Does your unit count really matter...?

Colleges & Universities University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Does unit count really matter outside of getting you to graduate on time? </p>

<p>I.e., does unit count affect whether you get internships, get into a more prestigious grad school, etc.? Is it sort of like undergraduate admissions, which look at the “rigor” of your high school classes by counting the amount of classes and AP/honors a student took? Or is college different in that respect? </p>

<p>I’m thinking of taking 3 four-unit classes plus 1 one-unit seminar and maybe a decal next semester, but if units matter in getting jobs/internships/grad schools, then I might re-think that. </p>

<p>(This has been another n00b-ish freshman question from yours truly, hahaha)</p>

2

<p>Course rigor is not nearly as important in college as it was in high school. But it could potentially make a tiny difference, though I rarely see a student with high grades in a small amount of units (13-14 per semester) turned down by jobs/internships/grad schools. GPA is much more important.</p>

3

<p>

getting you to graduate. . . period. you can’t leave here with a diploma without the minimum unit count. </p>

<p>just like you did (or at least should have done) for your undergraduate admission, you should research exactly which universities you would like to apply to for graduate school. Look on their website and see any classes they suggest you take,
what coursework a competitive candidate should have under his or her belt before applying, what kind of students they are looking for, etc etc. When in doubt, just check Berkeley’s version of whatever program you’re interested in as a good starting point for guidance when choosing classes.</p>

4

<p>Unit count gets you to graduation.</p>

<p>Unit count also affects your class standing (but not class level) for scheduling priority purposes.</p>

<p>Some majors may specify “__ units of ______ courses” as part of major requirements.</p>

5

<p>Nope. I had 30+ units from HS from AP Tests and Community College classes. I took 13-14 units EVERY SEMESTER at Cal, got mostly straight A’s, and got accepted into a top 6 law school. It doesn’t matter. Someone taking the bare minimum but getting all As will look better that someone taking 15-16 units and getting a B+ average.</p>

6

<p>^ i love happy endings</p>