year 1:
fall: 11 units,
spring: 12 units
summer: 8 units
year 2:
fall: 13 units
spring: 14 units
summer: 7 units
year 3:
fall: 16 units
spring 13 units
I’m a physics major so my major requirement courses are very high-unit courses. In reality, most of my major prep stuff will be done in years 2 and 3. Year 1 was mostly GE and a few pre-reqs. Will it look bad to UC’s that I didn’t take that heavy a course-load throughout my CC time? I don’t want to take too many units per semester because I know that my physics and math classes need higher priority and more study time than anything else, so I don’t want to spread myself thin by taking extra classes. Will this look bad?
Also, I was wondering if I should perhaps turn some of my planned courses into honors courses in order to stand out more and show some sort of challenge? I really want to get straight A’s in my remaining two years so I see that as a challenge in and of itself, so is turning some courses into honors courses too much? Being a physics major already sounds like a challenge… I don’t really know how much they expect us to challenge ourselves though. The schools I’m looking at are Cal, UCLA, UCSB, and UCSD.
I don’t have much else in terms of extracurriculars to stand out… Does getting straight A’s even look impressive if I did it by taking a small course-load each semester? I’m sure anyone could get straight A’s if they take very few units each time. What should I do?
Are those quarter or semester units?
If they are semester units, its already a pretty packed course load. The amount of years it takes to complete CC doesn’t matter to UCs.
In regard to honors courses, unless you put on your application (in the additional comments) that the courses were honors, it is hard for the UC to tell. Also, you should know that you do not get a GPA boost like honors/AP courses in high school.
Getting straight A’s is a really good goal. You can see UCLA’s stats for physics majors here https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof14_mjr.htm#PW
Taking some honors is a good plan. And in terms of schedule if you’re working or have other obligations, the UCs are fine with going slow. Tons of ppl do it, even with selective majors. That’s why having a couple honors classes will help, and you might even consider a couple other courses in your major that are not part of the major requirement list, but will show interest in your major.
@luckie1367 yes they’re semester units. thanks for the link!
@lindyk8 the problem is that I don’t work or have other obligations. im very fortunate to have my tuition covered and to receive financial aid, so i can focus on school without worrying about working to get money. i almost feel spoiled, and I feel like taking it slow would just show laziness or something… i did very badly in high school (never doing homework), so part of the reason im not keen on taking a lot of classes at once is that im afraid ill fall behind. but if i were an admissions person, i wouldn’t want to accept somebody who played it safe and never challenged themselves just because they were afraid of losing.
i think ill try taking at least one honors course next semester, then go from there… my CC doesn’t have any electives or extra classes in my major. they do have other classes, but im not allowed to take them once i get credit for the ones ill have to take for my major anyways because they’re lower-level. thanks!
You are pretty much taking full load every semester plus courses in the summer. Don’t fret about it, it is a perfectly acceptable load. If you can, take honors courses of course but it looks like you are preparing yourself adequately for physics if you are taking the courses that are recommended for transfer students to the UCs.
At my university, Illinois Tech, we recommend that first year physics majors take between 12 and 15 credit hours in their first semester. These initial courses are challenging and it is better to get a good base and strong GPA than to overreach.
^Yep. Those are full time numbers for semester units.
Your units are fine. They’re in the normal range. They don’t expect ppl to pile on a huge load to get it all done in two years.