I’ve had the good fortune to be accepted into both UCLA for Electrical Engineering and Cal within the College of Letters and Science, with an intended major of computer science. I really like both schools, especially after visiting them. However, I was wondering if someone could tell me what the workload is like for someone in the College of Engineering, and how much time one has to dedicate to work and study if they want a decent GPA (~3.3). Do EE students have time to enjoy a social life and do outside activities, and in general, do they get good sleep? I’ve heard at some schools engineering students spend most of their time shut in doing work and getting only 4 hours of sleep a night. Also, if anyone can, could they compare the workload of UCLA EE major to a CS major at Cal?
One rule of thumb for math/science classes is 6-10 hours per week studying for each class. Some classes take even more; see the post of a current UCLA CS student at http://getacollegelife.■■■■■■■■■■/post/117030504282/survive-people-need-more-coffee-tears-i-am and read the comment. The 4 hours sleep per night is an urban myth. On the other hand, we don’t know what “enjoy a social life and do outside activities” means to you. Students in tough majors don’t spend their time locked in the library, but they have to pick their time for fun. Take part in an IM league (as long as its not the most competitive level where ex HS-jocks want to practice and play at that level), or go to football games, or a couple of hours off some afternoon (but back to studying that evening), sure you can do these.