<p>that UCLA is an extremely competitive school. I'm not a genius or anything, but im definitely a hard-working person. Is it really that competitive? Is it hard to keep a decent GPA (not 4.0, but surely above a 3.0)</p>
<p>i dont wanna submit my SIR and then end up at a school where i feel like a total idiot. (and im also not that good in math:/)</p>
<p>there will be people more ■■■■■■■■ than you <em>almost</em> anywhere haha. If you study hard you will do fine I’m sure… And it depends on your major</p>
<p>haha.</p>
<p>are math classes hard? :/</p>
<p>i’ve only taken up to trig. so im not a math person. at all.</p>
<p>
Yes, they are. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do well in them if you’re a hard worker (as you say you are).</p>
<p>You might think that some people are just born with talent, that things come easier to them. But academic research into genius-level performance has given a surprising result – there is no such thing! What its found is that hard work and learning from what you do makes the difference. </p>
<p>Here’s a few links you will probably find interesting [ul] [li][E=mc2</a> (and a lot of hard work) - National - theage.com.au](<a href=“E=mc2 (and a lot of hard work)”>E=mc2 (and a lot of hard work))[/li][li][Psychology</a> Today: The Winning Edge](<a href=“A Case of Catch-22 | Psychology Today”>A Case of Catch-22 | Psychology Today)[/li][li][Success</a> is all in the mind | The Australian](<a href=“http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24953805-30417,00.html]Success”>http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24953805-30417,00.html)[/li][li]<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/magazine/07wwln_freak.html?ei=5090&en=2cf57fe91bdd490f&ex=1304654400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/magazine/07wwln_freak.html?ei=5090&en=2cf57fe91bdd490f&ex=1304654400&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all</a> [/ul] Here’s a quote from one of the articles [/li][quote]
“It’s complicated explaining how genius or expertise is created and why it’s so rare,” says Anders Ericsson, the professor of psychology at Florida State University who edited the handbook. "But it isn’t magic, and it isn’t born. It happens because some critical things line up so that a person of good intelligence can put in the sustained, focused effort it takes to achieve extraordinary mastery.</p>
<p>“These people don’t necessarily have an especially high IQ, but they almost always have very supportive environments, and they almost always have important mentors. And the one thing they always have is this incredible investment of effort.”</p>
<p>This is mixed news, Ericsson says. “It’s funny, really. On one hand it’s encouraging: it makes me think that even the most ordinary among us should be careful about saying we can’t do great things, because people have proven again and again that most people can do something extraordinary if they’re willing to put in the exercise. On the other hand, it’s a bit overwhelming to look at what these people have to do. They generally invest about five times as much time and effort to become great as an accomplished amateur does to become competent. It’s not something everyone’s up for.”
[/quote]
So what does all this mean for you? It means that if you put in the 3 hours outside of class for every hour in class (9 hours a week for most classes) you will learn the material and do well. This means purposeful studying; not the TV on and the book somehow present in the room. Of course many courses take less than this, but a lot of people find that hardcore math and science classes take at least this much work. Plus you have to take advantage of the resources. You can sign up for free tutoring in math classes (but you have to do it the 1st week of classes). You can buy one of the Problem-Solving guides (about $20) for the class you’re taking; with thousands of worked examples, its like having a tutor sitting at your elbow while you put in some of those 9 hours. You can attend office hours. And, as the quote above points out, as you discover your true interests and pick a major you need to find a faculty member to mentor you so that your taking the best steps to prepare for the future.</p>
<p>wow thanks ^</p>
<p>:]</p>
<p>if you dont like math, you can pick a major that requires minimal or no math at all…</p>
<p>whats your major?</p>