Question about CalSo orientation?

<p>Is it absolutely necessary to go to the CalSo orientation? I'm in a really bad situation and the dates for it aren't at very good times for me, since it's directly in the middle of the summer. I live extremely far away from Cali so I really don't want to deal with the price of airfare for TWO roundtrips, one for CalSo and the second for the beginning of the school year =S Is the main thing for CalSo signing up for classes? Is that difficult to accomplish by yourself online?</p>

<p>Nope, I registered online as an OOS student my first year here.</p>

<p>I believe that CalSO provides an opportunity to pre-register for Fall 2006 classes. If</a> you can't go, just be sure to register online when it becomes available to do so, and come to Welcome Week on Aug. 20-25, as classes start on Monday, Aug. 27th.</p>

<p>CalSO[/url</a>]
[url=<a href="http://welcomeweek.berkeley.edu/%5DWelcome">http://welcomeweek.berkeley.edu/]Welcome</a> Week
</p>

<p>You will be able to register for you courses after all the CalSO sessions have passed. Meaning you will get whatever is left.</p>

<p>Aren't there CalSOs throughout the summertime?</p>

<p>There are CalSo 7 or 8 sessions in June and July.</p>

<p>Freshman programs
The two day CalSO Freshman Programs begin with check-in from 7:30am to 8:45am on the first day and end at 1pm on the second day. Sessions are offered in June and July. The fee to attend is $185 and will be billed to your CARS account. Information includes:[ul][<em>]Academic advising and assistance
[</em>]Course enrollment (first 10.5 units) through Tele-BEARS
[<em>]Student service presentations
[</em>]Interaction with staff and faculty
[<em>]Campus tours
[</em>]In-depth discussions of campus issues
[li]Personal insights about Cal from current undergraduates[/ul]Freshman dates/college sessions[/li]You will only be able to sign up for dates represented by your school or college. </p>

<p>June 5-June 6 (Letters & Science)
June 9-June 10 (Letters & Science)
June 12-June 13 (Chemistry, Environmental Design, Engineering, Natural Resources)
June 19-June 20 (Letters & Science, Engineering, Natural Resources)
June 23-June 24 (Chemistry, Environmental Design, Engineering, Natural Resources)
June 26-June 27 (Letters & Science)
June 30-July 1 (Letters & Science, Natural Resources) </p>

<p>July 7-July 8 (Letters & Science)
July 10-July 11 (Letters & Science)
July 14-July 15 (Fall Extension)</p>

<p>Do a lot of parents attend CalSo?</p>

<p>Can I bring my parents, spouse, and/or siblings to CalSO?</p>

<p>Parents, spouses, and other adult guests are invited to attend CalSO, but we strongly discourage you from bringing any children under the age of 18 (the parent and guest program generally isn't that much fun for kids). CalSO is first-come, first-served program for all attendees, and our parent and guest programs tend to fill up quickly, so if you would like to bring a parent or guest, please act fast. It is important to note that parent and guest programs are separate from student programs. Parents and guests may not attend the student program.</p>

<p>Unless you need mommie or daddie's "checkbook," leave them at home...</p>

<p>I already read the same info and saw the "parent program" information. That was the reason for the question.</p>

<p>"Unless you need mommie or daddie's "checkbook," leave them at home..."</p>

<p>Untrue.</p>

<p>My parents did and liked it very much, as did a few friends' parents. Most parents do not come and that's fine, too. You won't see them for a lot of the time, even if they come, but they can learn about a lot of stuff that may help you later on.</p>

<p>Does 10.5 mean you can't register for 11? Are there half a unit classes?</p>

<p>My parents didn't go to CalSO, but it sure seemed like a lot did...</p>

<p>The half-unit classes are generally (or all?) PE classes.</p>

<p>Definitely generally PE classes. I've seen a few 1.5 unit courses, and imagine there could be or have been 2.5, 3.5, or 4.5, possibly.</p>

<p>So you can only register for classes online AFTER all the CalSo sessions?? That means nothing is going to be left..oh lord.</p>

<p>I have a few questions about this.</p>

<p>Is CalSO totally different from Orientation or welcome week or whatever it's called? Is this solely a head-start program to get new classes?</p>

<p>Also..</p>

<p>I'm looking to currently sign up but I am confused as to what the MTus and FSas stand for...that might be a dumb question but what does that mean?</p>

<p>Frm the signup site:
Programs Student | Fee Guest | Fee
June 5-June 6, MTu Open | $185 Open | $185
June 9-June 10, FSa Open | $185 Open | $185
June 19-June 20, MTu Full | $185 Open | $185
June 26-June 27, MTu Open | $185 Open | $185
June 30-July 1, FSa Open | $185 Open | $185
July 7-July 8, FSa Open | $185 Open | $185
July 10-July 11, MTu Open | $185 Open | $185</p>

<p>MTu, FSa..eh?</p>

<p>And, I'm looking to sign up June 30 and July 1...do you think classes will fill up in no time since there are several CalSO sessions before it? I don't know. I'm worried that I'll blow 185 PLUS probably a round-trip plane ticket and end up with nothing. Is June 30-July 1 an okay time to sign up? I don't graduate hs until a few days before that session ugh.</p>

<p>CalSO = Cal Summer Orientation, so yes, it's orientation. Welcome Week is the week immediately before the first day of instruction, and is when the new students (as I presume most returning students move in a bit earlier in August if they aren't taking summer session) move in/get "adjusted" to campus/participate in get-to-know-people activities. </p>

<p>MTu = Monday/Tuesday, FSa = Friday/Saturday. CalSO is a two-day (really, one-and-a-half) event (with an optional [additional] extra night stay the night before).</p>

<p>How fast the classes fill up dependent on what classes you are aiming to register. Most Phase I classes (Phase I as in the first 10.5 units of classes you will be able to register for during CalSO) are pretty big, generally speaking. Personally, I think you would be able to get into these big classes. (I know people who have gotten into Chem 1A, Math 1A/1B, Econ 1 [not sure if that's considered a hard class to get in general, though] during Phase I) Getting the ideal timeslots (for labs/discussions, for instance), though, is another story.</p>

<p>My parents only speak spanish. Is that going to be a problem for them?</p>

<p>MTu, FSa..eh?</p>

<p>MTu = Monday and Tuesday</p>

<p>FSa = Friday and Saturday</p>

<p>I don't know the answer to your other question about classes being full bu the end of July... sorry.</p>