Cluster Advice for Incoming Frosh

kissyourLbow · 05-23-2005, 09:05 PM

At college welcome day, the tour guides and speakers were quite ambiguous about the cluster classes. How many quarters are these clusters? How many classes do they usually consist of? How many kids per cluster? Would any current students at UCLA recommend them for freshmen? If you initially begin by choosing your own classes, can you choose to switch over to a cluster? Anyhoo, hope that wasn't TOO many questions...haha

ckings86 · 05-23-2005, 10:47 PM

I'll try my best to answer most of your questions. However, I have not taken cluster class but, my roommate is currently taking one so I know most of what goes on. The clusters are for three quarters. Usually one class per quarter which means 3 total. I've been told that clusters are very interesting and that most people that take them enjoy them. However, in my roommate's case, she has A LOT of reading and writing to do for her cluster. But, if you think about it, she's not only getting a couple GE's out of the way but her writing II requirement as well, which entails about the same amount of reading and writing. And I believe clusters are only for freshmen, so if you are interested you'd have to take start taking a cluster this fall. From what I understand, if you don't enroll in one for fall, you can't enroll in one for winter or spring. And you won't receive any GE credit for the classes you take unless you follow through with taking ALL three quarters of the cluster. (i.e. if you drop the cluster winter quarter you won't recieve the full GE credit for the previous class in the cluster...) Please anyone that has actually taken a cluster feel free to correct me if I made any mistakes.

kfc4u · 05-23-2005, 11:27 PM

"And you won't receive any GE credit for the classes you take unless you follow through with taking ALL three quarters of the cluster. (i.e. if you drop the cluster winter quarter you won't recieve the full GE credit for the previous class in the cluster...)"

false. you receive the GE credit designated for that quarter if you drop. for example, the biotech cluster fulfills 3 GE's: life science lab, philosophy, and life science. the fall quarter fulfills the life science lab, the winter quarter philosophy, and the spring quarter life science (plus writing II). so if you dropped, you'll still get the GE credit designated for that quarter, even though classes are actually a mix of all 3 GE's.

"How many kids per cluster?"

depends. roughly 200 i want to say. around 20-30 students in each discussion section.

"If you initially begin by choosing your own classes, can you choose to switch over to a cluster?"

you must enter your cluster the fall of freshman year. the reason why it's called a cluster is because winter quarter is a continuation of fall quarter.

"I've been told that clusters are very interesting and that most people that take them enjoy them."

seems like most people liked them, probably because they're taught by better faculty, are interesting and contemporary topics, some guest speakers, and sometimes have a multidisciplinary approach. i personally thought my biotech cluster was okay.

"However, in my roommate's case, she has A LOT of reading and writing to do for her cluster. "

i'm guessing she's in the History of Social Thought cluster. by far the most demanding of all. but overall, i think clusters do have a more demanding load than regular classes. remember, they count for honors credit if you're in the honors program.

"Would any current students at UCLA recommend them for freshmen?"

i guess i would. cluster was okay for the most part. good thing was that i got to meet some friends in the cluster since u have class with them for 2 or 3 quarters.

ckings86 · 05-23-2005, 11:47 PM

kfc4u, thanks for the correction! Like I said, I wasn't sure. And yes, my room mate is taking History of Social Thought.

teal · 05-24-2005, 12:16 AM

What are your thoughts on the other clusters?

kfc4u · 05-24-2005, 09:24 PM

ckings86, you got a lot of it right! =)

laurak · 05-25-2005, 05:00 PM

Go figure that the History of Social Thought is the one I'm actually interested in, heh.

ayaneko · 05-25-2005, 07:34 PM

wat r some of the other clusters that they're offering?

do they have one for engineering or computer science? (sorry i've never heard of cluster classes so im just kinda curious ^^;

laurak · 05-25-2005, 09:39 PM

ayaneko-- http://www.college.ucla.edu/ge/clusters/

UCLAmy · 05-25-2005, 09:49 PM

Which are the easier ones and which are the harder ones?

ayaneko · 05-25-2005, 10:07 PM

hmm....just wondering...how many GE courses do we need to graduate, and how many can we take each yr?

can we still take these if we're not in honors and not in CAS?...

kfc4u · 05-25-2005, 10:32 PM

"Which are the easier ones and which are the harder ones?"

i havent heard enough feedback from all the clusters to be able to rank it. i would say that none of them are considered easy and that you can probably find some easier class on campus to fulfill your GE. the only one i've heard complaints about being hard is the history of social thought one.

"do they have one for engineering or computer science? "

i'm assuming that is your major. well, my personal advice is DONT take a cluster that is related to your major. the point is, your cluster will fulfill GE's that your major's classes will cover so you're not helping yourself eliminate GE's or graduate faster. however, if you're really really really interested in the topic, then go for it. doesnt hurt to take 15 units of electives i suppose.

"can we still take these if we're not in honors and not in CAS?..."

yes you can take clusters if youre not in honors. many do. you just won't get a honors notation on your transcript. if you're not in college of letters and sciences, then i suggest talking to your orientation counselor. your workload (i.e. if you're engineering) may be more difficult or your units might get capped faster so ask your orientation counselor to see if the cluster is right for you.

"hmm....just wondering...how many GE courses do we need to graduate, and how many can we take each yr?"

you need 10 GE courses to graduate. there's a chance that 1 or 2 of your GE courses will overlap with your major anyway. you can finish all 10 of them in 1 year if you want haha. most people spread them out and probably finish them by the end of your 2nd year. some strategize in that they purposely save up an easy GE to add to their schedule when their other classes are going to be tough so they can balance their schedule out.

for everyone's reference!

GE requirements:
http://www.college.ucla.edu/ge/main.htm

Classes to fulfill GE's:
http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/GE/

Freshman Clusters:
http://www.college.ucla.edu/ge/clusters/

ayaneko · 05-25-2005, 10:35 PM

wow thx for the info!

Fanta87 · 05-28-2005, 11:06 AM

okay, this might be a stupid question, but, for our freshmen yr, do we only only take GE courses? also, what about fiat lux seminars? are they good to take freshmen yr too?

kissyourLbow · 05-28-2005, 12:03 PM

do the cluster topics change from year to year? For some reason I was under the imprestion that they do =-/