<p>I was just wondering if all UCLA classes are held in large scale, or if they offer seminar/discussion groups as well. Classes with 25 people or less?</p>
<p>Your general ed classes will be large. Expect to have a few hundred students. However, they have "Discussion" sections that are in smaller groups. TA's often teach these classes. </p>
<p>Upper division classes are smaller in size. There will be some classes with only a few students as they are major-specific. You will find that upper division science and mathematics classes tend to be smaller in size. Nonetheless, as I said, upper division classes are generally smaller (which includes less than 25).</p>
<p>its my 2nd quarter here now... lets see, one of my general ed classes last quarter had 85 students in it only. but that mite be an exception. theres also plenty of fiat lux classes for freshmen that are capped at 20 students. discussion sessions are around 10-20 students. anyway, i do see that there are many smaller classrooms (20 or less) located in all the buildings, and im sure classes get much smaller (seminar sized) as you get more specific and in-depth into your major.</p>
<p>That's encouraging. I go to a small private school (about 65 kids in the senior class) and most of my classes are capped at 18. But since I take honors and APs, I'm used to classes of about 12-14. What's the biggest class you've taken so far?</p>
<p>My Chem 20A lecture first quarter had at least 300 people in it... the TA's discussion section had only about 15 people in it, oddly enough.</p>
<p>Wow..300 people...I thought it sucked to have 100 in a math class at my CC.</p>
<p>But the smaller study groups and TAs will be helpful. </p>
<p>Fortunately I am xferring in a junion, so most of the jampacked GE classes won;t be a concern. But I will still have to take lower division science courses and those are gonna be a nightmare I suspect.</p>
<p>i think almost all 200-300 classes (i dont think any ucla lecture hall holds more than 400) are broken up into discussion sections that are usually around 20 ppl each. so youll at least have some chance for personal attention</p>
<p>science courses are killer at ucla. you guys will all have to duke it out with other competitive ppl, vying for a respectable place on the curve</p>
<p>I'm gonna get killed by the curve I suspect..I just don't have the foundation overachievers do...so I will have to do my best and hope that gets me a B+ or A- I guess.</p>
<p>And from what I have heard people in the sciences, especially pre-meds can be unfriendly because they are overly competitive. I can understand being somewhat competitive..but at least be friendly and helpful.</p>
<p>But this is all speculation and second-hand knowledge...I'll know more when I xfer.</p>
<p>Exilo: Some of the pre-med students I met were quite friendly. They were all in my Eng class (because med school requirse at least one year of English I think). They did not appear to be super competitive and really laid back. One of them joked around with me that if I go to UCLA, I will be joining a herd of students typing their papers the night before.</p>
<p>Not too many schools require one year of english..maybe like 5% or so. UCLA happens to be one of them. ;)</p>
<p>I am sure not all pre-meds are overly competitive...it would just be nice to meet motivated, yet nice students. Even I am guarded with certain med-school tips and tricks...but I still believe in helping out a fellow classmate.</p>
<p>UCLA requires a whole year of English? I only had to take one quarter of English (English Composition 3)... and some people I know didn't have to take any English at all because of AP credit... is it because we're in the school of Engineering? What are the GE requirements for pre-meds?</p>
<p>Ah, thanks for clearing that up exilo. I then presume that those UCLA students who told me they needed one year of eng for med school probably were applying to UCLA Med program.</p>
<p>Flopsy:</p>
<p>I believe Exilo meant that UCLA requires 1 year of english for those who are applying to their medical program post-undergraduate coursework; that is, UCLA Medical School requires 1 year of eng as a requirement. </p>
<p>And if I have my information correct, there is no such thing as a "pre-med" major. Instead, you select a major (any major) and follow those requirements. What exilo was refering to are the requirements for applying to med school. Each med school has different requirements for its applicants. It's like the a-g requirements for UC's but on a graduate level. I believe that most pre-med students major in bio, biochem, chem, etc. However, you are not limited to those. Some apply to med school holding degrees in social sciences/humanities.</p>
<p>In terms of graduating from UCLA's undergraduate schools, it's different.</p>
<p>Go to: <a href="http://cis.ucla.edu/study/Area%5B/url%5D">http://cis.ucla.edu/study/Area</a> and select your major. That will tell your requirements for your major.</p>
<p>Yes. UCLA is one of the rare medical schools that requires you have a year of English. I have taken 2 quarters, so I need one more because I would of course want to apply to UCLA med..even if I don't go there for undergrad..I feel this is fair becuase it would allow UCLA to redeem themselves for such a gross oversight as to not send me an acceptance for undergrad...right? =P heh heh</p>
<p>Anyways most schools don't have a pre-med program simply because med schools accpet any major. However, unlike law school you must take certain courses to even be considered. Not even a bachelors degree is required by sme med schools...reputable ones too. But just about ever med school requires 1 year bio, chem, ochem and physics. Some schools, like UCLA require additional courses. A year of calc, year of English, things like that...but not many schools require that.</p>
<p>Regarding pre-med majors: Med schools are looking for well rounded students and so it could in fact be to your advantage to major in a nonscience major: major in something that INTERESTS you!! You'll be more motivated and interested (and you will more likely get a higher gpa when you're more motivated and more interested) in what you're studying. As long as you fulfill the pre-med course requirements, you are good to go applying-wise. The myth that majoring in a science major will improve your chances at med school is unfounded and completely false!- it neither improves nor takes away from your chances at getting in: you have the same chances of getting in as a biochemistry or psychobiology major as someone who's majoring in say Asian American studies. In fact, it's preferred by med schools that you actually take humanity classes to show your're well rounded and what better way to do it than with a humanities major that interests you! Broaden your horizons!</p>
<p>Get ready for a long one:</p>
<p>Exilio: You're correct in that UCLA med school requires you to take a year of calculus and a year of English and that is why, if you're a non-engineering pre-med (I do not know the case for engineers), it is to the advantage of prospective high school students to NOT REPORT your SENIOR AP MATH OR ENGLISH scores (I'm not crazy- read on to see why!). You must have good AP scores to get into colleges to begin with, but for the case of UCLA it works to your disadvantage, especially if you believe you haven't completely mastered those AP subjects or if you want to relearn the topics- by reporting passing scores, UCLA will BARR YOU from signing up for lower level courses (will not give you units or gpa for the class, but by all means, you can go ahead and sit in class and learn the topics). The only AP score that I can imagine that would be beneficial to report is if you passed a foreign language. </p>
<p>So first of all, why senior year ap scores? I think they receive your junior year scores to begin with so nothing you can do there. But senior year, you're already accepted- they cannot reject you if you report on your application that you plan to take an AP exam your senior year but don't send those scores in. I have never heard of any instances of a rejection because you chose not to take an AP test, and by not reporting it, they'll never know whether or not you took the exam or not. So simply don't pay collegeboard to send your scores to UCLA after you recieve them and dont designate on your AP exam when you take it in May that you want your scores sent to UCLA (unless you pass an AP language exam and can therefore get out of the year of foreign language requirement- theres no downside that I can see from this other than the fact that collegeboard will report ALL your ap scores that you took up until that exam so you must weigh that decision yourself after reading the rest of this post).</p>
<p>So now the question you high school kids must have that us UCLA pre-meds who've aced the AP exams we took in high school and reported them are now regretting (well, at least me): WHY WOULD I BE SO STUPID AS TO NOT REPORT MY AP SCORES?- JYANCY, YOU'RE CRAZY! (; P). Well I'll tell you why young grasshopper: Like I said before, UCLA will not allow you to sign up for a class that you have received credit for, in this case, via AP tests. Now, most, if not all, Med schools will not consider classes passed out of due to AP credit as something that you passed in undergraduate schools. So to make my point, I will examine math: You're required to take a year of calculus, and if you passed the AP Calculus BC exam, you will be placed in Math 32A. Let me backtrack, there are two main calculus series here at UCLA: Math 32A (the beginnings of which are 31A, 31B, 32A, etc) and Math 3 series (MUCH easier than the 32 series). That being said, if you passed the AP exam, you cannot take Math 31A or B, which will review the materials that you have or should have learned in AP Calculus- if you feel that you are unprepared for Math32A which is multivariable calculus (you don't even review AP Calc material in this course, it's all completely new material), then TOUGH LUCK! You were naive to report your calculus score! Also, because you need a year, as oppose to those who were smart enough or were told not to report their scores, they can easily just sign up for 31A and begin by reviewing single variable calculus (AP Calculus again! joy, rapture, plus it should be gpa boosting courses for you!) and working their way into multivariable calculus while those who began in 32A will need to get through not just 32A, but 2 more courses of brand new math material. If you're a life science major or doing a different major and need to fulfill the math requirement, take the 3 series- theres a significance difference in the Calculus 30 and 3 series (3 is much easier and you're not in a class with engineers because engineers are forced to take the 30 series). </p>
<p>Well I said a mouth-full and you're probably still digesting the material, but if you want me to elaborate or continue just give me the word and I'll ramble!</p>
<p>JYancy, You are absolutely correct when it comes to AP exams your senior year. For juniors, you do need to take them because colleges like to see that you take both the AP Class and the exams. However, as a senior, you would have already been accepted already. Take the AP Exams purely for scholarship purposes (some scholarships like to see you take them) and nothing else. If they give you an opportunity to opt out of a mathematics or science class, do not do it. Unless you had a steller teacher or took it at a university level you will not be able to catch up. My mathematics teacher has told me horror stories of her Alg II students (who went on to calculus AB and to university) who could not catch up in the second semester ("BC" part) at the university.</p>
<p>Furthermore, most universities are now refusing to grant credit for science courses because of the fact that these AP classes often do not do labs at a university level (I'm forturnate to have an AP Chem class that works in partner with CSUSB where the class does chem 215 and chem 216 labs and gets CSU credit for it).</p>
<p>I completely agree eiffelguy! I think this punishment of successful AP students is one of the flaws of UCLA. Unlike other universities, such as Harvard, that will refuse to let you opt out of lower division courses due to AP exams, UCLA will actually punish you by refusing to allow you to take lower division courses if they deemed it equivalent to an AP exam (I dont think this affects science courses, although you can petition to opt out of a lower division course based on your AP scores, but with the punishment that your GPA will take in the future as you take upper division courses, why would you unwisely refuse this early grade cushion if you are seriously thinking about med school?). Now, I don't believe any amount of public California schooling will adequately prepare you for a jump into a college class where your classmates will be from the previous actual college class in that series (just the nature of the schooling and by virtue of the students there in your high school, you won't have the same educational background- it shouldn't be very difficult for anyone in a CA public high school to get into an AP class, or at least it wasnt in my case, and they'll undoubtably have an effect on how your teacher runs the class like how long he focuses on a topic, and just a variety of factors in what you will lack coming out of high school and what other college kids would have gained from attending a college class prerequisite). In your case eiffel, since your AP class worked in conjunction with CSUSB, I'd feel confident moving on to the next level, but I cannot possibly say the same for someone without your privilege. </p>
<p>Returning back to my earlier post that's right above eiffel's- to fulfil your Calculus requirement- it is RADICALLY different to fulfil it via 31a, 31b, 32a (going from single variable calculus which is exactly ap calculus material and ending by going through multivariable calculus) than to start at 32a and then take 32b and 33a (which advances multivariable calc material and goes into linear algebra and its applications). If you're passionate about math and would love to duke it out in a class predominantly consisting of engineers (the 30 series is mandatory for them and required for them) and would like to give up this opportunity to adjust to college, not to mention an early gpa cushion later, then by all means go ahead and refuse the two cents I've provided.</p>
<p>Glad I didn't take AP. ;)</p>
<p>The downside/upside to UCLA is that I am taking Calc because UCLA physics requires it. And so does their medical school. What sucks is, some UCs don't require you to have taken calc for non-engi based physics...but oh well..I really want to go to UCLA.</p>
<p>If you do take the AP Exams, most of the time colleges will give you elective credit. Take the elective credits because that saves money; however, take the core classes.</p>
<p>UCLA grants elective credits for some courses. Check out their policy before making decisions.</p>
<p>I didn't take AP because my situation is...well...unique. I am what you call a "non-traditional" student. But this is great info for a friend of mine.</p>