Psych Major and/or "Marshian"? Send Your Questions My Way!

[Silverkinz]

<p>First of all, I want to congratulate everyone for being accepted into UCSD! I remember what it felt like three years ago, when I received my packet in the mail. One of the best days of my life, no joke.</p>

<p>ANYWAY. I’m a third-year psychology major, as well as a student at Marshall College. I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions about…</p>

<ul>
<li>Psych Professors</li>
<li>Psych Classes</li>
<li>Psych Department</li>
<li>Psych Internships</li>
<li>Marshall Residential Life</li>
<li>Marshall General Ed. Requirements</li>
<li>Marshall DOC Program</li>
<li>Misc. Stuff That I Might Know Something About</li>
</ul>

[New2UCSD]

<p>heey, i was wondering what sort of different upper division significant writing courses there were for the Disc. Breadth portion of the G.E. Is there any courses like that in the cogsci division? Thanks.</p>

[eleuthera]

<p>Hi, I received the admission letter from UCSD several weeks ago, and I chose psychology as major. Now I’m making a decision between UCSD and NYU. Could you tell me what the psych classes are like in the freshman year? Will I learn a broad range of subjects or just focus on the area of psychology?</p>

[itsiliii]

<p>Hello!
I’d like to know how well run the psyche department is?
Is the major taught very well, is it difficult, is it fun?
etc etc :)</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

[MidnightRoses]

<p>Heya, I was wondering if you could tell me about the res hall in Marshall. I’m debating between applying for a double or single. Initially, I wanted a double because I want to experience college to the fullest and know what it’s like to have a roommate. On the other hand, I visited the rooms on admit day and they looked a lot smaller than expected. It made me rethink and consider a single, especially since my mom is inclined toward that choice as well. Which type(s) of rooms have you lived in, and do you think a double or single is better?</p>

[excited411]

<p>Hi, I was wondering if the res halls had a common kitchen available for its residents. I know some colleges have a kitchen per floor that residents can use occasionally and I wanted to know if Marshall had this option as well.</p>

[Silverkinz]

<p>@ New2UCSD:
The upper-division significant writing courses may change each year, so you’ll have to re-check the Marshall website in the Fall… but here’s this year’s list of courses. There are indeed a few cogsci courses. =)
<a href=“http://marshall.ucsd.edu/tmc-private/sigwriting.pdf[/url]”>http://marshall.ucsd.edu/tmc-private/sigwriting.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
Note: If you are a psychology major, taking a course in the cogsci department will NOT count toward your upper-division significant writing course, because both psych and cogsci fall under “Social Science”. If you’re a Marshall student whose major DOESN’T fall under “Social Science”, however, you’re all set. =D</p>

<p>@ eleuthera:
It depends on what your status will be (freshman, sophomore, junior/senior) and what your college’s GE requirements are. If you will be entering as a freshman, then you’ll only be able to take the lower-division psych courses. There’s general psych, cognitive psych, behavioral psych, and a few others. There’s also statistics, which is required for psych majors. You probably won’t be taking ONLY psych courses during your first two years… you’ll be working on your GE requirements as well.
If you will be entering as a sophomore, you may be able to receive clearance for a few of the upper-division “core” psych classes (ex. 101-106). They are basically the harder versions of the lower-division psych courses that I mentioned previously.
If you will be entering as a junior/senior, then chances are you’ll be taking mostly upper-division psych courses (unless you want to work toward a minor in another subject, or have an interest in something else and want some variety in your schedule).</p>

<p>@ itsiliii:
I’ve always had good experiences with the psych department’s staff. =) They are available Monday - Thursday from 9-11 and 1-3 if you have any questions about enrollment, internships, etc.
For the most part, I’ve had good experiences with the professors/lecturers. There are always exceptions, of course, so use RateMyProfessors.com and Cape.ucsd.edu in order to get a clear picture of the professor’s/lecturer’s teaching and testing style, before deciding on whether or not to enroll in a class.
The difficulty of the class depends on the professor/lecturer, and on YOU. I, for one, am not good at physiological psychology… so no matter how great the professor/lecturer is, I would struggle with the material. So long as you do your research (RateMyProfessors.com and Cape.ucsd.edu) and are honest about your willingness to study x number of hours per week for a particular class, you should be fine. =D</p>

<p>@ MidnightRoses:
The res halls at Marshall only offer SINGLE and TRIPLE rooms. If you happen to be one of the unfortunate students who’s placed in the res halls at Revelle, you may be able to get a double room.
I lived in a single room for both my freshman and sophomore years… and I LOVED it! There were times when I wished I had a roommate… but in all honesty, I think there would have been more cons than pros to that particular living arrangement. First, the rooms ARE fairly small, so you may feel a bit claustrophobic, if you have to share that space with a complete stranger during your freshman year. Second, there’s no guarantee you and your roommate are going to get along. Third, if you want to socialize, you can always step out into the common room and knock on a suitemate’s door. =)
The apartments are only for second-year students, and they offer SINGLES and DOUBLES. You can also choose your roommate, if you want to live in a double vs. a single during your second year.</p>

<p>@ excited411:
Unfortunately, they do not. =( Only the apartments (for second-year students) have kitchens. I don’t believe the lounges (located in the res halls) have full-sized kitchens, either. They might have sinks/counter areas, but to the best of my recollection, you can’t really cook anything there. So 1) get a meal plan, 2) bring a microwave, and/or 3) become buddies with someone who lives in an apartment. =P</p>

<p>Keep the questions coming, guys! =D</p>

[New2UCSD]

<p>thaank you so much. that pdf file is what i’ve been searching for from day one.
in general what did you think of the DOCs?</p>

[Jaayyenn]

<p>Im going to be a freshmen at Marshall(:
&& after seeing the doorm I really want a single.(:
I loved how the suits were set up if looks like and apt(:
Well my questions are where is the laundry room?
Is it big? Is it in the same building? Can you wash whenever you want? How much does it cost? Are the washers big? :)</p>

[Silverkinz]

<p>@ New2UCSD:
I took all three DOC classes with Professor Gilson, back in the 2007-2008 year. Most students DON’T take all three DOC classes with the same professor, so don’t be alarmed if you have to switch professors after DOC 1 and/or 2. =)
In my opinion, DOC isn’t a bad program; however, you will be expected to read approx. 100 pages per week. I personally skimmed over the readings (or used Wikipedia for DOC 2’s court cases), and still received an A-, A, and A-.
If you are currently in AP English and have something in the A/B range, then you should be fine. If you struggle with writing essays, you’ll have to work a bit harder, but with a good TA, you’ll be able to improve upon your writing skills in no time at all. Unfortunately, you don’t get to pick your TA (or rather, you get to pick your section, but you don’t always know which TA is in charge of that section)… so if your TA turns out to be worthless, you’ll want to make weekly appointments with Amber Carini. You can learn more about DOC Writing Assistance here: [Dimensions</a> of Culture ? DOC Writing Assistance ? Thurgood Marshall College :: UC San Diego’s Third College](<a href=“http://marshall.ucsd.edu/doc/assistance.html]Dimensions”>http://marshall.ucsd.edu/doc/assistance.html)</p>

<p>@ Jaayyenn:
There are three laundry facilities, and nine res halls… so you may or may not have a laundry facility in your building. Fortunately, all of the res halls are near one another, so you won’t have to walk far to get your laundry done.
The laundry facilities are by no means “state of the art”… it’s just a room with a few washers, dryers, and maybe a sink area. When I was a freshman, there used to be quarter machines… but more often than not, they were broken. XD So keep $5 in quarters in your desk drawer. I think they are also accepting Triton Cash cards now (which are currently separate from your Dining Plan Dollars).
The washers and dryers can fit a decent amount of clothing in them. I believe the washers are $0.75, and the dryers are $0.50 (or maybe it’s the other way around…), for a total of $1.25 per load of laundry. If you plan to go home on a semi-regular basis, you might want to just save all your laundry and take it home with you. =P
I can’t remember if the laundry facilities are open 24/7… but I know I’ve washed my laundry anywhere between 8 AM - 8 PM.</p>

[Physalis]

<p>What are in your opinion some of the most interesting upper div psychology courses? What about the easiest/hardest?</p>

[Sandman45]

<p>hi i got in and im considering psych as well. i was wondering how the grades are generally distributed. do a certain percentage of students get a’s? is it hard to get an a?</p>

[Silverkinz]

<p>@ Physalis:
My favorite upper-division courses thus far have been PSYC 104 (Social Psych) and PSYC 168 (Psychological Disorders of Childhood). I’m aiming for a PsyD or MFT degree in the future, so courses that focus on social and clinical psychology are of the greatest interest to me.
I think a great deal of the courses I’ve taken so far have been relatively easy. PSYC 101 (Developmental Psychology) and PSYC 102 (Sensation and Perception) were the most straight-forward (then again, they’re core classes). PSYC 106 (Physiological Psychology) was a struggle for me. Unlike most psych courses, the exams weren’t just multiple-choice… there were also “fill in the blank” and “short answer” sections on the exams. I also struggle with the biological aspects of psychology, so I had to study a great deal in order to pass the class. PSYC 60 (Statistics) is another class you’ll have to study for. It’s not an upper-division course, but many students struggle with it, mainly because it’s usually taught by a graduate student who doesn’t give a crap about their students.</p>

<p>@ Sandman45:
It seems that most classes have a mean grade of 80-85%. Nearly EVERY midterm I’ve taken has a mean score of 80%. Some classes also offer 1-3% extra credit, so I think that might be a huge reason why the mean grade increases from 80% to 85% by the end of the quarter. It is by no means impossible to get an A or A- in a psych course. You just need to put the time and effort into studying the textbook, lecture slides, notes, etc… and then a little extra. =) It also depends on what your strengths as a psychology major are. If you’re like me, and struggle with the biological aspect of psychology, then you’re probably not going to get an A in PSYC 106 (Physiological Psychology) or PSYC 179 (Drugs, Addiction, and Mental Disorders).
Since psychology is a relatively easy subject, you won’t see many professors drastically curving exam or overall class scores. Professors will rarely curve individual exams… instead, they will wait until the end of the quarter, before deciding whether or not they want to curve the overall class scores. If the mean score is below an 80%, you may see a small curve… but generally, what you get is what you get (plus whatever extra credit you earn). Professors don’t guarantee that “x” number of students will receive an A or A-. There are SOME professors who will give you an A in the class, if you get an A on the final exam… but that’s because it’s very, very difficult to get an A on the final exam. =P</p>