<p>Hey!</p>
<p>So I have three subjects right now which most of the UCLA peeps here described as easy. Does PP10A one of the easiest classes? Is it as easy as say, Poli Sci 40 with Schwartz?</p>
<p>If I wanted to have a 3.7-above GPA my first term, would it be harder with PP10a?</p>
<p>I want to minor in public policy so even if the subject is hard, I need to face it- but I'd rather adjust first this fall before taking any "hard" classes for my intended major/minor.</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I recently graduated with a minor in public affairs (public policy focus). PP10A with Stoll was actually one of my first classes after transferring in. I ended up getting an A+ in his course, but not because the class was easy, I put the work in. From what I’ve heard PS40 with Schwartz is extremely easy, so 10A is bound to be more difficult. Whether it will affect your ability to maintain a high GPA is completely dependent on you, so I can’t answer that question. I would encourage you to focus on taking interesting and challenging courses rather than focusing on GPA though, especially if you want to go to graduate school. </p>
<p>In his class we had a midterm and a final, as well as 3 policy memos. I remember the midterm average being pretty low, but if you study you’ll be fine. As for the policy memos, they were about 5 pages each. But he didn’t do a great job of explaining how they should be formatted (they are quite different than a traditional essay). You should expect to be able to find this information on your own (i.e. the internet). Also be prepared to do a bit of research and learn to use the various resources (Kris Kasianovitz is the librarian on campus who can help you with this). For example, you might have to shuffle through data from the Congressional Budget Office to use as a citation in one of your memos. I think the class average ended up being something like a B or B+, but Stoll is the guy to take this class with. </p>
<p>Hope this info helps, and good luck.</p>
<p>Hey Helo_Harmonics!</p>
<p>thanks for the info! I actually enrolled in his class but I’m waitlisted(7/10). With what you’re saying, I think that I’ll enjoy the subject. I hope I could come off the waitlist though. Are the policy memos kinda like research papers and besides the internet, can you actually ask him or the TAs on how to write the memo?</p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>They are similar to research papers, but they are much more to the point, and you wouldn’t normally make a direct policy recommendation in a research paper. You can always get help from the TAs, to be honest I didn’t really utilize them that quarter. The point is there is more leeway in terms of how you want to format it, and you have to figure that out yourself.</p>