<p>I admire Sakurax for what he/she does, but it’s not for me. Getting a B+ isn’t the end of the world for me, it’s just not. I made the decision to allow myself more room than I did last semester, my grades haven’t suffered, I am much less stressed and am enjoying my time here in Berkeley way more than I did last semester. Like I said before, to each his/her own. I am 29 years old and stessing over school is something that I left in the past; I’m too old for it. Plus, my course load doesn’t require 1000 pages of reading. I choose to put more effort into 2 out of my 4 classes based on the demands of the professors. Isn’t that what most people with a FT course load do? Prioritize based on the nature of their classes and the expectations of the individual professors? I’ve maintained an A/B average. I don’t see the problem. </p>
<p>Again, just wait until you get there yourself. It’s not as easy and fun as it seems. At some point you have to make the decision for yourself about how much time and work YOU are willing to put into it. There will always be students that are more dedicated than you and students that are less dedicated. Does it really have to be a contest? Sakurax is willing to put more time into it than me. Again, I am happy with the choice I’ve made just as I am sure he/she is happy with the choice he/she has made. :-)</p>
<p>Sakurax-I’m getting the vibe that you feel like this is a personal attack on you or something and it’s not. I posted before you replied to this thread, so I obviously wasn’t referring to you in any way, shape or form. I’m sorry if you feel like I was insulting you, that’s not the case. I didn’t even know your situation when I posted my reply to this thread. I just posted my personal experience after 2 semesters at Cal and what works for me. I apologize if there was a misunderstanding between us.</p>
<p>I would just like to point out that for Jeremy, most of those 1,000+ pages of weekly reading are going to be in Spanish and/or Portuguese…I think it’s understandable that he is trying to prepare himself for the challenges to come…lol. </p>
<p>He’s not complaining, he’s simply stating that he’s a bit nervous about adjusting to the academic expectations that come with attending a top UC, such as UCLA or Cal (or, insert school of choice here:_______). I think we can all agree that the upcoming workload will definitely be a bit more rigorous than what many of us have been dealing with at a JC. His feelings are completely valid and ya’ll need to stop being such crab apples.</p>
<p>Jeremy, like a few others mentioned, I think the best bet is to feel out each class you’re taking and learn which courses you can skim over the readings for, and which ones truly require you to read cover to cover. Talking with a few friends at UCLA and Berkeley, sometimes it just isn’t possible to ALWAYS read EVERYTHING assigned in any given week (and no, reading 1,000 pages isn’t that far out in the upper division world). You just have to find the balance…read as much as you can handle, wing what you have to, and pray for a little luck. Haha. As long as you know and embrace that school is going to be insane from time to time, you’ll be just fine…you’re a smart cookie. :]</p>
<p>Plus, you have two other universities under your belt…you’ve already played the game, s0n!</p>
<p>@kc_sunshine101 I’m not offended at all by your comments, as I knew they weren’t directed towards me but based on your personal experience at Cal. I only couldn’t find the correct words to summarize what I think of this thread, I think it’s a bit amusing to say the least, ha. </p>
<p>You guys can’t seem to get past the “one thousand pages” part…lol. Keep in mind that I can read up to 400 pages a day, it’s not a big deal to me and yes that includes me keeping up my work schedule/social life, I guess you can say I’m a better reader compared to others (I’ve learned). Once you guys stop counting page numbers and simply enjoy reading (like it is intended to be) then guys will be set! But although it might not be “one thousand pages per week” expect more than simply skimming through your book the night before your midterms!</p>
<p>jeremy, you can do it, don’t worry. Really. The work load is tougher, and immense, but you will adjust. I’ve always been a fast reader, but a lazy person, and if I managed to survive decently these past two quarters (and I’m on a tougher honors track, which probably wont count for anything, btw, if you’re thinking of doing it, but has made me happy) you can too. </p>
<p>again, you adjust.</p>
<p>p.s. I’m a history major, so my major requires a lot of reading.</p>
<p>I am a poli sci major at Cal and I would just echo what a lot of other people have said: You do adjust to it. And, just because you are assigned 1,000 pages a week does not mean you will actually read that many pages. You learn how to selectively read and how to pick up the most important parts of any reading. </p>
<p>Also, there will probably be a lot of difference in studying and reading habits between a quarter and semester school. It is a lot easier to procrastinate at a semester school, because assignments are spaced farther apart and you can “always catch up later.” In addition, Berkeley has a “dead week,” which is an entire week with only minimal classwork and assignments right before finals. This allows you to catch up some before finals in case you missed any of the readings during the semester.</p>