| alansda,
i won't go in-depth but here's some trivia on the psych major.
-psych is the most popular major at UCLA
-psych itself is barely science-oriented (think science lite)
-psychobio has a LOT of science, if that's more your style
-i don't study a whole lot, but, it depends on the class entirely. there's no set average of studying (unlike engineering, where you know you're in for it!)
-all the professors i've had so far have been wonderful, and i've greatly enjoyed the upperdivs i've taken so far (not that many since the first year is mostly spent on pre-reqs)
-disadvantages to psych: very popular, so you don't sound too unique, but for people like me who actually want to get a career out of it, it's good. i don't like all the pre-reqs as they seem far-flung, and you don't get into psych upperdivs at all your first year because most of them have prereqs (although you can take 127, abnormal psych, with only psych 10)
-positives: i LOVE psych, and since it's so huge here there are so many avenues you can pursue within it. i want a career in marriage/family therapy, so i'm working in a lab this quarter dealing with couples and their relationships. also there are just a ton of unique opportunities here, but you have to stumble upon them or be really proactive in finding them
-being a pre-psych major sort of sucks. you have a hard time getting upper-divs until you're declared psych, and then even when you are psych, the core classes fill up FAST because everyone needs them so it's a bit of a feeding frenzy...
-but if psych is really your thing, i would overall highly recommend the program! (don't forget about psychobio or cognitive science being other options within the psych department, and explore the minors: ADP applied developmental psych if you like kids, and other projects that are pretty unique) |