Thanks to all with the helpful replies about the pace of the quarter system. Good info and much appreciated.
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Thanks for the correction! I edited the post to reflect this.
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any insights of the Clusters Freshman program? pros and cons?
If you read up thread, several of us have posted about them including + and -. On the whole, I think they are great!
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Do you know how hard the clusters are to get into? Do you know how many students are generally enrolled in each cluster? I’m actually weighing pros and cons right now between UCLA and Berkeley and the cluster program at UCLA is one of my pros but it won’t matter much if it ends up being something I can’t get into. Thanks!
My son made sure to use his first pass during orientation to get a cluster. He prioritized getting that cluster above all else, and when the one he wanted was already full for that orientation session (there will be slots held in each during each orientation session throughout the summer), his new student advisor worked on the back end to get him into the one he had wanted. Then he filled in the remainder of his courses around that. If you make it your top priority, I would say you can get into one. But it’s not a cakewalk or guarantee. So keep it front and center.
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any info on using your SAT scores to fulfill GE requirements?
did your son like the cluster series? seems the 4 GE’s requirements get knocked out 3 quarters ?
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He’s very glad he did it. It was the Evolution one, and as a social science major (Econ), it allowed him to knock out ALL of his science GEs with the one cluster series. Plus Writing II. It’s also an advantage to not have to use first pass on your Cluster class during Winter Quarter since you are already guaranteed the spot. But if he could do one thing differently, he would have still used first pass to get into the Spring discussion section of his preference since in Spring all of the clusters (at least for his) go solely into small groups and they are on different topics. Because he didn’t use first pass to pick the one he wanted, he ended up in a small group that was not really his favorite. But overall I think they are great and students should take advantage of the Cluster series! Best thing is to take one that will cover GEs that are NOT in your major since you’ve already got to take those classes for your major.
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so once you are registered for Fall cluster, it automatically holds your spot for winter and spring? but each quarter the topics are different?
Not exactly. Yes, your spot is guaranteed. But the first two quarters are a rotation of lectures by professors (really good ones!) plus discussion. The focus may be different from one quarter to the next because the whole thing involves an interdisciplinary team of professors who teach. But the spring quarter is just small discussions and while in the first two quarters all students are learning the same content, for the last it’s more a writing/research symposium in small groups and there are many choices for your focus/topic. So the benefit comes mainly in Winter registration because you don’t need to use first pass to get the Cluster since it’s automatically held for you. It’s guaranteed because you are enrolled in that Cluster. You can use first pass to get something else you need. And for Spring you are still guaranteed a Cluster section for that final writing/symposium focus. BUT there are many choices so if you want to get the one you prefer, you might decide to use first pass on that section. Does that make sense?
Where my son went wrong is that he didn’t use first pass on his choice of Cluster section, and by the time he got to second pass, the ones he was most interested in with the teachers he wanted were full. To be honest I’m not sure he will have done it differently because he really needed first pass to get into a math prerequisite for his major, but it was too bad he didn’t get the Spring Cluster option he liked best. It was still fine though! He got the credits, aced the class etc.
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thank you for the details! it helps! do you know how many students are in the cluster cohort?
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I’ll ask my son. I think lectures maybe 125 to 150? Discussion sections no more than 20.
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my daughter is getting an AA degree in liberal arts with her high school diploma, her school had a dual enrollment program with a university. How can she find out, which credits would cover some courses at UCLA?
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You can use assist.org if they are California CC classes. If they from a University, then she can try Transferology website but no guarantees that UCLA will accept them. https://admission.ucla.edu/apply/transferring-credits
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Ditto everything @GoldRush2 said on the cluster. If you’re a stem major, take a humanities cluster. If you’re a humanities/social sciences major, take a science cluster. It’s worth prioritizing during registration. They do fill up but my daughter got her first choice.
I also highly recommend the Fiat Lux program for freshmen. My daughter has taken a Fiat Lux every quarter… first quarter, she walked around Los Angeles with a renowned history professor, learning about the city’s architecture. The second quarter, she heard from guest lecturers(all Fulbright scholars) about the perspectives on the US from abroad, and this quarter she’s learning about something related to psychology but I forget what it is. Anyway, they are 1 unit, small groups, taught by some of the best professors and usually not a difficult amount of work. (The LA walking tour was 3 classes in total), the others go for 10 weeks with a couple of essays, but mostly it’s an “in class” experience. Highly worth it if you love to learn and be exposed to a wide range of ideas.
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So for a biochemistry major, what would be the best cluster choice? (if anyone knows, thank you!)
I suggest scrolling down on this page so you can see which GEs will get fulfilled by each cluster, and focus on those that meet Humanities and Social Science requirements since you’re already going to be taking classes that meet the Science ones: Undergraduate Education Initiatives | UCLA Cluster Program
Can you elaborate about UCLA not accepting APs for GEs?
My son is an incoming Freshman and he has 6 upcoming AP tests the next 2 weeks.
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See the policy here:
Not satisfying GEs is not the same as APs being useless. Getting out of the foreign language requirement is great, as are major credit and free credits, especially if you want to graduate early. Many students in short majors like PoliSci will find it easy to graduate in 3 years if they have credit for 6-8 APs.
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