UCLA Freshman Clusters-Is it worth it?

KylieSmiley22 · 07-01-2009, 10:52 AM

This post is directed towards 2nd years-seniors at UCLA.

My orientation is next Monday-Wednesday and I'm seeking advice for my course schedule.

I am pre-med, majoring in MCDB, and in the freshman honors program.

My course so far will be the basic: Math 3A, Chemistry 14A, + GE?

I have heard a lot of negative comments about enrolling in a freshman cluster to help fulfill the GE requirement (saying it's too much work, not worth it).

My questions are:

1. Is taking a freshman cluster a GPA killer?

2. If not a freshman cluster, then what GE course should I take (that must also fit the honors program requirements)?

hellobruin · 07-11-2009, 04:47 AM

Don't know if I can be of help, but I'm also a life science major (psychobio), in the honors program, and planning to have the same classes this fall.

Uh, yeah, according to my sophomore friend, he said it's pretty useless to take freshman clusters and to just head for the GEs. Maybe he's being biased though, haha. I think if you're really interested in a certain freshman cluster, go for it.

hereicome09 · 07-12-2009, 07:16 PM

bump...also interested in knowing if clusters r worth it

also..what ge satisfies honor requirement

UCLA BRUIN · 07-13-2009, 06:19 PM

FRESHMAN CLUSTERS, IN MY OPINION, ARE TRASH lol. They are unnecessary and limit the flexibility of your schedule. I took the interracial dynamics cluster for my first quarter, but dropped it for the other ones. Just make sure you know which GEs you need to fulfill, and you get them done and you will be fine.

Hidorsa · 07-18-2009, 01:00 AM

Not really worth it.

binks09 · 07-18-2009, 11:30 PM

I'm doing a cluster... mainly because of the honors implications and all that you can knock out with it... Writing II, 15 honors, 5 (8 needed in total UCLA career) of the honors collegium, plus, they seem halfway interesting.

thecheesecake · 07-25-2009, 02:53 AM

I didn't really like the one I took. If you bruinwalk the professors who teach them, you'll find that most are pretty average. Why not just find the individual GE classes taught by really awesome professors? I don't have very many regrets regarding my college experience, but I'd say that taking the freshman cluster is definitely in the top three on my (short) list of regrets.

viking32 · 08-02-2009, 01:06 AM

Clusters = not worth it. And for the pre-meds... I know you want to hit the ground running but its really a good idea to take a light first quarter. Once you've gotten used to college you can pile on classes winter and spring if you really need to.

Math, Chem and a GE sounds pretty good to me, I recommend the Jazz-history class, easy A.

My main reason for doing honors was the priority enrollment, which has now been rescinded, so I know a lot of people dropping that too. I don't want to discourage you, but I personally didn't find the honors to be worth the extra work...

jamielhuynh · 09-08-2009, 10:20 PM

if i signed up for a cluster, can i drop it after the first quarter?