fusionall

If you lurk around these forums, you'd know I'm pretty involved with most of the UCM threads on these boards. You would also know that I'm not a UCM fanboy and tell it like it is. You would also know that I plan on transferring next year.

After my first year here at UCM, I have gained enough knowledge about the campus to answer pretty much any question accurately. If I don't have the answer, I most certainly know someone who would.

With all that aside, I know there is a lot of curiosity out there concerning transferring, stuff to do around Merced, classes, etc. If you have any questions concerning UCM, feel free to ask here. I may be a little late in responses the first week because of finals, but I'll check these boards when I can.

I'm here to help my fellow students, whether you are a current, future, or prospective.

theydidntnameme

what is your major? ive been accepted for fall, (computer science) but NONE of the programming classes ive taken are articulated, which i believe means if i go to ucm in the fall, i have to start back at introduction to computer science, which is 1 of the only things at ucm i am totally NOT looking forward to.

so im trying to make up for it by finishing my igetc this summer (so at least when i transfer i dont have to take my ge's) its not recommended for engineering, but im gonna have more then enough classes to take at ucm, hardly any classes articulate from my ccc, so im trying to get something done this summer (while at the same time get the required 60 units)

fusionall

I'm currently a Human Biology Major.

Let me guess. Your previous classes were all C++ based? I've heard from a friend who is a CSE Major that UCM is the only UC that teaches in Java while all the other UCs teach in C++. I could be totally wrong though. Just a guess as to why your classes aren't being carried over.

KoreanBoi92

I think I read from previous posts that you are a pre-med, right?

fusionall

@ KoreanBoi92

I'm currently thinking about applying to dental school, but honestly, this is still up in the air. I came to college thinking that I would become Pre-law. After my first semester, I switched to a Pre-med track (the massive number of lawyers being laid off didn't really help. Also, I've always found the sciences more engaging).

I've seen your previous posts and it seems like you're really adamant about attending med school. That's an awesome decision and I applaud you on wanting to help out others. However, I'd suggest being open to other fields of study. Who knows? You may find another field that you like better than Pre-med. I believe the first two years of college should be used for intelligent exploration while staying in the bounds of your desired major.

kiwicheese

i'm thinking about changing my major from nanobioengineering to human biology

and i heard you're transferring..i forgot where, i think it's UCLA?

what's your gpa and how do you like the courses?

thanks :]

fusionall

@ kiwicheese

My first choice is UCD, but going to UCLA wouldn't be bad either. I will be submitting transfer applications to UCD, UCLA, UCSD, and UCB. My transfer major for Davis will be Physiology while my transfer major for UCLA will be Psychobiology. I haven't researched the other schools enough yet to decide on my transfer majors there.

Preliminary 2009 transfer student profiles for UCLA can be found at this link:
Profile of Admitted Transfer Students by Major, Fall 2009 - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions

UC Davis 2008 student profile can be found at this link:
UC Davis :: Undergraduate Admissions

I'm currently sitting on a 3.6 GPA right now. Looking at the UCLA site above, this means I'll need to bump up my GPA just a tad in order to be "guaranteed" admission to the major I want. However, I'm hoping my extracurricular activities will compensate for the 0.1 I am currently missing. :P

The classes aren't awfully difficult, but there is a huge discrepancy in the grading difficulty of professors in the Writing Department. For instance, my previous writing professor allowed one revision of each of the papers we turned in while my roommates' writing teacher allowed an infinite amount of revisions in addition to being an easier grader (read: Easy A). This type of thing happens on every campus, so just be aware of who grades easier and take their course if the classes doesn't pertain to your major (such as GE requirements). Ask around when you get here. You'd be surprised at how much you can learn about professors just by asking around and by checking ratemyprofessor.com.

On the other hand, taking "harder" instructors early on will prepare you for the upperdivision courses much better than taking "easier" professors.

I've found that having a good mix of "easy" courses and "hard" courses has been most effective. I still have time for extracurricular activities and I am not tired of school or under huge amounts of stress. Find what works best for you early on.

From what I've had experience with, all of the professors in the Natural Sciences department are excellent professors who will sometimes go out of their way to explain a concept to you individually. It's awesome getting this type of personal attention, especially at a UC campus. Professors encourage you to stop them even if you see them in passing. I've regularly walked by professors explaining concepts to students outside of the office and lecture hall.

Also, because the school isn't big yet and the current academic profile of the average UCM student isn't all that great, competition in classes in almost nonexistent. Curves (being graded on your rank in relation to how your classmates did) help instead of hurt. I had some friends at UCB tell me that students regularly perfect midterms, skewing curves as some professors allocate a fixed amount of students who would be eligible for an A. In other words, you could've gotten an A on a test, but because your classmates got higher As than you did, you might be dropped down to a B. Because students don't regularly perfect midterms/exams (for better or for worse), we don't see this type of competition at UCM.

Overall, the classes that I have taken are great and I have learned a lot. The lecture hall is new, the laboratories are new, and competition isn't to be found. If you're looking to go to graduate school, going to UCM for your undergraduate degree is a pretty good option.

kiwicheese

yay thanks so much :]

good luck!

fusionall

@ kiwicheese

No problem and thanks. Feel free to ask any other questions should you have more later on. I'm here to help.

misterradio

In your opinion, are there any fun and interesting classes UCM offers (anything that isn't academically oriented, if that makes sense...)? (;º) Thanks.

fusionall

@ misterradio

In my opinion, UC Merced is currently lacking in the "fun" courses found at other UCs. Unfortunately, UCM hasn't built up the reputation to have a serious Starcraft course like UC Berkeley's or a class on Superman in Contemporary Society. Most of the courses here are what I would consider "core courses", meaning the only ones you'll need for your degree.

UCM does not have the staff nor the reputation to have these fun courses yet, although it may in the future (along with everything else found at other UCs).

RLSell1992

is housing guaranteed? if so, for how many years?

RLSell1992

also, i saw other posts on here stating that the food is horrible. is it really that bad? and are there many sports (or marching band) and clubs to join even though its only 4 years old?

fusionall

@ RLSell1992

Housing is guaranteed on a first-come, first-served basis. I believe the first 300 applicants are guaranteed housing, meaning you need to sign up fast. Sign-ups started at 8AM and by 10AM, I heard from some friends it was already past 300. I'm not sure what the number was for new admits, but you should still sign up fast anyways.

The food isn't as terrible as people make it out to be, granted you know how to mix and match your foods. It will be terrible if you eat only hot dogs or cheeseburgers, but will be tolerable and maybe even good at times if you can manage to not eat the same thing everyday. I usually make sandwiches or salads to keep things fresh.

However, the food here is EXPENSIVE and the quality of the food certainly does not warrant its price (most of the time). Students are given roughly $1500 per semester for food, and depending on your tastes and schedule, you can either see this diminish quickly or not fast enough. Money on your meal plan does roll over from semester to semester, but not from year to year. For example, money from the Fall semester will be transferred to Spring, but money from Freshman year will not be transferred to Sophomore spending.

There are many organizations on campus. Below is a link to the clubs on campus last year. If there is a club that does not satisfy an interest of yours, I invite you to make one.

Student Life - 2008 - 2009 Clubs and Organizations

Feel free to ask any more questions. I hoped this helped.

RLSell1992

thanks! that helped a lot :]