<p>lala09990,</p>
<p>The closest thing I’ve had to a grammar class was a “Literature and Linguistics” course I took my first semester. Come to think of it, those are the only grammar lessons I can remember since elementary school.</p>
<p>If I’m aiming for a 4.0 my first semester, is it wise to take:</p>
<p>1) English 17 (Shakespeare)
2) English 45B (Literature in English, Late 17th through the mid-19th century)
3) English 45C (Literature in English, Mid-19th through the 20th century)
4) and a seminar, so my units add up to 13?</p>
<p>-Can you tell me what to expect in these classes?<br>
-How many weeks do you get to write each paper? (How many papers do you write per class?)
-How many books do you read per class? Can I get a head start and find out what the book list is during the summer?</p>
<p>Is it true… Berkeley goggles?</p>
<p>@Dango
Berkeley goggles? Are those like those crazy hippy shades from the 60s? lol!</p>
<p>Eits25,</p>
<p>Would you be able to elaborate a little further on this ‘Honors Program’ recommendation for student who’d like to continue on through grad school? (PhD in Psyhology in my case.)</p>
<p>I’m just a little inexperienced regarding the checklist/benchmarks for applying to grad schools. Thanks bud, appreciate any info.</p>
<p>ecullen,</p>
<p>I don’t see how your units would add up to 13 that way unless you found a 1 unit seminar? I took 45B and 45C in the same semester. I wouldn’t really recommend it, but it’s certainly possible. 45B and C change depending on the professor and a lot of them teach different books. Here are the book lists for my 45B/C classes:</p>
<p>B:
Book List: Norton Anthology of English Lit, Vol. 2; Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin; Melville, Billy Budd and Other Tales; Austen, Emma; Shelley, Frankenstein; Equiano, Interesting Narrative & Other Writings; a course reader available at Metro Publishing, 2440 Bancroft Way.</p>
<p>C.
Required texts:
Stein, G: Three Lives and Q.E.D
James, H: Turn of the Screw
Williams, W. C: Imaginations
Woolf, V: Mrs. Dalloway
Mullen, H: Sleeping with the Dictionary
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Petals of Blood
Locke, A., ed.: The New Negro
Ramazani, J, et al: The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry (2 volumes)</p>
<p>In addition to these texts, there is a reader. It is available in printed out form at Piedmont Copy, 2980 College Avenue (that’s about 10 blocks from campus, on College Avenue just past Ashby); and it’s available electronically on the course bSpace for Eng 45c LEC 002 Fa09</p>
<p>There were 3 papers in each class as well as an in class final. The first two were around 5 pages and the final paper was like 7-9. You will read a LOT, but won’t really be accountable for anything until the final (unless you’re writing on it). Head starts on the reading list are rare unless your teacher releases the syllabus on bSpace over the summer. Check the department website for course listings and it might be there sometimes too.</p>
<p>Dango,
as far as Berkeley goggles, I don’t know. I’ve been in a long distance relationship with my girlfriend since before I transferred (3 years together in July). That being said, there are definitely gorgeous girls here. Cute girls are easy to find too. The ratios might not be as good as UCLA, but you’re definitely able to find LA 10’s on campus. So I guess, it’s up to you whether or not you lower your standards ;)</p>
<p>NCB,
The honors program in almost all departments here takes place your Senior year. In English it involves writing a 40-60 page thesis during your final semester. It is not a requirement for grad school, but damn does it make for a good writing sample. I’m less knowledgeable about what it entails in the Psychology department, but check out your department’s website to find out more.</p>
<p>@NCB–I’m in the same boat as you. Can you let me know what you find out regarding the honors programs and steps to get a PhD in psychology?
Thanks bud!</p>
<p>bump of the century. Here to hopefully answer more questions since the Lakers game isn’t on until tomorrow night.</p>
<p>How does showering work in the Cal Dorms? I am quite clueless on how University showering works. Do people just walk out of their dorm rooms with a towel wrapped around their waist towards the showers?</p>
<p>Also, is it like separate stalls with curtains on each one?</p>
<p>Is it common to see naked people walking around the showering area? (Wouldn’t find it a big deal, just want to know what I should expect)</p>
<p>RedSkies:</p>
<p>I was in Clark Kerr my first year and my dorm was co-ed floors and bathrooms. The showers were individual stalls with doors and locks. Most people just brought shower kits with shampoo/soap/etc. It was not uncommon to see the guys in towels shave at the sinks outside the stalls, but no one walked around naked.</p>
<p>Was it difficult to last in your long distance relationship? </p>
<p>Also, what did you do with your English degree?</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Sweet, thanks for the info man. </p>
<p>Greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Indie, </p>
<p>The long distance relationship wasn’t such a big deal because it was long distance before I even transferred to Cal. Last month I made the drive to Illinois to live with my girlfriend. Right now I’m looking for work with startups. During the fall I was working towards getting my certification to sub and teach English abroad, but plans changed once the girlfriend got back from her semester abroad in Spain and wanted me to move out here. So, now I’m in Chicago looking for work just about everywhere.</p>
<p>Oh, well that’s awesome. Thanks and good luck in Chicago! :)</p>
<p>So weird seeing my post from a year ago on Page 4! lol. Even weirder: I personally know a few of the ppl here at Cal that posted in this thread. </p>
<p>Good times. Thank you again, eits, for helping me out back in the day! :D</p>
<p>etis,</p>
<p>I will be attending Cal as an English major this Fall. Do you have any recommendations as to how I should plan my four semesters? The upcoming semester looks fairly straightforward (I plan to take 45B, a pre-1800 course, an elective and a decal), but I’m pretty curious as to what things look like afterward.</p>
<p>And if you have any course recommendations, I’m all ears!</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>To Emil & Etis:</p>
<p>I got admitted to Cal as a spring admit and I’m looking forward to attending! (although I’m still debating where to attend: Cal vs. UCLA). I have a few questions for you, and I would really appreciate your responses!</p>
<p>1) I’ve been living in SoCal for awhile, and having a car is necessary in LA as you know. I’m not planning to bring a car to Cal. My question is: Will I be able to live just fine without a car? I mean, I have families here in SoCal, so I practically don’t know anyone in Berkeley. Will I be able to get around with BART and buses? How comfortable are BART and buses? I realized that buses in LA are…not so good, so I’m wondering if it’s same in Berkeley? 
Are there a lot of students without a car? Please let me know!</p>
<p>2) Like I said, I’m a spring admit, which means I will be attending Cal next spring. I’m planning to take off a semester after my spring 2012 semester for personal reasons. Will I be able to declare non-attendance for a semester in Fall 2012? It’s just a semester… I would like to know how difficult is the process, and I would like to know if I have to have some specific reasons.</p>
<p>3) I have been admitted as a Philosophy major, but I’m planning to switch to Political Economics. Will it be hard to switch to Political Economics? any requirements you may know? 
Also, would it be hard to graduate in 1 1/2 year as a spring admit?</p>
<p>AHHH this would be really helpful to know all of them! I’m still having hard time deciding whether I should go to Cal or UCLA!!! Thank you for your time in advance!!! :D:D</p>
<p>1) You don’t need a car, especially if you live close to campus. Most students don’t have cars. but it’s always good to make friends with those that do. I would only consider bringing a car if I lived far away and had frequent errands/job to do. Remember, Berkeley and much of the Bay Area area are bike friendly. </p>
<p>There’s a BART station about two blocks away from the campus entrance, very easy to get to/from, though trips to SF can be expensive ($7 RT). The AC transit (local buses) are okay, not the best but not the worse. You get a free AC transit pass every semester which is a nice perk for us students.</p>
<p>Phantomazero,</p>
<p>Your first semester sounds like a pretty decent plan. I swamped myself my first semester taking 16 upper div English classes. One of them being Lit Theory and the other a Linguistics course. If you go talk to the English Major advisor during your first semester he will give you a sheet with which to outline the rest of your semesters. One thing I would reccommend is being aware of the fact that you need upper division units outside of your major (when I was there it was 6). I’d suggest spreading these out. My final semester I was enrolled in a Film Class, a Russian Lit Class, and a Comparative Lit class, because the professor teaching my Joyce seminar had to cancel the class. While the Chekhov class filled the void as somewhat of an English class, had I ended up taking another class, I would have ended my final semester at Cal without a single English class. The other thing to be aware of is AC requirement. Try to fit this one in when you can. Other than that you are able to fill your semesters with seminars that fit your interests. If you’d like a list of all the courses I took in my two years, msg me and I’ll send them to you in a PM.</p>
<p>Professors I highly reccommend: DA Miller. J. Picciotto. A. Muza. Miller is strict and indimidating, but he taught me more about English in one semester than I’d learned in about 3 years.</p>
<p>Berkeleyphil,</p>
<p>I’m from socal too. The only person I knew going up to Cal was my nerd math major brother at Stanfurd. I was someone that drove EVERYWHERE when I was in Socal and lived in Berkeley for 2 years without it just fine. Bart is super comfortable and convenient, and the busses in Berkeley are filled mostly with students, so they’re only really unfcomfortable on rainy days when no one wants to walk. You can get around Berkeley just fine without a car.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how difficult it will be to declare non attendence. I would get in touch with the admissions office or an advisor from your college (L&S or whatever college you were accepted into) and talk to them about it. It IS possible because I had a roommate take a semester off from EECS for personal reasons, but this was prior to the budget crisis, so I’m not sure if things have changed.</p>
<p>The best advice I can give you about declaring a major is get in touch with the department advisor and discuss what needs to be done to declare the major. Here is a link to their department advisors from the L&S website"</p>
<p>[Office</a> of Undergraduate Advising: Political Economy](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/major/polecis.html]Office”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/major/polecis.html) </p>
<p>Also, I was in the same position deciding between being comfortable in socal at UCLA around friends and family, and cold and rained on not knowing anybody up at Cal. I chose Cal and I know it was the right decision. Cal is worth the wait.</p>