Who told the freshman you know?
“were told” is not the same as “are almost forced” in:
My D was not “almost forced” to anything. Her first semester (number of units): LATIN 1 (4), COLWRIT R4B (4), COMPSCI 61A (4), COMPSCI 70 (4); second semester: EL ENG 20N (4), COMPSCI 61B (4), MATH 128A (4), MATH 172 (4).
She started her RA the summer after the second semester.