<p>I was not really worried about the competition of berkeley until I came on this website and started reading things. their posts are starting to freak me out haha.</p>
<p>What do you expect? It is Berkeley, so the competition is definitely fierce. But many students here are self-motivated, and for many - it isn’t about the grades we get, but it’s about the learning experience and the world-class education. I personally don’t care about my grades, I work hard, I study hard, and I try to grasp everything that the teacher teaches us about. If you don’t want to work hard or study hard, then I would ask you to reconsider. But if you’re serious about your education and want to learn as much as you can from the best faculty there is - then Cal all the way.</p>
<p>nothing in life is easy.</p>
<p>both of your posts is exactly how I feel =) life is a competition and you can’t hide from it forever.</p>
<p>lol. hmmm. GG</p>
<p>Have respect for berkeley classes. They are not your high school honors/AP classes. Take too many classes at once and you will end up dropping some of them.</p>
<p>In some departments, they have regular and “honors” versions of the same classes. Honors versions don’t award a extra point for A/B/Cs like in high school. Workload in those honors classes is typically 50% higher than in the regular classes. But the major advisors will tell you that those honors classes are awesome. Don’t listen to them. All regular berkeley classes are hard enough as is. Examples:</p>
<p>Physics— 7A, 7B, 7C vs H7A, H7B, H7C. The regular physics 7 series are required for most science and engineering major. The H7 series are intended for physics majors. The math used in those classes will drive you nut (3-D differential, integration). Unless you are a physics major and have completed high school calculus by junior year, don’t even think about physics H7. </p>
<p>Economics— 100A,100B vs 101A,101B. The econ 100AB are two of the required upper div classes for econ majors. Econ 101AB are 100AB with differential calculus and optimization problems tossed in. If you are a calculus genius, go for 101AB. If not, stick with 100AB</p>
<p>Math---- 104 vs H104. Math 104 is the first “real” math course for math major. Emphasis is on writing mathematical proofs. Homework problems in math H104 are trickier than those in regular math 104. Lower div math classes like math 1AB, 53, 54 only require using math correctly. Doing well in those 4 lower div classes doesn’t predict how well you will do in math H104. I know a gal who aced math 1ab, 53, 54, but got a C in math H104. </p>
<p>Good luck to all of you new Bears!!!</p>
<p>
I don’t think anyone cares. 4 is solid.</p>
<p>People here tend to exaggerate a bit in my (admittedly short) experience. I took 18 units my first semester, and I did just fine. And I’m by no means a workaholic/super genius. </p>
<p>I scored a D on the first chem 1a midterm and a C+ on the final and pulled an overall neutral A with the curve. Essentially, keep doing what you did in high school and resist the urge from partying/staying up super late every night, and you’ll be okay.</p>