Thank you for the info!
I have a question about calculus and placement. I know you can use a 5 on the CalcBC exam to enter math 32A, but has anyone’s kid entered 31B instead? Even if he gets a 5 on the CalcBC exam, my son is leaning toward taking 31B, because he’s worried about too many difficult courses in his first quarter (he’s a chemistry major and wants to take the honors chemistry sequence). He’s a strong math student. Does anyone have an opinion about whether foregoing the 32A placement is a good idea or not? Did anyone’s kid struggle in 32A straight out of high school, or was it manageable? Thank you!
You might not have a choice if he gets a 5 to back down to 31B.
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My S23 found Calc 3 easier than expected (albeit not at UCLA), even though it had been 18 months since Calc BC (he took it junior year of HS then just did AP Stats and Phys C senior year). Even my D18 (who was a ballet dancer not a STEM major) found Calc 3 to be fine in her first semester of college (though despite getting an A it left her convinced that she didn’t want to take a math minor).
I think Calc 2 can sometimes be regarded as more of a weeder course than Calc 3 since kids who are taking it won’t necessarily have a particularly strong math background.
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My son is a third year aerospace engineering major and had the same concerns going into his freshman year. He asked around and everyone said to skip 31B if you can. He went straight into 32A and had no problems. Apparently, 31B is known to be much harder than 32A and people told him it wouldn’t be an easy A just because he did well in Calc BC. Let me know if you have any questions and I can get more info from my son.
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I’m an incoming pre-mathematics major. I’m a little lost on what summer courses I should take this year.
Should I take GE course? If so, which ones are good for summer sessions? What if I plan on enrolling in a cluster?
Also, is there any place/person (like a counselor) that I can talk to about planning these stuff?
I heard classes are filling up quickly and I’m worried that I may be left behind. Please let me know anything you might know about this. Thanks!
Do you have any AP or DE credits?
Freshman orientation is usually when you will get a detail rundown of what you will need to take, at least for the first year. You can also go on the department website to check requisite classes you will need for you to declare your major. The Letters and Science College website will also list GE requirements.
What you should do for the summer will depend on what you are going into Fall with.
I always thought classes filled up quickly and you best sign up for a freshman orientation session early in the summer, but another poster was quick to correct me that spots are reserved so all the sessions have equal opportunity.
If your son got 5 on AP Calculus BC, he can skip both 31A and 31B, if he got 4 on AP Calculus BC, he can skip 31A, and he needs to take 31B at UCLA.
Did your son already take AP Calculus BC in his junior year or he’s taking AP Calculus BC his senior year? If so, it’s too late since AP exam score is released in June.
Anyway, he doesn’t need to be ahead of his peers, and summer quarter costs the same regardless how many courses you take. The freshman usually takes 3 or 4 courses per quarter, a few Regent scholars took 5 courses as they have the privilege to register easier courses or the courses with easy professors. Grades inflation doesn’t only happen in high school…
Finding internship jobs and enjoying his summer has more value than taking summer quarter. I discussed all senarios/plans with my older son years ago!
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Thanks for the reply!
I got a 5 in ap calc bc, and I have credit for multivariable calc (which idk if it translates to 32A?) and intro to stats from a cc. I looked at the classes I need to take to declare my major, but I would rather wait until fall to start my math classes or the two other courses I need to take (esp. because I’m waiting on AP scores for econ and physics c).
Should I just take a random GE course that I would probably need to graduate? I’m only planning to take one or two classes (maybe even just online) over the summer.
He is taking AP Cal BC tomorrow, yes, we won’t know the score until early July and it is too late for summer school with required math class. Finally he decided to take longer summer break with his job, instead of jumping into advanced classes. Earn and save more for his personal expense in colleges. 
Thank you for reminding me of the summer quarter costs.
Calling for all OOS students:
Anyone filed FA as independent student or you planed to change residency status? Please PM me.
That what I thought, most of students take AP Calculus BC in senior year, the AP score will not be released before summer quarter starts. You need to wait for AP Calculus BC score to determine if he needs to take 32A or 31A/31B… My older son skipped two math courses.
We’d like to take actions ahead of others, but we didn’t take summer quarter for hundred reasons.
Enjoy his last summer before college, plus he can study course materials and prepare for college online.
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In my own case, I took Eng Comp in CC the summer before school started because it got me out of Freshman writing requirement (back then was called subject A) as well as ESL placement plus freshman composition. I didn’t have AP and I’m not a good writer and this got me out of having to do it at UCLA, which was notorious for harsh grading.
My general advice is do the classes at CC that you are not good at, and do not already have credits from AP. But if you already have them, just enjoy the summer.
1-2 classes in summer session, especially at UCLA is more costly than it’s worth IMO if you don’t “need” them. You can easily take extra GE classes during regular school terms and not incur the extra cost and time.
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Many ways to skip the Freshman writing requirement. 3+ on AP Eng&Comp or 3+ on AP Lit, 700+ on SAT RW subject… Both is super easy.
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I would recommend taking Math 32A instead of dropping to 31B. Many students find 32A easier than 31B for various reasons, actually. If your son really wants to take 31B, I believe he can email the admissions office for more information, or the advisors for the chemistry major.
Also, I could not recommend the honors chemistry sequence highly enough. Even as a non-chem major, I learned many applicable skills (e.g. how to be a scientist, how to conduct literature searches for research, etc.), and in the second quarter, the professor helps all of his students get in to a lab of their choice for research. It is quite the heavy workload however, you are not mistaken.
You can use SAT score of 680 or higher to satisfy entry level writing requirement. Subject tests no longer exist.
You still need writing 1 and 2. You can use AP English score to satisfy writing 1 requirement or DE. My son took English 1 class over the summer at CC to satisfy that requirement. Why? Because clusters incorporate writing 2 content and the only way you can take them is to first knock out writing 1. It was just easier to do it over summer than to take English 1 during the school year prior to the spring quarter when the writing seminar is cluster takes place.
Kids who did summer school seem to have found their friend group easier than those who started in the Fall. I wish I had put mine there over summer.
And yes, you won’t have much choice about math. They will place him based on AP scores.
You can take a Writing 1 class concurrently with a cluster, provided that you finish said Writing 1 class before Spring quarter starts, because Spring is when the cluster gives Writing 2 credit.
Absolutely, but given so many other requirements from major or other general Ed, it seems to be simpler to get it knocked out early. At least we felt that was a wise decision. Clusters are 6 credit units. For a STEM kid taking a couple of science classes, finding space for another English class can be stressful. But yes, it’s absolutely possible.
Is it just the SIR and Housing Application due by March 15?
No housing contract yet?
Wanting to make sure my son is all set and he doesn’t miss out on this 4 year housing guarantee.
When we fill SIR, we are asked to choose one official email, it could be UCLA.edu email or the presonal email we used when applying to UC. I am little confused as my son can not access his ucla email yet. If he chose ucla email, will he miss all the important communications regarding next steps, i.e. housing… orientation, but at the same time it also doesn’t make sense to choose a personal email as official email. Anyone knows what is the purpose of this official email, is it for communication after the Fall quarter starts? or it is for all communication from now on after we sign the SIR? Thanks!