<p>Is anybody here planning on taking a fifth year? What are your reasons?</p>
<p>Somewhat related question to anybody else: what are the average number of units you've taken per quarter here?</p>
<ol>
<li>Yes.</li>
<li>Reason: engineering (EE).</li>
<li>~14-16 units per quarter.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>hopefully, hopefully not (summer school, here i come...)</li>
<li>grad school program change... not wanting to go to grad school for psych anymore = extra classes</li>
<li>average of 15</li>
</ol>
<p>YES. I had to take this quarter off to have spine surgery and recover bla bla bla... yea</p>
<p>fisico:
now are you taking another year because...
1) engineering is difficult and to get a decent GPA or w/e would take spreading out the classes over five years???
or
2) you had one of those, "i need to search myself" quarters and just kinda fell behind???</p>
<p>I'm just wondering because I see this alot on the forum and I want to gauge how engineering will be for me. It seems like your taking another year to make the workload of engineering not so overbearing. I hope thats not insulting or w/e and sorry if it is. I don't mean it to be. It's just that I'm seeing this alot: engineering is difficult and sometimes it causes people to 1) switch out or 2) go beyond four years. I noticed it alot when I went to the engineering open house. The graduation rate for engineers was like 25% because most initial engineers dropped out. And I noticed MOST (not all) were working for more than 4 years.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>how many people do you know who enter UCLA declared, who never change their major because after taking their upper-divs they still think it's perfect for them, who never find a major that might be better for them, who aren't ever distracted by courses that count for nothing but are really cool opportunities, or who add a minor or decide to double major?</p>
<p>if someone did all that and was THAT focused, they'd graduate following the plans in the books. if north campus, then in 3 years.</p>
<p>but they are such a minority, and really, college without exploration/diversion (even if totally unintentional) is boring. there are so many things here that no one can be certain a given major is right for them right off the bat- even if they know they want engineering, or pre-med, or some focused discipline. college isn't about plugging in your degree and graduating... hence super senior year for so many people!</p>
<p>
<p>I'm a transfer student. That means I had Junior standing when I got here. Had I crammed my schedule (ie. ~20 units per quarter) I would still be here for at least eight quarters. Some transfers choose to stay the full three years, others rush it and stay seven quarters. Hell, I might stay more than three years here due to poor planning on my part. That's fine with me. Maybe I'll get some research done.</p>
<p>Engineering is hard, but I don't think it's impossible to get a decent GPA. You just have to stay focused, manage your time wisely, and love what your doing.</p>
<p> [quote=nbui3] 2) you had one of those, "i need to search myself" quarters and just kinda fell behind???
</p>
<p>No, there's no time for that nonsense! Who the hell does that seriously? Maybe liyana, but not me!</p>
<p>Anyway, some students do co-op programs, which sets them back one quarter. I don't see that as taking time off since they are doing something in engineering that is helping their careers.</p>
<p>
<p>Yes, I'm taking the extra time to spread out my classes. Why should I put myself through hell if the end result is the same? Four upper division EE classes can be quite draining. It'll be hard to keep up if you fall behind. There's no room for any tomfoolery. There are a number of reasons why people stay one additional year.</p>
<p>[ul] [<em>]Spread out class schedules. [</em>]Switching majors. [<em>]Course offerings (ie. not offered, conflicting time, etc.) [</em>]Failed courses. [<em>]The major just takes that long. [</em>]Etc. [/ul]</p>
<p>I'm sure Flopsy or Citan can shed more light on this.</p>
<p> [quote=nbui3] The graduation rate for engineers was like 25% because most initial engineers dropped out.
</p>
<p>I should be proud of myself then. :D</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>All of the people I've met have stayed with their declared major. Even the ones that came in as freshmen. :cool:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>But what if they did a co-op program? What if they decided to also do research during the year, which could make them decide on spreading out their classes into a five year plan? There are other things you should have considered before making that statement. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You make it seem like a super senior year is a must in order to have some sort of "exploration/diversion" in college. That's just not true.</p>
<p>i'm just trying to say that it's kind of hard to graduate in four years if you discover what you really want to be studying isn't what you're already studying. which is kind of the point of college- exploration!</p>
<p>i suppose changing majors is more of a north-campus thing, and the ramifications of it are greater in north campus because there are fewer overlapping pre-reqs/lower-divs than engineering/pre-med. </p>
<p>and i HAVE stayed with my declared major. i have not taken a quarter "off" to search things- i took a GE which inspired me to change focus. which involves science. which involves lots of science classes not included in my major (as well as the fact that they introduced a new minor which is perfect for me, which means... more classes!). </p>
<p>maybe i'm just a little bit bitter that despite all the planning i did for my major, unforeseen things happened which are good for me in the long run but bad for me in the short run. you can't plan for things like that, or for logistical things like class offerings, as fisico said. so my main point is that while few people PLAN on being a super senior, it's not uncommon. </p>
<p>"life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."</p>
<p>thanx for answering liyana and fisico</p>
<p>what i meant by working is that i've noticed a lot of engineers do more than four years. I just choose a bad word to use.........</p>
<p>I heard that the unit requirement for engineers was changed from ~210 to ~185 at some point in the past few years.</p>
<p>When exactly did this happen? Has a class already graduated with 185 units - is the percentage of 4-year graduations according to the 185 or 210 unit req? </p>
<p>Following the 185 unit requirement, how likely is the entering class to graduate in 4 years?</p>
<p>it doesn't really matter what the unit requirement is, either way just to complete all the engineering classes + GEs will require something like 200 credits. it only matters to L&S students with their dinky 15-class majors.</p>
<p>5 years = waste of money, unless there is no way you can do it in 4 (engineers)</p>
<p>
[quote]
either way just to complete all the engineering classes + GEs will require something like 200 credits.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Really? The maximum is 189 units for any engineering major. The least is, I think 185.</p>
<p>Also, I agree with bruinboy that the 5th year is a waste of money and time (somewhat).</p>
<p>If you want a PhD:
~22 B.S
~24 M.S
~29-30 PhD</p>
<p>Any year later you spend being an undergraduate means you will have to wait until you're 30 or over to get your PhD. Time is sort of precious at that stage, I guess.</p>
<p>But also, I guess if you want to enjoy and have as much fun possible during your undergrad years, then you can choose that option too. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>We probably went to the same Engineer's Open House arrangement (orientation first, then lunch). I think you hear wrong though. I thought the speaker said there is a 25% ATTRITION rate, not a 25% graduation rate. I just wouldn't make any sense at all for only 25% of an incoming class to make it out after 4 years...that % would make me leave engineering altogether. I thought he explained that 25% of each incoming class LEAVES the engineering dept (but stays at UCLA) and graduates with a differrent major (eng, business, bio, etc.). That, i can see is plausible. Flopsy, what do you think?</p>
<p>25% is the attrition rate. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>was it easy for you guys to petition for a 5th year? i guess you dont really have any choices since otherwise you cant get your degree. you guys must also be rich to be able to pay for those extra quarters since i heard they cut off financial aid after the fourth year</p>
<p>
<p>As far as I know, you don't petition for it. You're just stuck here until you graduate, you drop out, or they kick you out. Right?</p>
<p> [quote=ohhowiwish] you guys must also be rich to be able to pay for those extra quarters since i heard they cut off financial aid after the fourth year
</p>
<p>I don't think that's entirely true. The only financial aid that will be taken from you are the Cal Grants.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That ****ing sucks!</p>
<p>No Cal Grants for 5th years? AWWW ****! S#!T!!!!!</p>
<p>I guess I'll take out a loan, or maybe I can sell a kidney?</p>
<p>Yeah, cal grants are my lifeline, too. **** that sucks..</p>