<p>Hullo ever'body!</p>
<p>So I got the transfer option to Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (cals), meaning they will take me in NEXT year if I go to any 4 or 2-year college and maintain a 3.3 GPA, getting no less than a B in any of my classes.
Since I'm currently interested in biological sciences and possibly in pursuing a graduate degree in something similar, I thought UCSD would be a great place to go for freshman year.</p>
<p>BUT</p>
<p>My dad, who went to undergrad in Asia and grad at NYU, wants me to go to UCI for that 1 year. He actually suggested that I attend UCI for all 4-years so that I can maintain a good GPA and go to a good med/grad school.</p>
<p>Now my question is: Is there a significant difference in "difficulty" between UCI and UCSD? Is it really wise to go to UCI for all 4 years (given that it IS easier to get better grades at UCI) to prepare for grad school?</p>
<p>How were your guys' experience with transitioning from high school to UCSD/UCI, academics wise? Did AP classes prepare you, or were they at least a good indicator of how well you'd do in college? (+ How's the workload for a bio sci major at SD? Is B and higher relatively easy/hard?)</p>
<p>I still want to go to grad school, but UCI doesn't appeal to me at all..</p>
<p>helpumeee!</p>
<p>(hmeh I was a lil surprised that my Asian dad who nags me to study all the time and critiques my math all the time wasn't all for going to Cornell for soph yr and on. I had to ask him "If you were okay with me going to UCI, why'd you make me work so hard in high school??" T^T)</p>
<p>I went from high school to UC Davis. College rigor can be scary at first, but it really is all smokin mirrors. Sit in the front of all of your classes, ATTEND all of your classes and restitution periods, and you’ll do fine. </p>
<p>the thing people don’t understand, there isn’t really much difference between the UC’s. you will be taking similar classes. the main differences are the quality of professors, TA’s. and the overall College experience eachUC offers students.</p>
<p>I would say there shouldn’t be a significant difficulty between both schools. I mean UCI is trying to catch up the top UC’s too and I wouldn’t look down on it at all. It totally depends on what professors you choose and how hard you study. Here in UCSD there are many good professors, ok professors, and crappy ones as well. You just have to make a wise choice and study hard to get a good grade. </p>
<p>I heard from my friend who’s now a 3rd year that she should have gone to an easier state university so that she wouldn’t have to compete with smart people here in UCSD. Not sure if she really meant that or was just whining about it.</p>
<p>I used to be a straight-A student in high school but to be honest, it’s very hard to getting all A’s in UCSD. Classes with HW can help you get an A but if your grade solely depends on exams, then good luck. I took an evolution class in my first quarter and got a C+ because got a B on my midterm and then a C- on final exam. However, in some classes, there’s a curve or maybe your professors are nice enough to drop one midterm. This way, you have a chance to get a good grade.</p>
<p>I only took like 2 AP’s from high school. I got exempt from General Chemistry courses so I am not so sure how the AP course had helped me but from looking at my peers, their chemistry stuff seemed harder than the problems on chem AP test. I took a Calc AB AP from high school, with a brand new teacher (it was her first yr teaching) and felt like I didn’t learn much. I got a 4 on the test but I still have to take 2 math courses. I’d say, it doesn’t have that great of an impact because I felt like I had to relearn the harder stuff anyway. I got the okay grades on both math classes.</p>
<p>Bottom line:
When you choose where you want to go, don’t just choose the easier one but consider other aspects as well since you can only go to college and get the new experience one time in your life so make a wise choice. I mean if everybody thinks about going to the easy college then why are tough colleges still very popular? It’s just the different ways that people think. We have different preferences.
If you know that UCI doesn’t appeal to you at all, then don’t go there!</p>
<p>chainiwatmj,</p>
<p>Well, what makes my decision more difficult is that I NEED to maintain a 3.3+ GPA and not get anything under a B (not even a B-) for every one of my classes in order for me to be able to transfer into Cornell next year.
Hearing that you got a C in your first quarter scared my pants off, especially since most first year students take introductory/lower-level classes and such. Now I’m hoping that I’ll be allowed to take intro classes, despite having a handful of AP credits to transfer in, just to be sure that I’m not jumping into something I’m not ready for…</p>
<p>At least now I know “difficulty” really won’t be a deciding factor in choosing between UCI and SD. I’ll complete my SIR for SD today and hopefully my fear of failure will somehow ward away the C’s.</p>
<p>Above all, it just depends on each individual. I have no idea what your study habits are but like I have a friend who parties a lot and is very social but she is able to maintain her 3.7 here. Haha I no longer got any C’s in my second quarter though but I might get one this quarter lol who knows. And like I said, good professors make a difference!</p>
<p>FindmeFazo,</p>
<p>If you have the option to attend a 2 year CC, I would go that route. I’m a third year CC student possibly transferring to UCSD next fall. It will not only be ALOT cheaper but you would also be more likely to maintain that GPA without any Cs. I say this because Im an electrical engineering major and I haven’t gotten any Cs so far(3.8 GPA.) I’m not really smart by any means, I just work hard and I’m committed to my work. It also doesn’t mean the classes at CCs are easier, they are as good as any UC (assuming you don’t pick a class because how easy the professor is but rather on how well he teaches.) People tend to think that classes are a joke at a CC, but in reality it might seem that way because classes are way smaller (compared to UCs lower division) and you have the opportunity to ask questions at any time during and after class and you can go to your professors office hours to get helped. I know every single professors I have taken a class with. And also take into account that lower division classes at a UC are known as “weeder” classes, it means that they might make it more difficult than it really is because THEY HAVE TO fail some people and to see who can handle the workload that will be ahead of them. And honestly many of my friends also say that lower division classes (STEM MAJORS) are better at a CC and I totally agree.
That’s just my 2 cents. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>