Sixth college, Biology, or Impacted Majors? Ask here :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
101

<p>Sorry if this is a bit delayed :P. I was camping this weekend.</p>

<p>@trevgolfer</p>

<p>Try to follow their guidelines for your actual pre-reqs (for upper divison major courses). You can take your GE’s in whatever order you like.</p>

<p>@askoh</p>

<p>Depending on your professor, this is true. I had Algaze and we had a take home final that we had to turn in during the scheduled final time. For us it was like 3:00pm-6:00pm on the final day to turn in the take-home essay. So technically you do need to show up for the couple of minutes it takes to turn it into your TA then you are free to go.</p>

<p>@tonito</p>

<p>You’ll probably get into all your classes, but there’s a chance you won’t get the most popular professors for the courses and or the desired discussion/lecture times. In terms of substituting classes, it’s hard to replace the courses that you take in series (math and chem), but if you absolutely had to, I’d try taking the physics courses in lieu of chemistry if you didn’t get in… but you need math for the physics courses. Honestly though, you’ll probably get in your classes, even if there are waitlists (so long as you’re not way up there like under 10 is a good shot for the larger courses).</p>

<p>@92faim</p>

<p>De nada (I think? 4 years of Spanish and I forgot a lot of it haha)</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I’m not sure. Depending on the kind of person you are, how you grasp material in tandem with base intelligence, it’s kind of hard to profile people. Some study but never party people earn a 3.0, while a guy who slacks and attends the occasional party pulls a 3.7. It really depends on you. In terms of good vs great, a 3.0-3.5 is good leaning towards very good in the end, and I’d say a 3.6+ is great. I had a 3.73 my first year while having a social life/studying responsibly (aka not cramming the day before things and depriving myself of sleep).</p></li>
<li><p>In all honesty, I haven’t taken a bio lab course yet (I’m a second year, technically a junior b/c of AP/CC credits). Though, from what I heard, the labs aren’t hard in terms of subject matter, but they are time consuming, because you need to be precise in typing up lab reports and data collection. You should get all your necessary experience from Chem 7L.
Depending on your TA/grader the experience can range from simply time consuming to consistently tense work. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>I’ll let you know how it goes personally come spring :).</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Well, see how you do in the general chem courses, you might have to take chem 4 if 6a is too rough. See how you are doing amongst your peers, because you’ll be taking your next 5-6 courses in a particular subject with them. Remember you want to work with the curve to get your desired grades. I rate your chances low if you are struggling with these beginning courses (Chem 4, 6a, 6b, 6c) and higher if you do well in them. A lot of students from different backgrounds collide when you hit college. You’ll know how you are in respect to everyone else (and if your background really is dirt poor) when you see where your exam scores fair when your professors show test statistics. </p></li>
<li><p>The physics 1 series is designed for Bio majors pretty much. It’s pretty watered down (same with the 10 series of math vs. the 20 series of math) in a way where most people actually do well. Difficulty really doesn’t change in respect to different courses in the same category like Chem 6A, 6B, 6C or Math 10A, 10B, 10C, etc. etc. What you learn changes, and some people will learn that Chem 6C was much easier than 6A or math 10c clicked more than 10b. Sometimes certain material builds on older material, but in these courses you’re often learning material from scratch.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m not sure since I was exempt as well. Though I’ve looked at old tests and the stuff is basically the same. There might be tangents that we didn’t look at in AP Bio, but it’s not of much consequence. In terms of jumping into a class, I would wait until you cleared your remaining lower division courses. I’m not touching my upper div bio courses (save o chem and a bio lab) until my third year. You can always sit in on classes to see how they are too if you are curious before then.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Hope this helps guys/gals.</p>

<p>Please specify on any parts you might want specification on this was a long post and it’s a bit late atm 0.o</p>

102

<p>I also got a 5 on the Biology AP, and tried to help a few suitemates study for their BILD 1/2 exams. BILD has a lot more material in a shorter amount of time, but I think I retained more from AP Bio than they did from BILD. Plenty of people do just fine in the upper-division biology classes with AP credits alone. (hell, I was a chemistry major and took my first upper-division biology class 4 1/2 years after the AP bio exam, and it was fine)</p>

103

<p>Thanks again Schw1ng, you’re always doing us here on CC a big favor with your posts. Your answers have put a lot of things into perspective for me and I greatly appreciate that. :)</p>

<p>Hey astrina,
I’d like to know your opinion on the Chem thing I talked about (point 3 in that long post up there). The lower-div classes like the 6 series? I think I might be OK with some studying and attending all my sections. but the BIBC ones seem like they just take chem way too far. I honestly had no idea the Biology curriculum at SD was THAT chem-based. </p>

<p>That being said, what’s your opinion on my prospects for the next few years, starting from the 6 series and progressing onto Chem 140A/B and BIBC? Do you see any hope for me, considering my background? </p>

<p>It’d also be great if you could share how you got into Chem yourself and if you know of any “inspiring stories” about people who learned to like Chem and do well despite initially poor feelings for it. Thanks a lot!</p>

104

<p>Well, I hated chem in high school and probably got the lowest 4 on the AP that was possible. Took 6AH my first quarter, was way in over my head because Weare was assigning stuff like triple integrals with infinite limits on exams, and nobody knew how to do anything. Switched into the general track for 6B by winter quarter, started spending Saturday afternoons at CLICS with my suitemates doing chemistry homework, got an A+ in the class, and discovered that chemistry was something I actually enjoyed. Changed my major the following quarter to biochem/chem, TAed 12 quarters of chemistry classes, got my MS in chemistry, currently pursuing PhD in biochemistry. That’s the story so far :)</p>

<p>I never actually took BIBC, but I think chemistry is a really good science to know well. Biology is too large-scale and physics is too mathematical to picture mentally, so I like chemistry for its ability to combine math and real-world applications. </p>

<p>Also, I don’t know why you think BIBC involves too much chemistry. Because it shouldn’t. I even took biochem from the chemistry department (which should have even more chemistry than BIBC) and don’t recall drawing anything more complicated than a single nucleotide. And one of my professors had been a physics major as an undergrad - he had never even <em>taken</em> organic chemistry in his life.</p>

<p>My conclusion: don’t worry so much! 85% of the chemistry-taking freshmen start in chem 6A, meaning they either got a 3 on the AP exam or never took AP chem at all. One of my best friends came from a tiny little high school in rural California, had to take Chem 4 her first quarter here, and is now in an MD/PhD program at a Top 20 school on the east coast. College is about rewarding you for what you manage to accomplish in your time there, not what you had coming in.</p>

105

<p>I just took a look at the textbook requirement for Catherine Gere’s CAT1 class and was confused. It says “No Textbook Required 2010-2011, 9780000000699”. Why put an ISBN number if there is no textbook required? In the Req/Opt column, it has an “R”. So, my question is… is it common for CAT1 classes not to have a textbook?</p>

<p>2nd question: I see WebCT under the session id. What does that mean?</p>

106

<p>this is webct: <a href=“https://webctweb.ucsd.edu/webct/logonDisplay.dowebct?insId=9140001&glcid=URN:X-WEBCT-VISTA-V1:ff0e1f5c-84ef-022e-0019-c695c39bfce6&insName=UNIVERSITY%20OF%20CALIFORNIA%20SAN%20DIEGO[/url]”>https://webctweb.ucsd.edu/webct/logonDisplay.dowebct?insId=9140001&glcid=URN:X-WEBCT-VISTA-V1:ff0e1f5c-84ef-022e-0019-c695c39bfce6&insName=UNIVERSITY%20OF%20CALIFORNIA%20SAN%20DIEGO&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>it’s where class websites are located.</p>

107

<p>can someone help me with this waitlist question?
in a discussion theres usually 30 people, if im on the waitlist #5 will i get in?</p>

108

<p>we don’t know for sure. but my gut feeling says no.</p>

109

<p>astrina, you’re amazing! thanks for putting things into perspective. :)</p>

<p>i’ve decided to go for chem 6a. even if i get czworkowski (which will basically happen, considering i register tomorrow), i’ll probably just attend the weinberger or sailor lectures and go to all my sections, ask lots of questions, pratice thoroughly and be confident. thanks for sharing your background.</p>

<p>Do you mind if I ask how you fared in Chem 6AH? I don’t mean necessarily the letter grade; more like how much you struggled relative to how successful you were or if you pulled off a decent grade but with more effort than you’d like. I’d just like to get some idea of how AP Chem prepared you for 6AH, since I never took AP Chem myself. or rather, how would compare AP Chem to Chem 6A, having been a 6A TA?</p>

<p>I can’t believe there’s triple integrals in 6AH. That’s… scary.</p>

<p>but yes, I’m feeling much more confident. thank you.</p>

110

<p>@Artdancer</p>

<p>That’s pretty odd. I plugged that ISBN number and got nothing, or strange results. I wouldn’t worry about it. Just attend lecture and see what the deal is, you’ll be able to pick up a book from the bookstore or somewhere nearby if you do need one.</p>

<p>@GravityxZero35</p>

<p>What class is this waitlist for? Depending on the subject more people might drop. If it’s like Chemistry then you have a shot, but if it’s your writing course the chances are much lower.</p>

<p>@92faim</p>

<p>I would probably just stick to your assigned lecture for 6A since your tests will be based on how that specific professor teaches the subject. In terms of going to section still, the TA’s are advised by the professors so it would ultimately benefit you to stick to your assigned lecture, but ask a lot of questions if your struggling or better yet, go to office hours.</p>

111

<p>I doubt anybody failed 6AH, since the majority of us were in Math 20B concurrently, made up some idiocy for the midterms, got them wrong, but then again, the TA didn’t have any idea how to solve the questions either. (And now that I’ve gotten multiple degrees in chemistry, I’ve STILL never seen questions as confusing as those) It was a decent grade considering the effort I put in, since the curve was pretty generous, but I was frustrated with not learning anything solid. 6AH is more of an “expanding your horizons” class and should be retitled “the math and physics of chemical principles” – the honors label is something I have a big problem with, since every year there’s a new batch of freshmen who think “oooh honors! just like high school! let’s go impress some grad schools!,” realize their mistake, and go back to the genchem series the following quarter.</p>

<p>AP chem’s basically 6A-C. Nothing harder, nothing easier. Both run at the same pace and you get taught about the same amount. (unlike Calc AB, which runs a full year in high school and only covers 15 weeks of UCSD calculus) Why exactly do you want to know, since you didn’t take AP chem?</p>

112

<p>Just saw Schw1ng’s comment – I disagree (very respectfully) to a certain extent.</p>

<p>Of course your professor’s the one who writes the exams, but there are good lecturers and bad lecturers out there, and at the end of the day it all boils down to whether you know 6A material. Can you draw the correct Lewis structures? Calculate formal charge? Predict electron configurations? If there’s a professor out there who can teach you these tricks and you have the time/motivation to hear the same lecture twice, then I think it’s an invaluable experience.</p>

<p>When I was TAing for professor X, who liked going off on tangents and was kind of hard to follow, I told my students point-blank that they would benefit immensely from attending professor Y’s class instead. It was kind of sad to see X’s lectures drop to 60% attendance and zoom back up to 100% on exam days, but I had more than one student tell me professor Y had saved the day.</p>

113

<p>^I have a question for you astrina. Since I had trouble following Professor Crowell’s lectures last quarter for Chem 6B, would you have recommended me sit through a different lecture?</p>

114

<p>Yup. Andy Kummel is a terrific 6B lecturer.</p>

<p>I learned from experience, I was in Crowell’s class but spent all my class time reading for hum. Kummel was amazing - references to “pinko commies” several times per lecture, haha. But Crowell is a very nice guy and his exams are the most straightforward of all the genchem lecturers that I’ve seen.</p>

115

<p>^Kummel wasn’t teaching it spring quarter last quarter. I sat through his class for exactly one day winter quarter and I thought he was hilarious. I knew you loved Crowell though so I had to ask. I thought he was a really nice person, his lectures were just confusing so it was frustrating. Barely anybody showed up to his class, but I went to every single one. In hindsight, his curve was amazing, so I got a better grade than I deserved, but I didn’t feel like I learned as much as I should have. I just think some people need to be careful what information they take from places like ratemyprofessors.com and give some professors a chance.</p>

116

<p>hey astrina,
cool, thanks for the answers. I was just asking because you said people who go into 6A this quarter are mostly people who took AP Chem and got a 3, so i wanted an idea of who I’d be competing with in the class. it does seem intimidating to think that people in chem 6a have already gone over the material in AP Chem.</p>

117

<p>no, i didn’t say that most 6A kids are AP chem alums. i said:</p>

<p>“85% of the chemistry-taking freshmen start in chem 6A, meaning they either got a 3 on the AP exam or never took AP chem at all.” never referred to the ratios.</p>

118

<p>@$KingsElite$ - confusing professors need good TAs to keep their students on track.</p>

<p>I was able to do well in the class because I had an amazing TA who had taken Crowell himself, saved his exams, and reformatted them into really helpful worksheet packets. It was that TA that showed me the importance of a good TA in undergrad classes, and motivated me to teach for as long as I did. You get an amazing amount of independence (and zero grading responsibilities) as one of Crowell’s TAs – maybe you should consider it and come to the rescue for another generation of students? :)</p>

119

<p>^Ha ha. Well, I am a prospective teacher, but I’m a bio major, and I suck badly at chem. I definitely agree with you though. Having good TAs definitely helped me out in classes. For Bild 1 though, my TA was totally having a hard time explaining something to the class and I said “I think I can explain it to them”, so she let me and then people were like “ooooooooooooh, I get it”.</p>

120

<p>@Astrina</p>

<p>Your perspective is very much appreciated and I agree with you, but there’s always danger in attending another lecturer instead of yours like in the case that they give out practice tests during lecture, or elaborate into certain tangents that they test you on that another professor won’t. However, this can be avoided by having friend and or a cool TA.</p>

<p>Though, to be safe, I would attend your lecture and if you want, the other teacher’s lecture (I did this for a couple weeks before I realized I didn’t have to).</p>

<p>@KingsElite</p>

<p>Good TA’s really save people in classes haha. I know I’ll apply for a position come 3rd year for the bild classes possibly. You should too considering your BILD experience.</p>