<p>Hello. I will be attending UCLA this fall as a Biology major (I am a community college transfer). I know that I have completed the equivalents to all the core classes except for physics - I know I still need to take two quarters of physics when I get there. </p>
<p>What would you recommend in terms of course work for my first quarter at UCLA? My gpa is pretty strong, at a 3.8. However, I do not want to overwhelm myself my first quarter there. I have asked around and some people have said to take 2 electives and one more non-science course. But which electives? They all seem to be about the same difficulty level. </p>
<p>And would you recommend taking Chem 153A my first quarter? Why or why not. </p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help!! :)</p>
<p>p.s. If there are any professors that you recommend, let me know!</p>
<p>Definitely get on Physics before your coursework gets out of hand. If Physics is easy for you now, you should have no problems at UCLA (lucky!). I find that Physics professors at UCLA kinda suck tbh…
Perhaps it’s just my inherent disdain for all things math. Dust off those calculus skills cause you will need them. The lab component is nothing though. You basically play with toys until a TA marks your name off and sets you free. LOL.</p>
<p>If you’re game for a second science course, there are alot of possibilites. Although, if your college isn’t on a quarter system, it might take a while to get used to (or ideally, not lol). I don’t know anything about Biochem at UCLA, only that I keep hearing how insanely difficult it is. If you want to just get it out of the way, I would do that. Personally, I took MCDB 138 my first quarter with Karen Lyons who is great imo. However, if you can’t deal with a ton of (sometimes boring and very detailed) info being constantly thrown at you, I wouldn’t do it. It’s a five unit course right off the bat. The subject is very interesting if you’re into stem cells, development, and all that. </p>
<p>If you like Ecology related stuff, I would highly recommend EEB 100. I’m taking it this quarter with Patricia Halpin. After reading horror story after horror story, after yet MORE HORROR STORIES about her on Bruinwalk, I’m finding out, she’s NOTHING like those people portray (the thing about the stupid clicker system is true though). I was so freaked out that I went into the class with kind of a negative attitude. I don’t know if UCLA students were spoiled with too many A’s in high school or what but that’s just really unfortunate…the class is great and she is fair (sorry, not everyone can have A’s. It’s life). Lesson: Don’t believe everything you read on that website, though it will be tempting. Most of the reviewers are just angry pre-meds who’ve just realized that their 3.999997 GPAs just won’t cut it for Harvard med (even though they will still get into 29/30 of the schools they applied to). I don’t know anything about the other professor teaching it next quarter but the class itself was pretty interesting. If you want to get a lab out of the way, EEB 100L is very chill. It’s 4 units, and although looks like it will be 4 hours a week it’s not. It rarely goes past 3 hours, except on two field trip dates. Grading is based on 3 papers. </p>
<p>As for your elective, go ahead and pick anything that interests you. I’m taking a Film class this quarter and it’s awesome. Just be careful cause just because it’s an elective doesn’t mean it’ll be easy.</p>
<p>Thank you oceanpartier for your insightful response! I’ll definitely take your advice and try to get physics out of the way first. And yes I agree with you, those Professor rating websites are wacky sometimes because usually people who are raging about their grades make sure to go and write a horrible review!</p>