<p>I have a few questions regarding UCLA engineering. If any of you can answer any of these questions that would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<li><p>Generally, how large are the engineering classes?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it difficult to enroll in the necessary classes?</p></li>
<li><p>How difficult is it to graduate in 4 years? I heard that only 60% of students graduate in 4 years.</p></li>
<li><p>How tough are the classes?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the average GPA for an engineering student?</p></li>
<li><p>Approximately how many hours of homework is there each night?</p></li>
<li><p>Will I be in a good position for graduate school if I take Engineering at UCLA?</p></li>
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<p>Computer Science major here. I’ll answer what I can.</p>
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<li><p>My Computer Science classes have been 70-80 people each, with 35-40 person discussions.</p></li>
<li><p>No. Most of the engineering classes are reserved for engineers only and there are always plenty of places. Getting the professors you want, however, can be an entirely different story ;). I don’t think I’ve had a problem getting a class I need.</p></li>
<li><p>It isn’t difficult if you apply yourself and don’t fail classes.</p></li>
<li><p>I already knew C++ and how to approach programming problems when I entered UCLA, so everything has been a breeze for me so far. They aren’t impossible, but you should definitely not expect a cake walk. Lots of people are switching out of Comp Sci because they can’t do it / don’t like it.</p></li>
<li><p>I have no clue. I have a ~3.5 after 2 quarters. Got a B in Italian 46 (a GE), B- in English Comp 3, and a B in Physics 1A. I have gotten solid A’s in both Comp Sci classes I’ve taken.</p></li>
<li><p>For Computer Science majors, it depends on how good you are. There are some rather large programming projects though (CS32 gave us about 20 hour programming projects with 1-2 weeks to complete them) but I don’t recall CS31 being quite as bad. I usually was able to hammer those ones down in an afternoon. Math usually takes 1-3 hours per week, depending on how distracted I am. Physics takes about 1 hour per week. It all really depends on your aptitude towards the subject and professor.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes. Have a good GPA and get involved in ACM and UPE (some engineering groups on campus) and I doubt you will get rejected (unless you’re applying to somewhere insane like MIT, then you’ve gotta do a little extra).</p></li>
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<p>All engineers have to take CS31. It is required, so don’t be surprised when they tell you to do that.</p>
<p>To other CCers, if any of my info is wrong, please correct it, but this has been my personal experience.</p>
<p>I’m a CSE student and I’ll add to what TheRageKage said.</p>
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This may be true for the lower-division CS courses, but those are generally bigger since they are considered weeder classes. When you get to the upper-divs, CS classes usually have 30-40 students and one discussion for the whole class. EE classes, on the other hand, can range from 40-100 students per lecture.</p>
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It’s still relatively difficult to get the courses you want when you’re signing up against kids with priority enrollment (Regents, etc). I usually find myself signing up on the waitlist for most popular classes and nagging the teacher to let me enroll in the course. Other than, haven’t had major problems getting the professors I want. Btw, professor selection makes a huge difference.</p>
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If you typically take 4 classes a quarter, you’re on good track for graduating in 4 years. I’ve only had to take 5 classes one quarter, but I’ll only have to take 3 classes a quarter in my 4th year to graduate. Be sure to plan out your schedule EARLY. After each quarter, update your schedule and check to see which courses/requirements you still need.</p>
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Depends on how good of a learner you are. Not really a question we can answer.</p>
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I believe the average GPA is 2.9. Not 100% sure.</p>
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IMO, CSE majors spend the most time on homework. With a lot of project-based courses and textbook homework problems, we can easily spend up to 20 hours a week on homework. The lower-division CS projects may take a couple hours to finish, but the upper-div ones could take days. Yes - days of straight coding.</p>
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If you maintain a good GPA and get involved with any of the student groups on campus, you’ll be in great position.</p>
<p>My main concern is the difficulty of the classes. I have every intention of going to graduate school and do not want to risk getting a extremely low GPA. GPA wise do you think I’m better off going to Carnegie Mellon University or University of Michigan? Or are they all relatively the same difficulty?</p>
<p>Well the thing is if you go to a less prestigious school, you’ll probably get a higher GPA (because you’re obviously qualified to go to a better school, so going to a lesser one would pose less of a challenge). However, a 3.5 at UCLA is better than a 4.0 from other colleges, such as UCSB (don’t know about Carnegie Mellon or UofMichigan). I’d say go to UCLA and apply yourself, and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Actually I am leaning towards UCLA for many reasons; weather, sports, diversity, prestige, etc etc. UCLA is my favorite school right now for many reasons but I have been hearing stuff about not getting the teachers I desire and average GPA 2.9 (that seems really low; either the students there are not to bright which I doubt or the classes are very tough).</p>
The course size decreases for each subsequent course you take. It may start out with 250-350 students (general physics or chemistry), then drop to 80-100 students(early 100 level courses), and senior design or labs will have about 15-25 students.</p>
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No, I think what is more difficult is getting course at your preferred times. Most of the time, people have been able to add the course while on the waitlist if they give a good pitch to the professor. In addition, professors have PTE numbers ready most of the time, and the rule is usually to not exceed the capacity quota in the room assigned. </p>
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<p>What MadeInChina said. You will have to take 4 courses each quarter to get out in 4 years. If you follow the curriculum given, you will be able to get out in 4 years. Students take more than 4 years because they want a lighter load (3 per quarter), they want to spend some commitment doing undergraduate research or student projects, they slack off and fail courses, they change their majors very late, they study abroad, they take time off school … many more reasons. The 4 year plan was approved such that an average student could take courses on the proposed curriculum and get out in 4 years. It is doable.</p>
<p>As mentioned earlier, create prospective schedules early and make sure you line up the prerequisites required correctly. This can be done without assistance of the counselor if you are on top of things.</p>
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Can’t answer this either, because it is very difficult to master a subject. You can always get an A in the class, but still not understand all the material well enough to do any problem in the textbook impromptu and correctly.</p>
<p>In general though, if you don’t fall behind in the lectures and try to understand what is being presented, then you will be fine.</p>
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<p>I will have to say 2.95, currently. I know a few years ago it was slightly lower, but since Latin honor cutoffs have increased slightly in the past years, I will increase the average GPA to quite close to 3.0.</p>
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Students tend to not do homework everynight consistently. A problem set for me may take 6-8 hours per week, and there are probably 4 to 5 assigned per week, depending on how many courses I am taking. If 5 courses, it means one homework set is due per schoolday. I find that lab reports are more time consuming. Last week, I spent around 20 hours writing a 60 page weekly report. These aren’t the typical labs … maybe one or two in your curriculum.</p>
<p>Homework time also depends on how well you understand the material … and whether or not you cheat haha.
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Yes you will. If you work hard, you can get at least a 3.5. If you work very hard and/or are naturally have high IQ, you can get >3.9. </p>
<p>Don’t let GPA make the decision. Focus on whether the school you are looking at have the program you are looking for and offer opportunities for you to do research in the desired field.</p>