Questions? Ask a 4th Year Warren Student

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
21

<p>thesounds –</p>

<p>I think clarkfobes has sufficiently covered the cogsci part. Haha</p>

<p>As for social life, I also agree with clarkfobes. Social life is definitely what you make of it. Your college experience is largely impacted by you! There is a rep that UCSD is very boring. While it can be a quiet campus overall, I can’t tell you how many times I’d made use of my earplugs to fall asleep because someone’s bass thumping down the hall at 3AM. However, I contribute the overall quietness to the fact that the students are divided into 6 different locations on campus.</p>

<p>But, if you want to have a party and you can’t find one, create one! I know of plenty of UCSD kids who would be more than happy to party with you in the middle of the week and even more on the weekend. It would be difficult to have large private parties on campus, esp. if your RA is not very lenient, but having kickbacks with a couple of friends can be just as fun. Just beware that the RSO’s are rather strict when it comes to “party substances.” :P</p>

<p>In addition, clubs and frats are a great way to meet people. I am in the social chair of my club and we host up to 6 events for pure fun each quarter. Especially at the beginning of the year, many orgs host bonfires. Ever been bonfire hopping? Frats will host larger parties, 18+ clubbing events, and provide rides to these events. And if you meet people who live off-campus at these events, you would be increasing your chance of being invited to a larger party off-campus. Naturally, when you turn 21, more opportunities open up.</p>

<p>It is a lot more convenient to have a car, but parking is TIGHT on campus. If you know other people who are coming to or are already in UCSD, you don’t need to bring a car. And off-campus commuters will tremendously thank you for not taking up parking spaces. As before, joining clubs can open you up to people who have a car and can transport to you to many of the more visited areas by UCSD students such as downtown SD, downtown La Jolla, Convoy, etc. The city buses can also take you to some of these places and some of the lines are free to UCSD students, but it can take a lot longer getting there by bus.</p>

<p>Lastly, UCSD puts on many events throughout the school year such as Bear Garden, concerts (Fall Fest, Muirstock, Rockin Roosevelt), campus wide dances, smaller dances at the specific colleges (in the beginning of the school year), campus wide rave (Let’s Bounce), LGBT dances, and the ever anticipated Sun God Festival. We also have The Loft and Porter’s Pub, which host a large range of more underground artists. </p>

<p>Also, much of the social climate at UCSD can also be attributed to the lack of a football team at UCSD. But, there are definitely people who are constantly petitioning for this and trying to create a team. A recent posting by the current A.S. president on the wall of the FB group “Bring UCSD a Football Team,” states “We got Athletics to agree to research division I and football - together we’re going to be interviewing consultants on Wednesday! We’ll have a responsible referendum for students to consider in Fall or Winter Quarter!” So, this dream is feasible, but it takes the action of you and your colleagues to help make it happen. </p>

<p>Personally, I think that I’ve managed my social life pretty well in college. Despite having to put in a good amount of studying for pharmacy school, relaxing and having fun is equally important. All that it takes is good time management.</p>

22

<p>xpenguin –</p>

<p>Yes, POLI 27 and PHIL 27 are the same class, so it doesn’t matter which one you sign up for. It’s taught by the same professor.</p>

23

<p>Hi
I applied to UCSD as a Aerospace major, but got admitted under my alternate: Physics. I know that since its impacted they limit admissions and I didn’t make the cut, but I still want to do Aerospace. I talked to some students in the program and the academic advisor for the MAE department. She told me that up to a fourth of Aeropsace students drop the major, and that people who do not get into Aerospace can re-apply in their Spring quarter to switch majors into Aerospace. </p>

<p>So the problem I have is that if I go to UCSD I am going to be risking my major of choice. If there are not enough open spaces, and a lot of people apply in the Spring, I might not get in. </p>

<ol>
<li>What do you know about the Aerospace major drop rate?</li>
<li>Do you think I should take the risk and accept UCSD’s offer?</li>
<li>If you think I should do this, do you have any tips?</li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks for the help</p>

24

<p>walterwhite888 – </p>

<p>I, first, apologize that this answer is so long. I promise you what I write is relevant and important!</p>

<ol>
<li>I do not know the actual drop rate, but I can ask my friend who is majoring in aerospace to see if he knows anything. Anyone else on CC who is a current Aerospace student is welcome to answer. Also, did the academic advisor specify whether the 1/4th drop rate is per year or per class?</li>
</ol>

<p>Before, I answer #2, here’s some information I found…</p>

<p>In the MAE page in the general catalog ([Mechanical</a> and Aerospace Engineering (MAE)](<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/MAE.html]Mechanical”>http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/MAE.html)), it says
"Continuing students who wish to change into an impacted major (mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering) must submit an application to the department. Applications will be accepted twice a year. Please see the department Web site maeweb.ucsd.edu for details.</p>

<p>Continuing students who wish to be considered must submit an application to the MAE department on or before the target dates and must meet the following minimum requirements:</p>

<p>completed at least one year/three quarters in residence at UCSD;
complete all lower-division requirements for the requested major.
Applications will be ranked by their UCSD GPA on the date of the application. Students will be allowed into the major based on a ranking system, up to a maximum number.</p>

<p>Students who apply later than the final day of their sixth academic quarter at UCSD will not be considered."</p>

<p>Also, I compared the first year recommended course plan for both Physics and Aerospace.</p>

<p>For Aerospace, it’s…
Fall – MAE2, Math 20A, Chem 6A, College GE
Winter – Math 20B, Phys 2A, College GE, College GE
Spring – Math 20C, Phys 2B and 2BL, SE2, College GE
It’s all in this lovely table: <a href=“http://maeweb.ucsd.edu/undergrad/courses/Corecoursesoutline.pdf[/url]”>http://maeweb.ucsd.edu/undergrad/courses/Corecoursesoutline.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>For Physics, they had no table for your first year, but the lower division courses you are required to take are…
"Physics 4A-B-C-D-E or Physics 2A-B-C-D1*
Physics 2CL and 2DL
Chemistry 6A or2 a programming course such as MAE 9 or MAE 10**
Mathematics 20C-D-E-F</p>

<p>*The Physics 4 series is recommended, but the Physics 2 sequence is acceptable by petition, in which case both (uhh…they never finished their sentence…)</p>

<p>**Chemistry 6A and a programming course are required"
Source: [url=<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/PHYS.html]Physics[/url”>http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/PHYS.html]Physics[/url</a>]</p>

<p>In the general catalog, I also checked up on prerequisites for MAE2 and SE2. MAE2 has none, but to register into SE2, there is a priority given to engineering students.</p>

<p>So, the lower division courses for Physics and Aerospace overlap quite a lot. I’m not sure why the Physics major doesn’t have 20A and 20B listed since to take 20C, you’d have to have tested out of 20A and 20B with AP Calc or have taken those courses. If you did pass out, then great! You can start with 20C in your fall quarter.
Anyway, if I think that if you were to follow the MAE plan for the first year, you’d still satisfy a lot of the Physics requirements. The extra classes you would have to take would be MAE2, PHYS 2BL, and SE2 (these aren’t required for Physics). Then, if you don’t get into aerospace, you are still on track for physics. You can always take classes in the summer as well. </p>

<p>Now, my first quote stated that they rank students based on their GPA. Therefore, you should do well in the classes you take in the first year. To be a competitive applicant, I would recommend shooting for at least an A- in your science classes (Chem 6A and the 20 math series are not very difficult) and at least a B+ in your GE’s (Except for maybe Warren Writing. I thought that class was difficult, but maybe it’ll be easy for you). When you register for classes, check up on ratemyprofessor.com to see which professor will be best for you. And, while GPA matters a lot in this situation, do not stress out too much over it. When studying, focus on learning the material and not on “what will get me an A in this class.” If you understand the material, the grade will settle itself.</p>

<p>Also, do not worry too much about planning classes now. If you decide to come to UCSD, they will have a class planning session during orientation. If you insist, I could put together a first year plan for you. As stated above, for physics major, to take the physics 2 series, you will have to petition. Personally, I think you have a pretty good reason to have your petition accepted.</p>

<p>And, have you considered, as a back up plan, to major in physics and then go into aerospace for graduate school?</p>

<p>Most importantly, still make time to relax, enjoy your surroundings, join clubs, and meet/network with people.</p>

<p>So in conclusion,</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If I were you, I’d take the risk. Seeing that admittance is based on GPA, you will have to study hard and payoff is not guaranteed. However, even if you do not get in, at least you will have tried, and you will also probably have developed some great time management skills.</p></li>
<li><p>I think I covered it. :P</p></li>
</ol>

25

<p>As I promised to keep this up for about month, I’m just letting you guys know that I have been checking this thread every few days or so.</p>

<p>So if you still have questions, I’ll still be answering :)</p>

26

<p>cali45!</p>

<p>I am a biochem/bio major @ Warren as well. =]</p>

<p>I was wondering, what kind of classes did you take your first year?</p>

27

<p>How difficult is Poli/Phil 27 relative to Warren Writing? I got A-'s in both quarters of Warren Writing if that means anything. I noticed that there are practically no freshmen in the class, and I’m one of the few who got in. Is there a reason why?</p>

<p>Also, in general, is it better to take as many GEs as early as possible? Or should I take the ones that I can at a community college and concentrate more on my major related classes? I’m a first year computer engineering major, and I heard that it gets extremely difficult later on.</p>

28

<ol>
<li><p>How’s the administration? I’ve had a bad time in high school chagning/getting the classes I want, and I heard from an SD grad that it’s pretty bad there. I got into Miur and will probably stay there for 2 years.</p></li>
<li><p>Is there a campus wide honors program? I searched and couldn’t find anything. MY GPA wasn’t that great so I’m not going to be any honors immediately, but I heard that honors kids usually get classes easier, at least that’s what my friend at UCI says. [For him the admins actually treat them really well, they get priority in choosing classes]. I’m just wondering if there’s anything similar to that at UCSD, because class freedom/accessibility is going to break my decision between SD and Irvine.</p></li>
</ol>

29

<p>Sorry to doublepost, but how useful are AP credits there? By the time I graduate I’ll probably have 9 5s, how useful will that be for skipping classes and such?</p>

30

<p>^It depends on the classes you’ll be taking and the AP tests you passed. But wow, you’ll be coming in with a lot units, I don’t think you need to worry about getting priority registration too much! Ha ha.</p>

31

<p>Oh boy…do I have questions lol. I’ve been admitted as a biological science major planning to go into pharmacy : D</p>

<p>Could you tell me about your experience with finding opportunities in general pertaining to pharmacy? I have heard that GPA, leadership, and experience are most crucial…and I was wondering ARE there enough opportunities available for those that take the time to find them, or are they scarce and super competitive? Specifically I am referring to work, interns, volunteer, research (not certain about what this is), student groups, etc. for pharmacy-bound students.</p>

<p>Thank you! :)</p>

32

<p>How does room selection work for the apartments?</p>

33

<p>orangeicecream –</p>

<p>Congrats on your acceptance! I was still a Biochem/chem major my first year, so I took…</p>

<p>Fall
WCWP 10A – Warren Writing
MATH 20B – 20 series not required for Biochem/bio
CHEM 6B
ANLD 1 – I have a Social Sciences Program of Concentration (PofC), so this classes counted towards both my Social Science PofC and Cultural Diversity requirement. 2 birds with 1 stone!</p>

<p>Winter
WCWP 10B
MATH 20C
CHEM 6C
CHEM 6BL</p>

<p>Spring
MATH 20D
PHIL 27
ECON 1
MUS 95G – Gospel Choir; Fun and a great stress reliever. Prof. Anderson is awesome as well</p>

<p>You’ll get to work out your first year schedule during orientation. Check out the Warren Academic Advising Handbook for now to see which classes your AP credits count for and other lovely information: <a href=“http://warren.ucsd.edu/_files/academic-forms/advising_handbook.pdf[/url]”>http://warren.ucsd.edu/_files/academic-forms/advising_handbook.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

34

<p>Physalis –</p>

<p>I found PHIL 27 easier than Warren Writing, but it would depend on your professor. I took it my first year as well, and I credit it to coming into UCSD with a lot of units. A lot of my friends were waitlisted and did not get the chance to take it until later on.</p>

<p>I would not finish GE’s as soon as possible. When you’re constructing your 4 year plan, add in a GE per quarter if you can. This was the way I did it, and I found it nice to have a breather course among all of my tough upper div bio classes. </p>

<p>You can also save a few of your upper div major classes for the summer. Of course this also depends whether or not you want to spend more money on summer classes, whether they have that particular course (check your department’s course listings for the next year), etc</p>

35

<p>If we were admitted as undeclared, would we just take the course that we normally would have taken if we got our major? I wanted to major in Mechanical Engineering or have Aerospace as my alternative, but both of them were impacted this year and I didn’t get into either.</p>

36

<p>iamsynch –</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I always found the administration pretty nice and helpful. I’ve required help from people in the Warren Advising office, the Biology department, Grad school advising, Business center, the Registrar’s Office, Housing and Dining Services, etc. Whenever I had a question or if I needed something, the admin always responded in a timely manner. I’m sorry to hear your grad friend did not have the same experience.</p></li>
<li><p>There is an honors program within the colleges and departments. I do not believe there is priority registration for honors students. I believe they give athletes and regent scholars priority, and then it goes by how many units you have. Continuing below with AP credits…</p></li>
<li><p>AP credits are SO useful!!! I came into UCSD with 7 AP tests (each worth 4 or 8 units) and a couple of community college classes I took during high school – totaling up to 67.75 units (sophomore standing). I’ve never had to deal with waitlist and had no problem signing up for classes I wanted (except when they’re not offered the quarter I want =P), so I don’t think you will either. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>You can check out how many units you have with AP’s in the Warren Advising Handbook (page 19-20) : <a href=“http://warren.ucsd.edu/_files/academic-forms/advising_handbook.pdf[/url]”>http://warren.ucsd.edu/_files/academic-forms/advising_handbook.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Also, I used all of my AP tests to pass out on major requirements and GE requirements. I believe it saved me a total of 8 classes.</p>

37

<p>iamsynch –</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I always found the administration pretty nice and helpful. I’ve required help from people in the Warren Advising office, the Biology department, Grad school advising, Business center, the Registrar’s Office, Housing and Dining Services, etc. Whenever I had a question or if I needed something, the admin always responded in a timely manner. I’m sorry to hear your grad friend did not have the same experience.</p></li>
<li><p>There is an honors program within the colleges and departments. I do not believe there is priority registration for honors students. I believe they give athletes and regent scholars priority, and then it goes by how many units you have. Continuing below with AP credits…</p></li>
<li><p>AP credits are SO useful!!! I came into UCSD with 7 AP tests (each worth 4 or 8 units) and a couple of community college classes I took during high school – totaling up to 67.75 units (sophomore standing). I’ve never had to deal with waitlist and had no problem signing up for classes I wanted (except when they’re not offered the quarter I want =P), so I don’t think you will either. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>You can check out how many units you have with AP’s in the Warren Advising Handbook (page 19-20) : <a href=“http://warren.ucsd.edu/_files/academic-forms/advising_handbook.pdf[/url]”>http://warren.ucsd.edu/_files/academic-forms/advising_handbook.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Also, I used all of my AP tests to pass out on major requirements and GE requirements. I believe it saved me a total of 8 classes. :)</p>

38

<p>Maylix –</p>

<p>Opportunities are abound!</p>

<p>Leadership: Become an active member in whichever organization you are interested in so that when officer applications come around, you will have a competitive edge at gaining a position. There is a club for pre-pharm students at UCSD called Pre-Pharmacy Society (PPS), in which I currently hold a position. I can tell you that we pick next years board based off of their participation, officer application, and interview. </p>

<p>Many pharmacy school admissions counselors will also tell you that you do not that to hold an official title to demonstrate leadership. If you show leadership qualities in your work, you can also write about this in your future pharmacy school application essays.</p>

<p>Experience: Finding a clerkship or technician’s position (you will need to take a licensing test for the latter) in a retail pharmacy in the immediate area will be hard. It will probably be easier to find one if you look farther from La Jolla. For example, I have a friend who moved off campus her second year, and drives approx. 20 minutes to her pharmacy to work there as a technician.</p>

<p>You can also find volunteer opportunities on main campus at the Student Health Center (harder; I believe there’s a waitlist) or at the pharmacies at the UCSD Thornton Hospital and UCSD Hillcrest Hospital (easier; apply early). There are free UCSD shuttles that go to both of these hospitals.</p>

<p>In PPS, people who are currently volunteering at other clinics such as the Nazarene Clinic may notify the officers when there may be open spots so that we may share the information with other club members. We definitely help members find volunteering opportunities. Just last week, we had our own booth at the San Diego Science Festival to teach pre-college students about pharmacy.</p>

<p>Research/Volunteer: Continuing from the last paragraph, one of our officers is currently interning at Pfizer. When there was an opening there, we sent out an e-mail to members about it. </p>

<p>There are also a lot of biotech and pharmtech companies around UCSD. There are job fairs to help you find them. You can also search through them Port Triton ([Port</a> Triton - Your Portal to Jobs & More - Career Services Center](<a href=“http://career.ucsd.edu/L3/sa/Jstjobli.shtml]Port”>http://career.ucsd.edu/L3/sa/Jstjobli.shtml)) or ask the older students in PPS about them. </p>

<p>You can also research under a professor through BILD 99 (for lower division students) or BISP 199 (for upper division students). [SPECIAL</a> STUDIES PROGRAM IN BIOLOGY (BISP 196 or 199)](<a href=“http://biology.ucsd.edu/undergrad/BISP_info.html]SPECIAL”>http://biology.ucsd.edu/undergrad/BISP_info.html) </p>

<p>I did a BISP 199 at an off-campus site and studied alcoholism in mice. With no research experience, you might get stuck washing glasses, but then again, you might get lucky. I learned how to inject solutions into mice, sacrifice them , extract brains, perform immunohistochemical work, and analyze my data. While my research wasn’t pharmacy related, I still found it extremely interesting, and it led me to pursue psychiatric and neurological pharmacy. Also, not all research is off campus. I have friends who work on campus as well.</p>

<p>Organizations: Like I’ve mentioned, there is PPS. We provide a lot of events for members throughout the year. We ask pharmacy school admissions officers to come in and speak to members. We have workshops for class planning, experience, interviewing, etc. We have Q&A panels consisting of pharmacy students and pharmacists from various fields (research, clinical, ambulatory, management etc). We host multiple social events to help you make new friends and network with your future co-workers. We have volunteer events that range from field trips to compounding pharmacies to walks for good causes (Breast Cancer, Relay for Life, etc). We have a mentor/mentee program within the club.</p>

<p>Still, you do not have to be active in PPS to become a competitive pharmacy school applicant. You can be very active in other clubs, and admission officers are fine with that. They just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into when you apply to pharmacy. So, check out pharmacy websites such as Drug Topics or RxList.</p>

<p>Anyway, if you have more questions, keep asking or PM me. I will also provide my FB in this thread in about a week, so you can contact me then as well. Or if you insist, I can give it to you privately now. I have plenty of information to give. As for now, check out the PPS Website. You can see how much we provide our members to help them succeed. You can also find us on Facebook by searching (UCSD Pre-Pharmacy Society) Explore well.
[Pre-Pharmacy</a> Society](<a href=“http://prepharm.ucsd.edu/home.html]Pre-Pharmacy”>http://prepharm.ucsd.edu/home.html)</p>

39

<p>$KingsElite$ –</p>

<p>For an incoming student, the housing admin will assign you to either a residential hall or apartment.</p>

<p>For a student continuing into the 2nd year, you will be assigned a housing registration time during spring quarter of your 1st year. During that time, you can pick from any of the apartments available to you and register yourself and your roommates/apartmentmates for the next year.</p>

40

<p>RamenNation –</p>

<p>Please read my response to walterwhite888 (page 2). I believe you guys are in a similar predicament. Because engineering majors are impacted, they only let in a certain number of students. UCSD does not recommend that you pick impacted majors for both your primary and secondary major.</p>

<p>A few students may drop each year (sorry, I don’t know the number), but I suspect that it is difficult. Their policy is this:</p>

<p>"Continuing Students Changing Majors</p>

<p>Continuing students who wish to change into an impacted major (mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering) must submit an application to the department. Applications will be accepted twice a year. Please see the department Web site maeweb.ucsd.edu for details.</p>

<p>Continuing students who wish to be considered must submit an application to the MAE department on or before the target dates and must meet the following minimum requirements:</p>

<p>completed at least one year/three quarters in residence at UCSD;
complete all lower-division requirements for the requested major.
Applications will be ranked by their UCSD GPA on the date of the application. Students will be allowed into the major based on a ranking system, up to a maximum number.</p>

<p>Students who apply later than the final day of their sixth academic quarter at UCSD will not be considered."</p>

<p>As you can see, you are ranked by GPA, so if you are planning to apply for admission later on, make sure you keep your grades high.</p>

<p>The current first year plan for mechanical engineering students is listed in the UCSD General Catalog. [Mechanical</a> and Aerospace Engineering (MAE)](<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/MAE.html#ugrad]Mechanical”>http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/MAE.html#ugrad)
A lot of the lower division major classes may overlap with those for other majors such as physics, chemistry or math. If you were to plan out your courses for your first year as if you were a mech. engineering student, the only classes you’d have trouble getting into is the MAE 9 class, in which priority is given to engineering students.</p>

<p>So, if I were you, I’d pick a non-impacted major that has similar lower division courses. Check out:
[Chemistry</a> and Biochemistry](<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/CHEM.html]Chemistry”>http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/CHEM.html)
[url=<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/PHYS.html#ugrad]Physics[/url”>http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/PHYS.html#ugrad]Physics[/url</a>]
[url=<a href=“http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/MATH.html]Mathematics[/url”>http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/curric/MATH.html]Mathematics[/url</a>]
Or any other major you may find browsing through the General Catalog.</p>

<p>Apply at the end of your first year. Make sure to not miss the due date! If you don’t get in, at least you’ll have another non-impacted major to work toward. When picking the non-impacted major, choose one that is similar to the engineering in terms of first year studies and one that you have interest in completing for the next 4 years in case your application is denied. You may also consider pursuing mechanical engineering in graduate school. </p>

<p>I found this piece of information on the Cornell Graduate School website:
“Q: Must I have a specific undergraduate degree to apply for the M.S./ Ph.D. program?
A: No. Students in the Mechanical and Aerospace Fields have undergraduate degrees in all areas of Engineering, and Mathematics and Physics.”</p>

<p>So, even if you are not an mechanical engineering major, you can still become a mechanical engineer! Good luck!</p>