says what aspect of psych they are focusing on. for example “vision development in infants.” Write these down and when you hear something your interested you can visit that TA’s office hours and chat with them about what grad school is like or what aspect of psyc you’re interested in. Like one of the TA’s i’ve had for 5 different courses over the years. They are a good resource. </p>
<p>One on-campus thing worthwhile: During Fall quarter I did the “A Program” which is new. You go to 4 little seminars during the quarter and get a certificate. The speakers talk about Alcohol abuse, careers involving alcoholics (like a therapist or counselor), effects of alcohol etc. The presentations weren’t amazing but it’s a super easy way to get a certificate.</p>
<p>Winter quarter I think they are offering something similar like a “Counseling Certificate.” To get the forms go to the Campus Legal Services office-- on the top floor of the huge new student services building like above croutons.</p>
<p>Also UCSD Extension offers interesting classes related to careers in psyc. You have to be one of like the first 50 undergrads to show up at the Extension office on a certain morning like the first week of the quarter. And you get a free voucher to take a class. You don’t get UCSD credit. </p>
<p>I kind of randomly picked “Play therapy for children with attachment disorders.” It was one Saturday and really interesting. The other people taking the class were mostly Teachers and Child or Family Therapists— so I got to talk to them about their jobs. Because I teach pre-school in the summers the info was helpful anyway. </p>
<p>With the voucher the class was free. I wish I had done those every quarter.</p>
<p>There’s another ucsd on campus program called “Passport to Leadership.” It’s a bit more time consuming so I wasn’t able to finish it. But I def recommend looking into it. The meetings I went to were good. This certificate is more established and legit so should look good on apps.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m considering adding psych as a minor just for fun and was wondering if you had any recommendations for classes to take. I’m thinking of taking PSYC 3 and 6 for LD, so I can’t take any of the UD classes that require PSYC 60 obviously. The UD classes I’m thinking about choosing from are PSYC: 129, 137, 138, 139, 141, 142, 153, 157, 158, 172, 173, 184, 187, 191. Have you taken any of those classes or are there any classes you’ve taken that I didn’t list that you would recommend?</p>
<p>@$KingsElite$: i just took Psych60, Rickard, class was easy, involves easy math. consists of one midterm and one final that are divided in to two sections: computational and multiple choice (conceptual). Computational sections are easy but multiple choice can be tricky. We didnt use the book at all so everything is out of notes. sometimes Rickard skips steps in his compoutational examples so you may have to refer to the book. Overall the class was easy and i recommend it for an easy A. I also recommend Rickard.</p>
I’ve been a traditional bookworm and I don’t know how to start finding ECs/research experiences, etc. I checked out Circle K like pinkberry and I also thought that there was a lot more socializing than actual community service.</p>