<p>Hi, I am a high school senior heading to UC Riverside. How hard are the classes the first year? Are they comparable to AP classes in high school? I took an Introductory to Nutrition class in UC Berkeley and it was pretty easy (mostly because it was intro).
Also, how do you know what classes you have to take for the first two years? Is there some checklist or something with the GE requirements?</p>
<p>And lastly could anyone tell me if taking 3 classes a quarter (or semester idk) allows for a decent social life?</p>
<p>I’m a freshman this year and, in my opinion, the classes I’ve taken so far have been mostly easy. But I’ve mostly taken intro courses and I’m in CHASS so someone in CNAS or BCOE probably has harder classes than I do. I guess it depends on what major you are in. What’s your major?</p>
<p>For every college, there are breadth requirements and major requirements that you have to meet by taking certain courses. It’s really up to you what classes you choose, but just be aware of the requirements and any prerequisites that you need for classes in the future. </p>
<p>I took 3 classes my fall quarter and honestly, it was so easy. You will have more than enough time for a decent social life haha. But I took 4 classes winter quarter and it was still pretty manageable. I’m sure you can have decent social life and do well in your classes as long as you just manage your time well :). Hope this was helpful!</p>
<p>Classes your first 2 years definitely depend on your major coming into UCR. If you’re going into a science or engineering field, your math really does determine the lower division pre-reqirement classes you start taking. I’m in BCOE, but my first year I took 16 units, 4 classes and it wasn’t too hard at all but at the same time I had no labs that first quarter. Once you start having classes with labs, it does change on how much time you actually have to socialize.
xinxija summed it up pretty well. They all have different requirements that are all set by your major. As for a list of what needs to be done, there are PDF copies of the lists of classes needed to take for BCOE online, but I’m sure it’s possible to find many other majors as well if you look hard enough through the UCR webpages.
From what it seems, BCOE and CNASS do start to get intense by second year, but that is due to the time they have to put into labs. Also know that you can drop a class in the first 2 weeks if you have the feeling you wouldn’t be able to handle the course load that you originally signed up for.
And in my opinion taking 3 classes does leave more room to socialize and have fun, but can also be a reason for keeping you over the summer or an extra year. But again can be set due to major.
hope this is somewhat helpful for you</p>
<p>Thank you so much you guys. I didn’t know this before, but what if you don’t know your major? I am Undeclared in CHASS, so will this be it?
<a href=“http://chassstudentaffairs.ucr.edu/undeclared_program/program_overview/BreadthWorksheet.pdf[/url]”>http://chassstudentaffairs.ucr.edu/undeclared_program/program_overview/BreadthWorksheet.pdf</a>
If I take an Intro class that would count as one class for the requirements right?</p>
<p>Hey I’m also Undeclared in CHASS! 
And yep, that’s the checklist. All of the classes I’m taking this year are basically to knock out those breadth requirements since I’m still undeclared. I think you should probably do the same your first year if you really don’t know what you want to do by the time you get to UCR. I mean, it would just be a waste of time and money if you end up taking classes you don’t need…</p>
<p>Not all intro classes fulfill a breadth requirement, I don’t think. So just be aware of that. There’s this page that lists out all the classes available that quarter which fulfill each of the requirements, but I’m not sure where to find it online. The site online where you search for classes also tells you if a certain class completes a breadth requirement, but you’ll learn all about that in the future. Good luck!</p>
<p>Should be fairly easy. If you think the berkeley classes weren’t too hard, then I advise taking 4 classes freshman and soph year so that you can take 3 classes per quarter Jr and Sr year to chill and study more and maybe even take u an internship during the academic year or take up leadership positions in orgs. I’m a 4th year right now in my last quarter and I’m taking 3 classes + internships. You really do want to open up your 4th year to internships and time to job search because then you’ll be cramming 4/5 classes per quarter and focus on grades and completing your degree rather than having a good opp when you graduate. (+the classes 1st 2nd year are easy enough to do 4 at a time as long as you don’t party too hard ;))</p>
<p>hey jlkirbee, are you working as well? right now, I’m at CC, taking Ochem, bio, and calculus working 28 hrs/wk. honestly, it’s a lot, so i dropped my calc. class (hence my other post you replied to.) how is the workload over there? would 3-4 science classes + part time work out? thanks!!</p>
<p>Yeah I’m working but I’m a BusAdmin major and honestly… it comes pretty easy to me as opposed to others. Knowing friends in science majors, you probably wouldn’t be able to uphold a prominent GPA working 28hrs/week if its intense work while having fun in college. But if you are very good at time management then it’d be possible. My friends have a hard time partying and doing 4 science classes in the upper div level. I would suggest maybe doing a light part time during the year (like research at school or nearby labs) and concentrating hard in school while doing a legit intern or FT work during the summer.</p>
<p>just my 2 cents from friends who’ve suffered from the sciences :(</p>
<p>true, if it’s hard for me to do lower div, i wouldn’t attempt at UCR lol. thanks for the input!</p>
<p>lol i took four classes my first quarter, five winter quarter, and five this quarter and i still have a social life. =]</p>