<p>I've searched up old threads for information, but what I've learned from that is that GSI's change so older information might not be as accurate. I was wondering what course I should take as an EECS student who wants a light/easier R&C course to fulfill the B requirement.</p>
<p>I plan on taking 4 classes, 3 of which are CS61A, Math53, and Physics7A. I'm only having trouble with the R&C class, especially since many of the supposed easier ones are filling up quickly (Scandinavian). I'm interested in Russian literature so I feel that Slavic would be great for me, but I'm not sure how much of a workload it is. </p>
<p>Can anyone make any recommendations for me? Also, I'm unsure about how to choose my classes at CalSO so that I can get the classes I want. Which two classes should I choose first in my first phase, and which two should I wait until second phase to choose? I have priority for second phase (and all future phases from Regents), if that helps.</p>
<p>The difficulty of an R&C course depends largely on the teacher. There are difficult and easy GSIs in every department, so really it’s a matter of luck whether you get an easy one or not. Some of the classes that tend to have a higher number of easy teachers are German, Scandinavian, Italian, Slavic, and South Asian.</p>
<p>Because you’re a regents scholar, if you don’t get exactly the class you want, just save it for second semester when you get priority registration and sign up for it then. Take a different humanities class instead in the fall, like an AC class or something. </p>
<p>As far as which phase to sign up for which class, CS 61A and Math 53 are generally safe Phase II classes, especially because you have priority for Phase II. Sign up for Physics 7A and your humanities class first.</p>
<p>Thanks for the helpful info! What exactly happens when second phase rolls around? Do new sections open up for various classes or something?</p>
<p>Also, one scheduling option I’m considering is moving CS70 to first semester and my humanities class to second semester. Would that be too heavy of a workload? I’m not too sure how difficult/time-consuming each class is.</p>
<p>Freshman Fall:
Physics 7A
CS 61A
Math 53
Humanities 1</p>
<p>Freshman Spring:
CS 61B
Math 54
Physics 7B
CS 70</p>
<p>Math classes and probably others often open more discussion sections during Phase II to accommodate as many students as possible, but there are no guarantees. In my experience, math and CS classes in particular are very good about accommodating everyone. </p>
<p>I know a number of people who chose to go with 4 technicals their first semester. Many of them came out with strong grades, but all of them said that it wasn’t very much fun, to be honest with you. Even if you’re a top student, if you take 4 technicals in your first semester then it’s not going to be as enjoyable of a semester as it could be. I didn’t take CS 61A, but from what I’ve been told, it’s extremely time consuming. So I’d recommend going with 3 technicals + 1 humanities to judge your abilities for a semester. If you find that to be too easy then you can switch to 4 technicals for second semester.</p>
<p>CS 70 should be like a math course in terms of workload.</p>
<p>This usually means less work than a science course with a lab, or a CS course with programming assignments, or any course (including humanities or social studies) with a large term project.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar position, just so you know Slavic R5B is also all full. 
But also, what is the hurry to finish your technical courses, from what I’ve been told four technical courses is a lot of work. Assuming you are an EECS major, even with full AP credit you can only get out of 2 of the 6 required Humanities courses, You might find it better to take 1 humanity each semester for your first 2 years to help balance out those technicals. That way you can get rid of your humanities in a timely way and still fit in all the courses you need for prereqs/degree requirements.</p>
<p>For R&C courses, check the book lists in the schedule, or the department web pages, to see what the reading lists are. Choose the available course with the reading list that looks most interesting to you.</p>
<p>I’m spreading out my humanities for 1 per semester except for one of the freshman year semesters because I want to get the prerequisites out of the way quickly for my upper div courses later on. I have 6-8 semesters anyhow, with 4 humanities to fulfill =P </p>
<p>Also, can someone clarify on this question? Thanks for the clarification on math/CS openings, singh!
“What exactly happens when second phase rolls around? Do new sections open up for various classes or something?”</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus
I want to try to balance my interest in the course with the time it consumes/difficulty because physics, math, and CS seem to take up a lot of time.</p>
<p>Under any R&C B course, there is a common syllabus that you have to write a total of 32 pages of paper throughout the semester. The way it breaks down is up to the instructor. For me, I had four 2-page reading summaries, a 9-page rough draft, and a 15-page final paper which is a more challenging breakdown.</p>
<p>During the summer, each department will update its website and you can check out what topic each section is teaching with a detailed description (a sample for the English department [UC</a> Berkeley English](<a href=“Berkeley English Fall 2012”>Berkeley English Fall 2012) or the Slavic department [Dept</a>. of Slavic Languages and Literatures, UC Berkeley](<a href=“http://slavic.berkeley.edu/fall12courses.htm]Dept”>http://slavic.berkeley.edu/fall12courses.htm)) and you choose the topic that interests you the most.</p>
<p>In all honesty, even the easiest R&C course will make you a good writer and I found crashing into several R&C course in the first week and picking the one that has the best instructor and the readings to be the only way to assure yourself that you are doing your favorite R&C. It can get tough if you randomly pick a class and there are plenty of horror stories where a student gets burned by the readings they don’t like and the papers they don’t want to do.</p>
<p>Man, I wish I could take Slavic…it sounds really interesting. Thanks though!</p>