<p>its my first semester in community college this fall, and I plan on taking 16 unites but i'll probably be dropping a class, which would leave me at 13 units my first semester</p>
<p>i've got</p>
<p>english
statistics
comparative gov
microeconomics
a us history course</p>
<p>and like i said, I plan to drop one (either comparative gov or us history)</p>
<p>POINT IS!</p>
<p>is it a bad idea that i'm taking 4 courses this fall that are recommended for my major, so early on? </p>
<p>Am I making a bad choice, by doing too much major prep work in the beginning of my journey in community college....or does it not matter? </p>
<p>bc at this rate, i'll probably end up doing mostly general ed courses, and less major prep courses as I get closer to transferring, which doesn't seem to be a good idea, but i'm just double checking. what do you guys think?</p>
<p>should i just take these courses and get them over with, or will UCs (specifically berkeley) care that I took too many major prep courses in the beginning and too many general ed courses later on...</p>
<p>do they prefer that i spread my major prep courses throughout my 2 years at community college?</p>
<p>I don't think it really matters when you take your GE courses and when you take your major prep courses, so long as you have all of your GE courses completed by the end of your Spring semester, after you've applied to the uC. And as for the major prep, they recommend that you finish as many major prep courses as possible. I honestly would recommend that you start off slow your first semester...don't pack on the classes, only risking the possibility of not being able to handle the pressure and then screwing up your GPA. I would suggest sticking with the 13 units...see how well your Fall semester goes...and then later, you can add a 5th class to your schedule during the other semesters as you begin to realize your own capabilities and how much work you can handle. Because don't forget, you also have to be involved in Extracurricular activities/volunteering/work, etc...so you'd have to juggle that along with the load of units. </p>
<p>i was just worried that the admission guys will sit there and say </p>
<p>"oh well, her GPA is great, but she took most of the major prep courses in the beginning of community college...i dont know about how well she can handle related material; it has been a while"</p>
<p>FINISH AS MANY MAJOR COURSES AS POSSIBLE and AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!! MAJOR COURSES ARE REALLY IMPORTANT (far more important than GEs for some top UCs like UCLA or UCB). Onother thing is: GPA--maintain it around 3.6+, of course the closer to 4.0, the better!</p>
<p>Some top students got rejected because they are missing some major courses! So make make sure you finish as many as you can (no matter in the beginning or the middle or the end in your community college years), you just want to finish the major courses (lower division requirement).</p>
<p>When you are at Community College, you have to work your way up to the upper division courses. Take everything that will have you in the clear for tasking upper division courses when you transfer. And, try your best to take as many sophomore level courses as you can at Community College. A University will want to see that you worked your way up at Community College so that you can start in on the bulk of your upper division courses at your transfer University. University admissions heads hate to see people who barely took anything worth a darn at Community College, because then they wind up having to take their major lower division level degree requirements at University.</p>
<p>Also, do you know your major? Be creative and test yourself. After you have fulfilled the lower division requirements for a course that totally pertains to your major, then take an upper division class online like at BYU or something. That will prove you are ready to enter the big leagues. Also, learn about any organisations you can join that pertain your major now. Like, if you are a Lit. major, a lot of Lit. Societies accept student members. Research that kind of stuff, O/P. Even though this web site is cool, they are a lot of google groups which pertain to certain University majors and you could post a message at one about what organisations you could join now which pertain to your major or even something that pertains to you as a person, like an interesting hobby that takes brains to do well in. </p>
<p>Also volunteering in your community at a place which pertains to your major is cool too. Basically, do anything you can which pertains to your major in order for things to look nice later on.</p>
<p>and yes i know my major: Political Economy of Industrial Societies and its at UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>I understand that major prep work is important. But I'm still not clear on how important it is to spread the major prep courses out and sprinkle them throughout the next 2 years i'll be spending at community college.</p>
<p>So kevin101 and others, the point is, when i take the major prep courses doesn't matter...its just about taking them period right? so if i get practically all of them over with my first year, it won't be a big deal or will UCB care that i took them all when i'm starting out, is my point???</p>
<p>Finishing the lower division (major courses) early EVEN GIVE YOU THE ADVANTAGE because it shows that you are commited to your major and that is a + for them!</p>
<p>i'm surprised bc i could have SWORN they want you to spread your major prep work throughout the 2 years but i guess its not as important as i had thought</p>