<p>YOU KNOW THAT JUST MEANS MIDDLE-CLASS, RIGHT PEOPLEEEE??? and since we’re all in school and not working in a factory, put aside the term pretty please indeed.</p>
<p>^ whats wrong with saying it. is it a derogative term?</p>
<p>I am not sure if this counts, but i started summer school at UCI. And from what i have seen difficulty is about the same. The only difference is the type of student that goes there. most of the kids that go there are students that took AP courses in high school and all that stuff.</p>
<p>That’s what happens when people try to use “big words” to come off as intelligent, soph. </p>
<p>I worry about you, vintaj. You seem like you have a lot of pent up anger and frustration. You always b<em>tch about these people who think they are so smart and how dumb they really are, and how you know so much about things they don’t know. If you have insecurity issues or deep seeded jealousy/success issues, you need to get that </em>** sorted ASAP. That stuff will eat you alive, man. Not just through school (it will erode everything around you), but your entire life.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice Dr. Phil.</p>
<p>it feels so weird to come back on this site after so long and see the boards filled with all the same stuff as the last 2 years. </p>
<p>I’m a junior transfer into UC Berkeley for fall 2009 and even though it’s only been half a semester, I thought I might write about my experience so far. I was on these boards under a lot (a whole lot) of different usernames and I found this site to be a good resource if you’re looking for something productive to do while waiting time. </p>
<p>So, I’m a psychology major. I applied to Cal and UCLA with a 3.75 GPA and I was fortunate enough to have my choice. I had some EC’s (volunteering, a little part time job for 1 semester…) but nothing spectacular. I enrolled in Cal’s version of TAP and besides my grades it was the single most helpful thing I had. The reps were always available for questions and they helped me with my application and essay so much. I was also in UC Berkeley’s Starting Point Mentorship Program, which sounds good (and probably looked good on my application) but it wasn’t really a big help. If you have the opportunity to get into these programs…do it!</p>
<p>Anyway, now that I’m at Cal, it’s really not that much different from CC. I put in 100% everyday at CC and besides my first semester, I had only 4.0’s. I expect nothing less from myself at Cal. Like they say at CalSo (orientation), what you put into your classes is what you get out. There are some differences though. </p>
<p>The structure for classes is different, there are large lectures in a hall with between 300 - 500 people for most classes. It might seem intimidating at first but after the second week, half the class stops coming and the empty seats make it considerably more comfortable. For lecture, most professors put up their lecture slides before the class so you know what they will discuss (I’ve never read them before and I got an A on the last midterm). You discuss the material from lecture and the book in sections. </p>
<p>Sections are pretty much just easy going discussions with ~20 students and the GSI (graduate student instructor/intern?) who conducts prepared exercises with the class and asks us if we have any specific questions. In all of my upper division psychology classes, attendance to the section is worth a certain percentage of your overall grade. </p>
<p>The rest of the grade is made up from the highest score of 2 of the 3 midterms and an easy project. The exams are more difficult but if you went to lecture/discussion/any review sessions that the GSI’s offered, you’ll be set. </p>
<p>On homework, I don’t have any. </p>
<p>…at least not in my psychology classes, in my other classes there is a modest/easy amount of homework. </p>
<p>Overall, everything is bigger when compared to community college. The campus, the amount of material, the social network, the resources, and the number of pretentious jerks. </p>
<p>The one thing that I assumed when coming into Cal was that everyone was intelligent. I was wrong. The people at CC and the people at Cal who have the same GPA/grades have the exact same habits, whether studying poorly, not going to lecture, or asking dumbass questions. Morons are morons, the only difference here is that at some point in their lives these people cared about their education…this was before they discovered the joys of alcohol, weed, and sex. Now they are the same diluted idiots who ask the professor “yo teach…can i borrow a pen?” at your local CC. </p>
<p>My best advice for someone who is going to transfer to any UC: after you get accepted, go sit in a couple classes (hopefully one that you’ll take next term), get your feet wet with the new way of teaching, and hang out around the campus to see if you could live their for the next two years.</p>
<p>Last note, psychology is a considerably easy major and I would assume that chemical engineering, MCB, or physics would prove to be much more difficult. I’m in o chem right now and I can say, it requires significantly more work than both my psyc classes combined. But if you do all the crap that got you into Cal, you should be able to do fine (no midterms less than 93%!).</p>
<p>good luck with applications and good luck transferring!</p>
<p>I dont see how sex affects study habits.</p>
<p>Well, maybe for prostitutes?</p>
<p>I like sex.</p>
<p>i can kindof see how sex affects study habits. </p>
<p>Sex = distraction
distraction = less motivation
less motivation = lower grades</p>
<p>i guess guys who’ve never had a gf before could stop caring so much about studying, but it’s kindof a weak argument</p>
<p>eh…</p>
<p>I don’t see why sex has to be a distraction. There’s a time and a place for sex, and a time and a place for studying. They don’t need to be intertwined. Unless a guy is really so pimpin’, that he in fact has girls trying to have sex with him constantly while he’s trying to study. </p>
<p>Moral of the story is, sex is fine and is not anything like alcohol and weed as far as distraction level comes. </p>
<p>Actually, alcohol and weed are fine and have their place too. Idiots are idiots though, I guess is 65234234234324’s point.</p>
<p>Sex is awesome.</p>
<p>this thread is really insightful…too bad im going to miss the deadline for fall 2009 applications… i procrastinated and couldnt talk with a counselor in time…</p>
<p>i have a 3.8 GPA in cc…i changed a lot…
Back in high school i was more the F everything type of kid…smoking weed everyday senior year…not caring, ditching classes.
for cc i attend all lectures, study a lot, do all my homework, and stopped smoking as well as partying. Im over the high school phase and moving towards an educated future.</p>
<p>I was always a little nervous competing with UC level because I read my sister’s calculus book now for her class in high school and im like *** is this ****??? also her AP english is way harder then my 2 english classes that i passed in cc with an A.</p>
<p>I am also kind of insecure about making friends at these campuses since I dont know anyone at these schools, but then again ive always been the type of person to have a few close friends rather than a bunch of fake ass friends…so im not really going to have a college experience, but rather the degree.</p>
<p>I wanted to go to UCSD for their INTL studies/econ degree/ but now seeing the pre requisites are calculus 1, 2, 3…i chose not to go lol…
(I used to be in the Gate program…but due to family drama, i stopped caring so much about grades…and already forgot all the precalculus from high school)</p>
<p>Im planning on going to SDSU/UCI since they have degrees that interests me and it seems easier to get in.
Its not really the name of the school that employs u, but what u take out of it.
Even though Im bummed of being lazy on applications, I am optimisitc, and still loving to read this thread =]</p>
<p>Hi my name is anonymousername,</p>
<p>I’m at Cal. The difficulty is overrated and getting a 4.0 is easy.</p>
<p>done.</p>
<p>OK, I got a 4.0 my first semester at Berkeley, too. (OK, I haven’t gotten one of my grades, but I’m pretty sure I’m getting an A in that class). That being said, I did feel I had to work a lot harder for all of my classes at Cal compared to community college. </p>
<p>I am a Poli Sci major and I just finished my first semester at Cal. I really liked it a lot. I was really nervous at first because of what everyone says about it being so hard, but I felt good after my first mid-terms when I got all “a” and “a-” grades. I know that a lot of the other transfers in my classes were doing well, too. Not everyone did well, some of the guys on my floor (I lived on campus in the dorms) that proclaimed that they “never opened a book” while at a community college will be lucky to get a 3.0 during their first semester. They simply didn’t develop the study habits they need to ace a semester at Berkeley. </p>
<p>I never really knew what “develop good study habits” meant, but I think it means that you are able to adjust well to the requirements for a class and can gage how much time you’ll need to put into studying or writing a paper.</p>
<p>What is different?
One thing that I think is really more prevalent and accepted at the UC level compared to CC level is going to see professors/GSIs during office hours and forming study groups. I think you should be vocal and aggressive. Discuss problems and questions with your instructor and do join study groups. I think that’s part of “Developing good study habits.” You’re less likely to have the slacker who is just mooching off of everyone else’s work in study groups, so I think they’re less frustrating than at a CC. I think something else that is different is that students are more concerned with getting good grades. Usually only older students and those that wanted to transfer to UCLA/Cal were concerned with getting good grades at the CC. At Cal, it seems to me that the percentage of people who want to get good grades is higher and it changes the dynamic a lot (for the better, in my opinion). </p>
<p>The other thing is that most people (at least those that live in the dorms) are really committed to being at the school and finishing. The school is the main focus of everyone’s lives (although some seem to be more interested in the social aspect as compared to the scholastic aspect). At a CC, people had lives outside of school and some seemed to be only nominally committed to their education/CC career.</p>
<p>At least for Social Science work, the upper division course material is a lot different. There are a lot of scholastic articles and theorists to read, as opposed to textbooks. Some of the material can be very dense. Sometimes the reading load is ridiculous and you need to get good at skimming, reading fast or being smart at picking the readings that are most important to read. Some people do all of the readings, but not everyone seems to be able to.</p>
<p>What is the same?
Tests, papers, readings, professors. You should be used to this stuff and know how to deal with all of it by junior year and that will help you at UC. It’s the same but everything will be a little more intense at UC. You will be taking classes with professors who are academic experts in their field of instruction, which is impressive and can seem intimidating at first. Make friends with your GSIs/TAs, they are closer to our age and it takes the pressure off to talk to them instead of the profs. The tests will likely be somewhat harder/more essay format (showing that you can really comprehend the material and apply it) and they will probably account for a larger percentage of your grade (25-35%), which means each test will be more important and the pressure to study for it higher. I did not experience any extra credit/drop lowest test type stuff to help pull people’s grades up, which again makes the pressure to do well on any given test higher. Papers will probably be longer and worth more of your grade.</p>
<p>My peers who were used to writing papers the night before had some trouble when they needed to write 15 page papers. Some did it and even got the occasional good grade, but I think it is hard to consistently get As that way. Be prepared to put more time into each assignment. </p>
<p>Slackers/Achievers: There are slackers and over-achievers at Cal. I thought it would be 100% smart, academic overachievers, but there is that guy that walks into class half an hour late every single class session even at Cal.</p>
<p>My Advice?
My advice would be to try to already start with internships and ECs in community college. It will help you a lot to have a resume ready when you try to apply for competitive scholarships/internships/fellowships here. Many people are not just studying at Cal, they are also resume building, which is not a bad thing to do because you’ll be graduating/looking for a job soon after you get to Cal.</p>
<p>Do take fewer classes your first semester. I was going to take 16 units but am glad I only did 13 in the end. Some may be able to do 16 units, but why take the risk your first semester?</p>
<p>Talk and ask advice from fellow students and get to know them. I found students to be generally nice and open-minded at Cal, so be open and try to make friends. It can be really helpful come finals/mid-term time!</p>
<p>Finally, in terms of the big “is it harder” question. I think if you worked hard/studied/did your reading and were on top of your classes at a CC, you’ll be fine at UC. There are harder and easier classes at UC (just like at CC), but imagine every class being more like the harder classes you took at CC. I think, in the end, people probably work as hard at UC as they did at CC, since most students take more classes at CC than they do at UC and also work while they are at CC. So, life is intense either way (more classes and work at CC, fewer, harder classes at UC).</p>
<p>^^jesus how long did you spend typing that up.</p>
<p>usdenick, if I get into to cal, I’m doing the exact thing you’re doing. 13 units seem like the way to go+hard work.</p>
<p>I lost some hair, lots of brain cell, partied like crazy. I couldn’t stop looking around because there were too many cute girls.</p>
<p>“I am a Poli Sci major and I just finished my first semester at Cal. I really liked it a lot. I was really nervous at first because of what everyone says about it being so hard, but I felt good after my first mid-terms when I got all “a” and “a-” grades.”</p>
<p>Sort of my experience so far but at UCSD. I’m double majoring, and quite frankly, the classes have been a breeze. A little more reading, perhaps, but altogether not too different from CC.</p>
<p>joolian-lmao!</p>