<p>Well, first year of priority registration for Regents, so no live experience yet. However, athletes and disabled (DSP) program students have had priority registration. The way it works is by assigning you very early slots for phase I and phase II for registering for classes. </p>
<p>Up to the first 10.5 units are selected in phase I, the remainder in phase II. With a very early slot, most spots are still open in the classes when you go for them in phase I. Not only are you highly likely to get the classes you wish, but you have a great shot to get the times/choices that you want. It can permit you to have an entire day without classes each week, or to pack classes closer together in blocks, or to spread them out, or to avoid ugly times as much as possible. Now, many of the intro classes are scheduled at awful times (e.g. 8 or 9AM) so you won’t avoid this totally, but if there is a better choice you get the spot as a very early registrant.</p>
<p>The rest of the school works through their phase I slots and picks out their first set of classes. This is going to fill some of the courses that are highly desired and limited in capacity. If you prioritized your classes and put all those high demand classes in phase I, no problem, but sometimes you can’t get all those in the first phase because they total more than 10 units. </p>
<p>You will be ahead of most registrants for phase II, so that anything that is open at the end of phase I is going to be pretty easy to snag with your early slot. </p>
<p>However, the phase I for incoming freshmen is your CalSO. That means priority doesn’t do anything for Fall 2011 for you, only the session of CalSO that you picked. Unless, that is, they have established some new process for regents scholars to let your group get on before the first CalSO. Since there is advising and training on Telebears as part of CalSO, I am not sure how they would work it, but I guess it is possible that a special process is or will be devised, I just haven’t heard anything of it.</p>
<p>Most will recommend that you take a lighter than normal load for your first semester. It is not just academics, the difference in both work and difficulty for classes here compared to CC or honors/AP high school work, but also the adjustments to being on your own, away from home, living in dorms, finding friends, locating activities and clubs, etc. It is easy to underestimate the effect of these on your first semester. Better to go 13-15 units for Fall 2011, have the extra time to make the transition to Cal, and excel than to be struggling to hit the GPA you wish to achieve or to have the stress keep you from enjoying this new experience in life.</p>
Make of it what you will</p>