<p>I am a senior i high school and i will be attending Berkeley in the fall. I have a couple of questions that i was hoping to get answered. I have heard that the Political Science major at Berk, while very reputable, is relatively easy to get a good GPA in...Is this true? I am planning on going to med school and i know that you can choose any major you want, however, would Pol Sci be a bad choice for a major. I have heard that getting a 3.7+ GPA in pol sci is not very hard.</p>
<p>You have to put things in perspective. Is getting above a 3.7 easy? I don't think so. You have to do some real studious things for that. Now, relative to engineering, probably, poli sci is fairly easy (although it often requires a different set of skills, a key factor- if you can't read texts well and interpret patterns weel or write well, poli sci isn't easy). They give easier curves, and probably require less of you than an intense engineering schedule. However, they aren't going to hand you a 3.7. Don't expect to get A-s in everything unless you seriously work, do most of your reading, put some time in your essays, ect. Also, your pre-med classes will probably occupy a lot of your time, and if you're considering going to medical school, they look at your "science GPA" alone sometimes, sans major (if it isn't sciences), so these should occupy a lot of your attention. Relative to many sciences, poli sci grades in a more friendly manner, but if you come here, do little work, you should expect a 2.5 at best.</p>
<p>I think the problem is that many high school students do not understand how difficult university work is compared to high school work until they actually take a course.</p>
<p>Dont get me wrong. I know that any major at Berkeley will require a lot work if you are looking for a high GPA. However, do you guys think that pol sci will be RELATIVELY easier to get a higher GPA than say MCB? </p>
<p>For those studying pol sci at Berkeley, on average, how many hours of work is required to get a 3.7+ GPA?</p>
<p>DRab, what do you mean by "real studious things"? how hard is it exactly to get a 3.8.. or even above? :</p>
<p>ab_med, it's not like if u put a certain number of hours into studying you are going to get a certain grade....you might study for weeks before a midterm and still do poorly because of the specific wording of the prompt you are required to answer. furthermore, you might also have a disgruntled GSI grading your paper who doesn't like the way you forget to dot your I's and cross your T's....so don't make the mistake of coming into college thinking that if you merely put in the hours you are guaranteed the grade. Putting in a lot of study hours helps a lot, but brace yourself for grades lower than an A-</p>
<p>Slicmlic, i understand that the # of hours that you study doesn't have a complete correlation with the grade you will get in the class, however, i just wanted to know generally how many hours is required of pol sci majors with high GPA's.</p>
<p>Are there any pol sci majors or any one that knows about the pol sci major at Cal that can offer advice?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Doing the work doesn't guarantee you a high grade in poli sci. It depends on the class and what reading you have to do. Often it is a lot, many classes require 10-15 hours of reading a week in upper division. You can tell how much by going to berkeley's poli sci website and finding the reading list for courses.</p>
<p>If you're a good writer and very parsimonious, its pretty easy to do well. You are probably guaranteed a B if you do your work in poli sci but definitely not an A.</p>
<p>Real studious things? Reading most of your reading, actually spending time on essays, thinking about what you're studying somewhat, studying for tests, and talking to GSIs and professors (usually a good idea). It's nothing you wouldn't expect to find within the idea of "studious." If you do most of your work, remember things fairly well, write decently, and adapt to the style of poli sci writing, and study a bit for exams, you probably will not find it too hard to get a 3.0 in poli sci. Any prediction of work and grades has a lot of variables in it. Stop worrying about it so much. What you should do is enjoy what time you have left in high school, and maybe read a few style books over the summer. Read a book or two to stay sharp. Relax.</p>