University of California-San Diego Top Questions

I did manage to establish some solid relationship with some professors, who actually wrote me recommendations for my transfer application. The students are too many for you to obtain personal professors, especially those teaching popular majors and engaged with personal research projects.

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UCSD has perfect academic programs. Although under the budget cut, our school ensures everyone gets the classes he or she wants. I personally have had no problems getting the classes i need, which saves me time and money. The school also offers studying abroad programs that the financial aid covers. I can choose to study at any country i want while paying the same tuition as i do it here. What can be more awesome than that? The professors here are extremely experienced and grade fair. They offer quality office hours and are willing to work out an alternative schedule if the office hour doesn't work for you. The environment is somewhat competitive, with the breaks to relax and catch on social life. Each of the six colleges has its own academic advising group, and they are really helpful. You can schedule a walk, or a lunch with them and they will answer any questions you have and help you to plan out each quarter's schedules to make sure you can graduate on time.

I won't try to dodge this one. Academics at UCSD are difficult. I am a Nanoengineering major with a focus in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Creative Writing and Literature so I will restrict my response to those areas. In Engineering classes the professors will most likely not know your name. I have had classes from around 200 hundred students to lectures that numbered over a thousand. I've even had a lecture course where I was taught by a video screen, rather than a professor. Students spend a good amount of studying and during finals weeks we don't expect to get much sleep if any. Competition in this field is fierce. Some of the brightest minds in the entire university gather into these majors and fight against a curve to achieve the highest grades. The professors are all prominent in their field and we even have nobel laureates on staff. Literature classes are much more laid back. There is much less competition and class sizes can range from 400 down to 20. I have had workshops with Pulitzer Prize winners and professors will definitely know your name. Education at this school is geared towards getting a job afterwards. The school offers many job fairs and internship opportunities. We even have a website called Port Triton that helps students land jobs while an undergraduate and afterwards.

I think that it really depends on your major on how to rate the difficulty of your classes. The science classes are definitely tough. A lot of the science professors are also researchers at the school. Most of the time, science classes are held in lecture halls of about 300 students, which makes it hard for professors to get to know you. However, if you make the effort to go to office hours, then you can definitely get to know the professor. Personally, I'd prefer the smaller classes with 30-40 students so that you can get to know your peers and the professors (note: upper division classes are usually smaller). However, they do offer many fun classes! There are a variety of dance classes such as contemporary dance or ballet. There are also music classes, such as a class dedicated to The Beatles!

The academics are at a very high level and are challenging. The classes require a fair amount of studying but they are never impossible. What I really enjoy as a student of UCSD is the quarter system and the professors. Both of those factors are encouraging students to try harder and harder to reach their goals.

Personal relationships with professors are uncommon due to the size of UCSD. Fellow students are highly competitive and very studious. In my major, nanoengineering, there are only three hundred. This increases the chances of undergraduate research and student-faculty relations. Students who are in my major often have intellectual conversations outside of class as a result of the interesting material we are learning in pursuit of our degree.

The academics are incredibly good here. If you go to office hours, professors make an effort to get to know you and to personally help you out with whatever you need. My favorite class has probably been a writing class based in film and media analysis in relation to identity construction and development. My least favorite class has been my Gen Ed. basic writing class. Students study typically every day for at least a few hours, more when midterms and finals come around. Class participation is not that common in the large lectures, except in the form of iClicker questions. In smaller classes, however, people are very willing to participate. I have had many intellectual conversations outside of class, whether it has been with people I live with or someone I had just met that day; people are very willing to talk and passionate. Students are competitive to the point that it pushes you to do well but not to the point that you do not trust other students. Students have the opportunity to spend time with professors outside of class with the Dine with a Prof program, allowing students to take their professors out to dinner. I think UCSD prepares students for careers in whatever field they are pursuing by offering lab work and internship opportunities, but still retaining the importance of learning solely for the sake of gaining more knowledge. I think UCSD's academic requirements are very rigorous, but they make you into a stronger person and teach time management.

The academics here are great. The professors are very knowledgable and highly approachable. Last quarter, in my math class, because I spoke with my professor so often, this quarter he now recognizes me when he sees me around campus and waves.

The climate here is usually stated as one of a research university, with the added bonus that, unlike many others, this includes graduates as well as undergraduates. Most classes, especially lower division classes, are very large, but every professor and TA is required to have office hours. If a student goes through the effort, he or she is easily able to get on a first name basis with a professor, but this is not an inevitability for every student that just sits there during lectures. In addition, there are programs such as "dinner with/coffee with the prof" where a student and professor can meet one on one for coffee or dinner, completely free of charge (thanks to the university) at one of about 4 locations on campus (there are more than 5 for coffee). Both are once-a-quarter opportunities.

Academics are taken very seriously at my school. Professors are very experienced, knowledgeable and professional but many like to make class fun as well. i took a psychology course one summer where the professor ordered pizza every day in class--he just asked for donations! All are passionate about their area of study and seem to want to pass their knowledge on to us students, though obviously some are more successful than others. Students very study often, although I personally did not study excessively as a double major in psychology and visual arts. Class participation is typical, one or two students contribute frequently while most others are content to sit back and listen to the professor. Students aren't usually forced to compete with each other for grades, but all push themselves very hard and it is not as easy to keep up those 4.0s that were so breezy in high school. I believe that education at the school is geared toward learning for its own sake, so much so that many students I have spoken with feel the knowledge they learn is overly theoretical with less technical and practical applications that would be useful for getting a job after college. However we agree that this knowledge base is extremely practical in and of itself, as technical knowledge can be gained outside of class. There could be a better balance nonetheless. My Visual Arts major follows the theoretical emphases; for instance my focus on photography teaches very very few computer/editing programs, while focusing instead on how to expand our fine art concepts which are not necessarily commercially viable. The visarts program also is very limited with only one full-time photography professor and a few photo courses only. Our budget has simply not allowed for more professors to be hired and I have taken many courses with great "lecturers" and part-time faculty. I wish however that our particular program could be expanded and supported in the way that many science programs are at UCSD. I have spent time with several psychology professors out of class which has been very enjoyable and expanding experiences, but I had to search these professors out personally.

UCSD is an intense school, to say the least. Due to a large student population and drastic budget cuts, lectures are generally large and thus it is up to the students to get known by the professors if they want to (whether is be inside or outside of class). Also, class participation is challenged in a similar manner, as it is generally the few students who are truly passionate that ever chime in. Students here are not too cut-throat in their studies, though they are fiercely competitive in the sense that more or less everyone is out to get A's, and as such students are known to put in disgusting amounts of hours in the library. Such academic drive and passion is beneficial though, as the (largely) intellectual student body provides a rich intellectual environment for one to immerse themselves in (if you can find the students that are social enough to even have conversations that is). I am currently double-majoring in the Political Science and Urban Studies and Planning departments (both incredibly well ranked at the undergraduate level), and as such I have had a relatively lax time at UCSD in comparison to those studying sciences, engineering, etc. However, my course work has nonetheless proven to be both challenging and highly intellectually stimulating, and I can say with certainty that UCSD's academic requirements have made me a much smarter and more well rounded individual. Overall, the education here seems to be geared at what you make of it; there seems to be a fairly equal share of kids here out to score well-paying jobs upon graduating as well as those here to learn for the sake of learning (though the former population is certainly more abundant).

UCSD definitely has a wide variety of classes, with particularly good science departments (especially biology). Class sizes tend to be big, especially with biology or introductory courses like Calculus and General Chemistry, but there are a few that have smaller class sizes and some that are seminar-style. It takes some effort to get to know professors because of the large class sizes, but in general, this usually just entails going to office hours. Most professors are also open to having individual appointments with students, and discussion sessions offer smaller class sizes to supplement the large lectures. There are also other opportunities to get to know professors or to enrich the academic experience, such as research or independent study opportunities, honors programs, or dine-with-a-prof or brown bag lunches with professors, among others. My professors, at least, have been very open about getting to know the students as best they can given the large size of the school, but it usually takes some effort on the part of the student as well. General education requirements vary based on the college, from fairly flexible and simple to thorough and all-encompassing. In my college (Muir), for instance, I was able to take a Beatles class for my GE requirements, and students aren't required to take classes in every field. For instance, if you really hate science, you don't have to take any science courses for your GE, or if you don't want to learn a foreign language, you don't have to. Other colleges vary in their requirements, and it's definitely worth taking a look at what the different colleges require if you plan on applying. I've found the opportunities to be tremendous, from teaching opportunities to research experiences to study abroad opportunities, and advisers really try to give you the opportunities you want as long as you're willing to put work into it as well. My classes, at least, have been challenging and interesting, and the professors have been helpful and intelligent. Keep in mind that I am a biology/psychology double major and I took great care in choosing professors with good reputations, so your experience will probably vary in different departments.

The academics are ridiculously competitive, overly stressful, and unnecessarily intense. Some professors are great, some are terrible, and some are in the middle.

Education at this school is somewhat geared toward learning for its own sake, but some classes allow students to get a sense of what certain jobs related to the subject of instruction would be like. In science lab courses, students develop lab techniques, and if students want to apply what they're learning in a wider scale, they can acquire academic internships working alongside professors who are conducting research on their own. These are definitely competitive and chance comes very rarely due to high demand of students who want to have the same sort of opportunity. That is one faulty part about public schools: the large student to faculty scale. Everything is much more competitive in a bigger population pool, but there is always something for everyone. To get to know professors more personally, students can enroll in seminar courses, where there are about 10 students and one professor. As a science major, frankly I found non-science courses like Humanities more stimulating.

I like how students can choose when to miss class; for example, if you have a really important midterm in a certain class, you can choose to miss your other classes to study. It enables students to choose to manage their time on their own, rather than requiring them to attend class. Some classes do have mandatory homework or clickers, so it is important to attend those, but the majority of classes I have taken allow you to come and go as you wish. That being said, the professors are amazing, but it is generally difficult to get to know them especially if their office hours conflict with your schedule. There are generally 300-400 people in most classes, so it is very impersonal, but there are discussion sections held by teaching assistants that definitely are useful to go over the material again.

It is apparent just from taking a look at the school website that UC San Diego employs some of the most noteworthy faculty. Many professors are highly qualified and well-known in their fields of study with degrees from ivy league schools. However, the class sizes are quite large, so getting to know the professor on a personal level takes a little more initiative on the student's part. Most professors hold office hours for students who just want to drop in to say hi or to ask questions, and they are generally very flexible about scheduling appointments. UC San Diego offers a wide variety of courses to take in each department with many choices in core and elective classes. The general education requirements give students an opportunity to explore classes outside their majors, which makes them more well-rounded upon graduation.

The academics at UCSD are extremely rewarding. I'm a psychology major (one of the best undergrad psych programs in the nation) and have always been very satisfied with the coursework. In my free time I also enjoy taking courses in philosophy, which also happens to be a top program in the nation. I've found that many of my professors know me by name, including in lectures of 400 students and more. Of course I sit in the front row and always engage with the professors both in class and out. They are all very friendly and find subject-relevant and non-relevant conversation to be easy to carry out with them all. I have not met a professor that I have not genuinely liked and thought fair. My favorite course has been the psychology of Happiness with Dr. Christenfeld. The class was basically an examination of the leading research and philosophies regarding what it is and what it takes to be happy in life. The class was highly discussion based, and it seems there was always room to learn from each others ideas. Even if you aren't a psychology major, take this class! You won't regret it. As a matter of fact, take anything with Dr. Christenfeld. I also found my class on Hellenistic Philosophies, taught by Dr. Monte Johnson, to be fascinating and insightful, another I would highly recommend so long as you enjoy some hardy debate! In order to maintain my GPA I've found that I generally will study about 4-8 hours at minimum for a given exam for a given course. This is probably less than most people will tell you they spend, and in all truth I will often study more simply for my interest in the class. Also if you're a hard sciences major, expect to study more! Education at this school is geared towards learning for its own sake. You'll find that courses are chalk full of interesting theory that will really have you thinking critically, but don't expect them to be workshops. These are offered on campus, but the classroom is not used for this purpose.

Lecture based classes are usually 100-300 students per class. Generally, most of the first and second year courses (general education) are comprised of large lecture halls. As you become an upper division student (by earning more units through classes), your class size seems to shrink (depending on your major as well). However, professors will know your name if you make the effort and give your professor an opportunity to know your name. If you go to office hours, ask questions in class, email professors with questions, or even have lunch with your professor through the "Dine with a Professor" program, then the professor will know your name. One of my favorite class is BIMM 121-Medical Microbiology. The professor for BIMM 121 was simply passionate for his expertise. I think that having passion as a professor is something that really inspires their students. BIMM 121 was a tough and demanding class, but the professor made it enjoyable. My least favorite class would have to be the entire general chemistry series. The professors that I had for these courses were horrible and lifeless, which made the course dull. Again, if there is passion, there will be interested students. Your selection of your courses will determine how much you study. I studied more for biology and science classes than I did for psychology courses. On average, I study for about 2 hours for my science classes per day. For psychology courses, I generally study a few days before the midterms. Class participation is common in certain courses, but it really depends on how professors like to structure their courses. Some courses are heavily based on participation and some are not at all based on participation. I am taking a psychology course right now that incorporates a lot of participation in class- for example, we present articles in class, discuss articles in class, etc. Students do have intellectual conversations outside of class, especially after a midterm. I would say that students are competitive at UCSD because the majority are biology majors and the majority wants to become some sort of doctor (but that later changes after their first 2 years at UCSD).

It really takes effort to know your professors, requiring you to go into office hours to ask questions and be proactive, especially if you're more shy in large lectures to talk or ask questions. But it's not impossible! All the professors are very nice, and are more than happy that people actually go to office hours. There are some weird Visual Arts classes, and I personally don't like the art department here, but social science professors are all quite similar.

Classes are made up of about 100-300 students on average so it is best to befriend your TA. Professors don't know your name right from the start but if you attend their office hours, they will get to know you better and identify you from the pack. We have a quarter system established here at UCSD; we have three quarters in each school year and each quarter is 10 weeks long plus a week of finals. Because the quarter system goes by so fast, students study a lot to keep up with their classes (average class load are 3-4 classes per quarter) but it is manageable. Every college in UCSD has different GE requirements. The most demanding GE's are Revelle's and Eleanor Roosevelt while the least is John Muir College (best college if you want to double major or graduate early). Students have plenty of intellectual discussions outside of class. It depends on who you hang out with but there are plenty of places where you can talk about your interests in student organizations. There are plenty of organizations (like high school clubs) where you can talk politics, literature, music, philosophy, architecture, and engineering.

The 6 college system can be great or horrible depending upon your selection and your major. Revelle is the most traditionally and balanced of the colleges. Warren caters to engineering students, ERC to sociology students, etc. If you're in a major which the college you're in doesn't specifically emphasize, it's probably a good idea to change colleges within UCSD otherwise you might find yourself taking GE classes which you hate and spending an extra couple of quarters trying to graduate.

students are really competative and like to study

Classes are very good at UCSD and often challenges. The only bad thing is classes are large-especially intro classes. For those, you usually have TAs, but they are not always on the same page as your professor, and this can lead to confusion, especially when it comes to tests. As you start to take upper division classes, class size gets smaller, and it is less intimidating to speak up in class or get the courage to go to office hours

Classes are largely anonymous and suppress independent thought. Science classes are extremely difficult and people study ALL THE TIME. Some professors in the social sciences are amazing but by and large the lower division science professors suck big nuts. I took math for science and engineers and it boned me sideways! I study Economics and Biology, both departments oscillate in and out of the top 10 nationally. They're both extremely focused on research and theory but the advisers say UCSD students have a good acceptance rate into graduate school. UCSD is a superior school for academics; come here if you want access to overwhelming resources.

Class participation is not too common (at least in the science classes), and professors will only know your name if you go to office hours occasionally. Classes are hard but tend to be fair and the studying is managable if you stay on top of it.

Just because UCSD is a large school absolutely doesn't mean that you can't get to know your professors. Some classes are super small, and some are huge. Most if not all of the social science professors are friendly and helpful to students. We have some really fun classes, like psychology of human sexuality and history of piracy and I loved my class on sociology of globalization and developing nations.

Professors do not know your name unless you visit them in office hours or talk to them outside of class or consistently doing VERY well on tests/projects/essays. My favorite classes have been my Spanish Literature classes taught by Jorge Mariscal (Chicano Culture in the 1980s) and Sara Johnson(Literature of Cuba, History of the Spanish-speaking countries of the Carribean, Spanish Literature of the Caribbean) -- both professors are musts if you want to take any type of Spanish class. If you are a Cognitive Science student, you must take at least one class from Jaime Pineda, because that will be the most you will ever learn EVER. I am a Revelle student and our academic requirements are ridiculous, but it has proven to put me above other candidates for jobs. An education from Revelle is really geared toward creating a well-rounded individual who will contribute to society.

Professors will take the time to know you. If you go into their office hours, they will go out of their way to help you. I have had some really cool TA's. Studying outside of class is a must!!! Read your texts! I love that General Ed revolves around your major. So you don't need a bunch of senseless classes. I have had some really awesome classes like Poli Sci 13: Power & Justice with professor Houston. There was a lot of room for discussion in and out of class. I highly recommend you take advantage of all the help that is offered. People are there to help. DON'T PROCRASTINATE. because procrastination is like masturbation... haha you do the math.

-while i really like the bigger lectures because if i miss a class, no one notices, smaller classes are really nice getting to know professors. - my favorite class was ukelele class. that was amazing and fun! take it!! :D - i hate having smart conversations outside class. i don't like talking about school, and it's kinda annoying when people bring up subjects that you learned in class and want to discuss. - there's two wayy different opposite sides of the spectrum. there's those kids who all they do is study and then there's the kids who only study when necessary.. like right before a test. - students are so competitive, it's ridiculous.

The Vis Arts program at UCSD is incredibly focused on the intellectual aspect of art, which is fine, but it can be overly suffocating at times. My favorite professors thus far are Hock and JP Gorin- both share a passion for their craft and for teaching (actual teaching) the students. I would like to see more VIS classes offered in the daytime, as having class nearly every weeknight is a huge pain.

You can tell that some of the professors here are here to teach because they show that they care for their students. They make an effort to try to help the students understand the course material. However, I do hear a lot of complaints about professors that are just here to do research, not to teach (so this screws a lot of people over). I think UCSD has really pushed me academically, though. It's a tough school. I really enjoy psychology and ethnic studies courses. I really did not like VIS3, it was way too demanding of a class for a GE.. and ART class too. I got my lowest grade here in VIS3... all over an ART class. come on. I also don't like PHIL/POLI 27 as a GE. Some of my friends really tried hard in that class and ended up with C's... for another GE class... which really hurts the GPA... which brings me to my next point: the GPA system. I HATE IT. it sucks that minuses can bring your grade down so much. It's really tough...

They are what you make of them. Study something you are interested in and you are likely to enjoy. Professors are available if you make an effort. General Ed's are pretty ridiculous: how does a student from Roosevelt get the same degree as a Muir student?

GE's depend on your college and they vary in strictness and difficulty. Lowed division classes are usually fairly large but there are many smaller seminars that you can take as well (they are only 1 unit and graded on a pass/fail scale). In the seminars you can meet a lot of people easily who are interested in the same things you're interested in. As far as professors go if you go to office hours they will know you. Also we have a dine with a professor program where you can have a meal with the professor of our choice.

Syudents are competitive. But everything is pretty good. In the time I've been here, and the 12 classes or so I have taken, I have only had one professor who didn't care and was being forced to teach my class. And if you express an interest in the class - the professors will notice. For istance, I was taking linguistics with Professor Kluender and it was the third or so class, and I answered a review question from a previous lecture and the professor asked my name. The next class a week later I went to answer another question, and the professor remmebrer who I was, and even though I was averaging a B- on the tests, I got a B+ in the class (probably because of that particiaption - the professor knew my name and bumped my grade up). In the large classes people have to study to do well. For instance, in my gen chem classes, there are 600 people (in 2 different classes) taking the same final. Someone is going to get a 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}, and in order to be competitive, and get a decent grade in teh calss, you have to study, but even then just because you study doesn't mean you are going to do well. My first quarter I relied on what I learned in high school. I got a C (and I took AP - got a 3 on teh test - and Honrs chem) but college is hard, and competitive, so you have to study. The next quarter I studied my ass off, and I still got a C, probably because evryone else was doing the same thing. My biggest suggestion. Take a foreign lanugage your first year of college. Save the rest of your GE for later, when you need easy classes amidst your intense workload of major classes, but take a foreign lanugage because they are small calsses of (I've had one as few as 6 to as many as 35). And you get to know people. I'm partial to ASL if you want to know an interesting "foregin" language where you don't have to conjuagte verbs. But HELL YEAH ITS HARD!

Classes are large, no doubt. I am only a second year, but it is seldom that I enroll in classes of fewer than 100 or 150. There are opportunities to enroll in smaller classes, such as freshmen/undergraduate seminars of 15-20 people, but these opportunities are sparse. Luckily professors and T.A.'s are very approachable and have office hours through the week. The academic rigor here at UCSD nis intense, and easily comparable to any top university in the nation. Some come to UCSD expecting to skate by like they did in High School, and these people do often get shot down by the competition in many classes. Competition does not take the form of antagonism in the classroom (surprizing), even though most classes have some sort of a curve instuted. What I have found is that the difficulties students face bring them together, normally intheir angst against specific classes or professors (who tend to by unusually difficult). If you want to be in the top 5{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of your graduating class here, you better get a 3.85 or higher, and that is not due to any grade inflation, as I have spoken to many outside grad schools who mention that UCSD students grades tend to recieve inflation from admission committees when being compared to students from other universities (such as USC or NYU).

BASICALLY, UCSD provides more than enough opportunities for every students to study what they would like. Professors are generally competent, but TAs may be the waekest part of the Academics system at UCSD, there is no middle ground, either the TA is amazing, or the TA stinks.

Most classes are hard, and for the most part I have been lucky with amazing professors (though there have been some, especially in the physics department, that have driven me absolutely crazy). My favorite class has been Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, mostly because the teacher was awesome and we got to go on a bunch of field trips to apply our classroom knowledge. The general education requirements at UCSD are insane - I am in Revelle college which is the worst of them all. I was fortunate enough to have many of my requirements coincide with my major, but I saw many of my communication major friends struggle through three quarters of college calculus which ended up adding multiple quarters to their time at UCSD. I feel that I was prepared properly at UCSD for a career in research, which is what I am pursuing next year as a PhD student in oceanography.

Difficult classes. Must be dedicated to succeed. No skating by. Science classes the prof.s don't seem to care about their students (for the most part) b/c they only teach so they can get funding for research... :( BOO!

grant nebel is an excellent teacher. intense. econ/chem/history all rolled into one. very difficult. richardo dominguez. an interesting teacher. i had to stop counting the amount of times i saw penises and vaginas in class because i saw them at least twice within a lecture. but regardless i enjoyed his class. keith poole. the worst political science teacher i took. obviously bias, anti- anything non american and rightwinged. also, a bland speaker. i dropped his class after attending my third lecture. how often students study? depends on the major. engineerers of any sort have to study all the time. class participation is generally a must and is part of your grade, at least in political science. how education is geared depends on your college. some like muir seek independence and personal freedom while others like revelle demand well-roundedness (hence the amount of ges)

Academics are more challenging and rigorous than I could have ever expected. Every single student here has to work incredibly hard, but the reward comes in gaining an unparalleled education.

Like any large, public university, UCSD has a range of classes from 300 person lecture halls to a 15 person discussion setting. Most classes are split into three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion. Lecture classes are large, and though participation is encouraged, it rarely happens, which is why discussion sections are key to learning effectively. Discussion sections are generally between 20 to 30 people and one TA. This allows for a more personal environment and a closer relationship between students and TAs. The six different colleges also have different general education requirements. Students can choose which college is best for them based off of the level of requirement. I go to Muir College, which is generally known for the easiest GEs. You take two writing classes developed by Muir faculty and then choose four year-long sequences, one from science or math, one social science sequence, and two sequences from foreign language, visual arts, or humanities. The Muir writing classes consist of 12 to 15 people and an instructor, and are honestly some of the best classes at UCSD. I learned more in my Muir 50 class than from any other class on campus so far. My class was about AIDS, society and culture and I learned from many different areas including social science, science, politics, philosophy, fine arts and psychology. The academics here on campus are why I chose to come here, and I have not been disappointed.

I feel like academics at UCSD is the best out there. Not only are the courses interesting, but the professors are amazing. Given there are bad professors, just find the right ones and your academic experience will be wonderful. The best part about academics at UCSD is there is not that much competition. Students at UCSD help each other and want each other to be successful. That rarely happens in any other school.

As a transfer student, I didn't have to take any of the six colleges' GE requirements. If you are an incoming freshmen, the prepare for the BS that goes with it. Many of my friends constantly complain about the writing programs such as MMW, DOC, CAT, Muir Writing, etc. So pick your colleges wisely. I was a communication major. I felt that this program was geared more for intellectual stimulation than helping students get jobs. However, there are UCSD alumni who make it in Hollywood or wherever they desired to be. As for me, I enjoyed my major classes. I got to meet lots of interesting people. The eye candy is quite good too! (Unless you're in engineering, j/k!) You may have heard of the curve system. It's meant to help you, not hurt you.

There is a lot of competition in the classes. Many science and math classes are graded on a curve so it can be tough to get a good grade. The humanities classes, however, are not graded in such a way and are therefore often more reasonable in assigning grades.

Professor can learn your name alright. All of the professors I've had have learned my name. It is pretty easy to get in contact with them. Worst Class: Ethics in Society. It's a GE required by all students in my college. Most unique class: Gospel Choir. It's a 3 unit class and all you do is spend three hours a week learning and performing traditional and contemporary Gospel songs with a local professor tunned pastor.