<p>I've recently been admitted to UCSD in Muir, and have a couple of questions for current Tritons:</p>
<p>Generally, are class sizes huge? Is it typical to be in a class of say, 200-300 underclassmen? How many people are in the Muir writing sections?</p>
<p>How hard is it to get the classes you want? Do you often have to get on the waiting list?</p>
<p>Would you say that there are chances to discuss, ask questions, and express opinions in a lot of classes...or are you simply a note-taking machine?</p>
<p>How are the Political Science and Economics departments?</p>
<p>Have you seen examples of the state's financial woes affecting you (yeah I mean OTHER than rising tuition lol). Like overcrowded dorms, cancelled class sections, etc.</p>
<p>Still waiting to hear from other colleges, but I am very very interested in SD, and judging from what I've heard on CC and seen on the website, it looks like an awesome place to spend the next 4 years!</p>
<p>Class sizes vary depending on the classes. I’m not sure for PoliSci or Economics, but Biology major classes typically have around 300 people per class, so I would expect those departments to have roughly 150-300. But honestly I have no idea on that. They may be closer to 100 or 50. I didn’t help at all there. Sorry.</p>
<p>Muir writing sections are purposely kept small and have at max 15 people per class section. These small Muir writing classes and discussion sections are where you can talk freely and ask questions, etc. Lectures don’t provide too many opportunities to ask questions, save maybe 2 minutes per class if your professor does it that way.</p>
<p>It will be hard to get the classes you want, as it will be with all public schools. If you have Regents or some other thing that gives you priority registration, that is a huge plus. However, if you don’t, registration periods go by units taken, so freshmen get last pick on everything. The departments try to open up classes as much as possible for freshmen, but it could be problematic. This is probably where the financial woes come in, with limited section offerings restricting which classes you can take. But this is a problem in all public schools, not just UCSD.</p>
<p>I would say in general class sizes are about 200-300, with some upper division classes a lot smaller (anywhere from 20 to 50). The smallest classes I’ve seen and taken so far are upper division psych classes and honors classes. The small general psych classes usually fill up really early (like 45 people on the waitlist for a 50 person class), but the honors courses rarely fill up. It’s also more difficult to get into labs, if you’re a science major, and you usually take your chances on the waitlist. I’m not sure about polisci or econ classes.</p>
<p>I haven’t actually seen huge obvious effects of rising tuition, and I hope the two pass system will help me get into those smaller classes next quarter :)</p>
<p>there are definitely not crowded dorms. the triples were what would be defined as crowded, but it seems they won’t have those anymore (converted back to their original state as doubles it appears).
many classes are around 200-300 people. sometimes there aren’t enough seats (or you have to cross a ton of people to get to the one empty seat).
registering for classes can be a b****.
but that process willbe different in the fall in comparison to how it is right now. they’re doing this two wave process so people get at least 2 courses or something?</p>
<p>I am 2nd year Bioengineering/Biotechnology student. So fare I didn’t have any problems to register for classes. I was only twice on waiting list for chemistry lab and physics lab, but I got those classes with no problem. I don’t have any priority with registration. If you open to every teacher then there is no problem.</p>
<p>@zeebzibah</p>
<p>It’s really not hard to get the classes you want.</p>
<p>@Collgbrwsr</p>
<p>Considering in a lot of classes not that many people show up (I’m in an upper div bio class where maybe 30-40% of the class shows up), it won’t feel as crowded. And most of the time students are too afraid to ask questions so you’ll definitely have every opportunity under the sun to ask questions in class. Large lectures won’t have “discussions” per say but you can always go to your professor’s office hours to discuss things with them.</p>
<p>IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Two-Pass Enrollment - Fall Quarter 2012</p>
<p>Effective May 9, 2012, a new two-pass enrollment process will be implemented for UCSD’s undergraduates to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to enroll in required pre-major, major, and GE courses. </p>
<p>First Pass: During the first pass, students may only enroll in 11.5 units within a specified timeframe. First pass appointment times will have a start and a stop date/time. This gives all undergraduates a better chance to obtain at least two classes toward fulfilling requirements. Wait lists will not be available during the first pass to encourage students to select required courses. Students who do not enroll during their first pass appointment must wait until their second pass appointment to enroll. </p>
<p>Second Pass: Students may enroll up to 19.5 units during their second pass appointment, including wait listed courses. The second pass enrollment will be completed prior to the financial aid disbursement date. This allows financial aid recipients to be enrolled in a minimum of 12 units to receive full funding. As of the first day of instruction, students may enroll in up to 22 units.</p>
<p>Other added benefits:
Appointments assigned between 7 am to 11 pm, Monday - Friday
Appointments assigned on Saturdays
Students will be informed of their appointment date/times for both passes</p>
<p>Good idea in posting that spatel. Many times it’s not hard to get the classes you’re required to take, but many times you’ll end up with a section or a professor who you don’t particularly want because the better classes are filled up. But as spatel’s post says, they’re changing the enrollment policy. This would likely allow you to get your most important classes, but may end up making your schedule look bad. (Lots of gaps)</p>
<p>^ my schedule already looks bad because I have to make room for alternatives to my waitlisted classes and possible extra sections that might open up. I think it’s a little early to list the costs and benefits of the new registration system, considering we haven’t given it a test run yet ^-^;</p>
<p>I’m a PoliSci major. I guess we’ll both see how easy/ hard it is to get classes with the new registration system, but in the past I have never had a problem getting Poli classes. Lower div poli classes are generally 300. Upper divs can be anywhere from 50-300- depending on the class. The graduate poli program is one of the best in the US. There aren’t rankings for the undergrad program. This is important for everyone: when you google best schools for _____ major. You are getting the ranking of the grad program NOT the undergrad.</p>
<p>See, this is why I enjoy CC so much…lots of helpful advice from those who have been there. Thanks so much!<br>
I am glad to hear that UCSD is taking steps to alleviate the problems with class registrations. I wonder if other UCs are doing that, or if they’re the only ones. Either way, it’s an intriguing idea, and I hope it works out well.
Thanks again to everyone who responded, and if anyone else has any thoughts, comments or ideas, keep 'em coming!</p>
<p>How do students get the classes with the profs they want? Is it gone by the second almost?</p>
<p>^You usually can get the professor you want. I only came in with 12 units and I have usually been able to get the professor I want. You know, there is something paradoxical about the whole thing. Everybody says “Classes are huge with liek 300 people ZOMG!” and then “Nobody can get the classes they want”. Well, it’s strange that NOBODY can get the classes they want if hundreds ARE getting the classes they want. Funny to think about.</p>
<p>@Collgbrwsr Muir Writing has about 15 students per class. Lower division Economics classes are big. However, upper division classes tend to get smaller.</p>
<p>@pixeljig It might be hard if you don’t have many units compared to the rest of your peers. For that reason, some of my friends end up getting their second choice professor. However, for the most part the professors are pretty good quality and your learning shouldn’t be substantially affected.</p>
<p>If you’re not satisfied with the professors you’re getting there’s an easy way to remedy the problem. Just take a few more units to catch up. Also, since there will be a new enrollment policy it might be easier for you to find the ones you want.</p>
<p>What do you mean don’t have many units? How do people have units their freshman year is that from like AP credits or what do you mean</p>
<p>@ucsdanxious, most of their units are from AP credit. Some of them take community college classes either through high school or during the summer before college, and those get transferred over. If you haven’t done any of the above, you’ll be a little later than your peers in terms of registration time. Also, if you take more units your first quarter it gives you a slight bump up the registration ladder.</p>
<p>The issue of units is a bigger problem if you’re a freshman competing with 2nd, 3rd or 4th years for spots, particularly the smaller classes and labs.</p>
<p>@KingsElite, I understand the attitude you’re ribbing 
but from what I usually see (at the start, at least) on the schedule of classes, maybe about half of the people that want the “extra popular easy” professor actually get in. 300 is a nice number of people getting in, but then there’s ~100 people on the waitlist, and those are just the students that didn’t give up on getting into the class and settle for something else.</p>
<p>So proportion wise, for every 100 that gets the class they want, you’ll have another 100 disgruntled students. I know you’re being lighthearted and that saying NOBODY gets in is extreme, but that’s my putting it into perspective xD</p>
<p>@Collgbrwsr: First of all, congratulations on being admitted!</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Yes, it is the norm to be in a class with 200-300+ students. The exception would be certain, more specialized, upper division classes, where you may have between 40-200.</p></li>
<li><p>This question has pretty much been answered by everyone else, so I’ll focus on waitlists in case you find yourself on one. Classes fill up pretty quickly which is inconvenient if you change your mind or your plan partway through the enrollment period. I came in with 24 units, took a pretty steady schedule of 3 or so classes a quarter, and this still set me behind my other friends who always enroll 3 days or so before me. Those 2-3 days can make a big difference to high-demand or popular classes. Waitlististing is common (I believe I just saw a nutrition class with a waitlist of 412 a couple weeks ago) and you will probably be on a few unless you have priority of some sort (you do sports, or have more units compared to your peers). A note about waitlists - people do drop and I’ve gotten in to classes by the skin of my teeth. Also, if a class has a maximum of 300 students, and there’s a sizable waitlist, there’s a chance the class will expand to 325-350, letting in the first 25-50 people on the waitlist. Then again - I am speaking from the perspective of a biology major. Science classes tend to go very fast. It may be different with other majors, in which case, you’ll probably have an easier time of it than I did. =)</p></li>
<li><p>Discussions go down better in classes with 100 or less. Less time is devoted to discussion and more to lecturing in my science classes, since there is so much material to cover and just 10 weeks to do it. But many classes have TA-led sections where more discussion can be done, so no need to worry.</p></li>
<li><p>Rising tuition is a big concern for me, but other than that? There was a thing with overcrowding last year. My friend, who is in Muir, had to live in the Marshall dorms, because the Muir ones were full. However, they just built brand-new dorms for Muir, so this might be solved. Triples rooms seem so, so tiny and stuffy to me (I’m a commuter but I’ve spent a lot of time in my friend’s dorms). I’ve seen a lot more of canceled class sections lately, but, it hasn’t become a concern to me yet.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>so if you get on the waitlist for a class that you need for a GE or something are you supposed to try and sign up for a different class instead or do you just not have the ability to fulfill that GE that quarter at all? Like if i wanna take 4 each quarter and get wailisted for one does that mean im gunna have to just take 3 or is there any other way to sign up for a different class to get my 4th one in?</p>
<p>@ucsdanxious, it’s hard to discuss registration because they’re changing the system. </p>
<p>[University</a> to Implement Two-Pass Registration System in Fall 2012](<a href=“http://www.ucsdguardian.org/home/item/25356-university-to-implement-two-pass-registration-system-in-fall-2012]University”>http://www.ucsdguardian.org/home/item/25356-university-to-implement-two-pass-registration-system-in-fall-2012)</p>
<p>In general, if you waitlist a GE you have a chance of getting into that class. That’s what waitlisting does. If you are waitlisting a class you cannot sign up for a backup class right away, because waitlisted classes still count as “enrolled” and take up units out of your allocated total. If you end up not getting into that class, you will be registered in 3. You can sign up for a backup class when Week 1 starts (enrolled in 5 classes).</p>
<p>So if your GE fills, you a) waitlist to see if you can get in and find a backup class to take, or b) don’t sign up for the waitlist at all and register for something different right away. You voluntarily sign yourself up for the waitlist. You can always decide to not waitlist at all and find a different class to take for your 4th. You often have to be flexible about registration.</p>