UCLA Engineering Q&A

Colleges & Universities University of California - Los Angeles
1921

<p>Thanks for your reply GrassPuppet.
Personally, I found my vector calculus at CC much more difficult than any AP class I have taken. The grading system, quizzes, and test, and all. Only 1 person out of 9 got an A-, and unfortunately, that was not me. (tears) Also all my classmates were highly motivated and smart students. Some CC might be harder, or some classes might be harder than the others, right? Also one time, I had a physics teacher who would copy and read the textbook - that class was a nightmare - and give extremely difficult tests. I hope it’s not like that in UC.
Anyway, your link did not work. I found another thread regarding google and UCLA, but I think there could be more detailed answer. But once again, I apprecaite your answer very much.</p>

<p><em>START HERE</em><em>START HERE</em><em>START HERE</em><em>START HERE</em><em>START HERE</em>
So Flopsy or anybody who is looking at this, please answer my questions:
(2)do I need to do a lot of extracurricular activities? Which ones would you recommend, considering that I plan to have a career in Business? I know that internship is the key for a good employment. (3)So at the end of the sophomore year, which company should I pursue for internship? Tell me the ones that will be productive for my career and lucrative in terms of money. I speak Korean fluently, but I started to learn Mandarin. (4) Is it worthwhile to learn another Asian language as a programmer/businessman? (5) What are some weeder classes that I could take in ANOTHER college/university. (e.g. CS33, 130, 111, 132), and where ? I have enough credits from AP and Community colleges to almost skip my freshman year.</p>

<p>More questions. Have you guys heard about EEE PC or subnotebooks? It’s slow, cheap, and small. Should I get that for college? Or do I need a top-notch computer for CS major? Or do I need a computer at all? Tell me more about the computer system and lab in UCLA.</p>

1922

<p>Flopsy,</p>

<p>Rate my tentative schedule on difficulty:</p>

<p>Fall:</p>

<p>EE 103
EE 161
EE 113
Math 132</p>

<p>Winter:</p>

<p>CS 31
EE 132A
EE 115B
EE 115AL
Stats 105</p>

<p>Spring:</p>

<p>CS 32
EE 162A
EE 113D
EE 131B
EE 115BL</p>

<p>Any comments? Is it doable or am I crazy if I try it? :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: :(</p>

<p>Note: Yes, I know that some of those schedules are ~22 units. I can try to petition. I want to graduate by the end of Spring '09. Otherwise, I’ll have to stay at least an additional quarter.</p>

<p>Alternative schedule:</p>

<p>Fall '08:</p>

<p>CS 31
EE 161
EE 115AL
EE 113</p>

<p>Winter '09:</p>

<p>CS 32
EE 132A
EE 115B
Stats 105</p>

<p>Spring’09:</p>

<p>EE 131B
EE 113D
EE 162A
EE 115BL</p>

<p>Fall '09:</p>

<p>Math 132
EE 103</p>

<p>:(</p>

<p>The thing is, I would really like to do some research next year.</p>

1923

<p>

</p>

<p>Some professors suck. Some are great. Others are OK. But yes, you will have some awful exams. I remember hearing about EE 141, Fall Quarter I think?, and how the lectures were useless. If it weren’t for the TA, you wonldn’t have learned anything. I think the average for the midterm was ~70/200, with the the highest being in the ~170/200, or something like that.</p>

<p>At some point you’ll walk out of an exam and want to kill yourself. It’s just that hard. But don’t worry others will be in the same boat. South Campus curves FTW!</p>

<p>Note: I think Puppet meant this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/487996-internships-google-ucla-engineering-students.html?highlight=google[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/487996-internships-google-ucla-engineering-students.html?highlight=google&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You can always head over to the engineering forum, and/or use the Google.</p>

1924

<p>yeah I went to that thread, but I want to know what other companies offer internship. Also I would like to have a first/second hand account of internship in UCLA.</p>

<p>Flopsy if you are reading this, please look at my previous post to answer my question.
Anyway, I have a good news that is too good to share. I know one school that has a online CS 33 equivalent course. Thank God! It took me three hours to find it. (I practically went through every CC in California) The bad news is that it is offered only in Spring and Fall Semester. Flopsy, you said too many scary things about CS 33 that I am willing to defer my admission to spring in order to skip this class. What’s your opinion? Do you think you learned a lot and worth getting a bad grade/going to hell? Or should I avoid it if I can? Once again, I will be taking at a community college online system. So I am sure I will learn less.</p>

<p>On Wikipedia.com, based on USNW UCLA was ranked 13th, while UCSD was ranked 11th. GASP! I read your thread about USNW ranking, Flopsy. But these numbers surprise me. Back of my head: ‘I should have applied to UCSD’ Also in ARWU rankings, UCLA was 32nd, while UCSD was 10th. I know UCLA has been declining and UCSD has been rising, but this seems illogical. Please tell me UCLA’s CS is as prestigious and good as UCB’s, and that they are wrong. Also please do tell me I will have better chance getting recruited by software companies.</p>

1925

<p>

Yes, this is common. Most of my engineering colleagues not going to graduate school have received either job offers or post-graduate internships. :rolleyes:</p>

1926

<p>

UCLA Bioengineering doesn’t have much of a reputation as of yet… I don’t have a good knowledge of the department and I don’t know anyone who’s actually in the major. :rolleyes:</p>

1927

<p>Hey there flopsy, I’m not sure if you read my post or not and it’s just that I really want the answers asap so I’ll just repost my questions:</p>

<p>

</p>

1928

<p><a href=“1”>quote=morepractice</a> is there time for sports, work, AND minor in Economics (accounting)?

[/quote]
No. You cannot do all three of the above as a Computer Science major unless you’re really good at scheduling, because the Accounting minor is hard to attain even for pure Economics/Business Economics majors who can devote all their time to the minor. I strongly suggest you not go for the Accounting minor unless you want to graduate in five years instead of four, because even if you get into the minor, the classes themselves are competitive. :rolleyes:

No, you do not need extra-curricular activities to get recruited by Microsoft and Google. I know students who have no extra-curricular activities, and have <3.0 GPAs, but got invited to interview at Microsoft anyway. I can’t recommend either company if you plan to have a career in Business. “Business” is extremely broad – what aspects of business do you want to pursue? :rolleyes:
<a href=“3”>quote=morepractice</a>So at the end of the sophomore year, which company should I pursue for internship? Tell me the ones that will be productive for my career and lucrative in terms of money.

[/quote]
At the end of your sophomore year, you haven’t taken much upper-division coursework, so you won’t have many options – you’d be lucky to even get a paid internship. Take whatever interests you most, not whatever pays the most. :rolleyes:

No. Adequately learning another Asian language to business competency requires you to take at least the level 6courses, which will set you back quite a bit. :rolleyes:
<a href=“5”>quote=morepractice</a> What are some weeder classes that I could take in ANOTHER college/university. (e.g. CS33, 130, 111, 132), and where ? I have enough credits from AP and Community colleges to almost skip my freshman year.

[/quote]
Can someone who’s done this answer this question? :rolleyes:
<a href=“6”>quote=morepractice</a> should I try to cramp my schedule to graduate in 3 years? If I have extra time, how should I spend it? (e.g. research)

[/quote]
No, you should not cramp your schedule to graduate in 3 years, because not only is that extremely unlikely (you’d have to take 5 courses per quarter, for all three years – class schedule conflicts will likely halt such a grandiose undertaking), it would conflict with your aforementioned goals (playing sports/working on the side/getting the Accounting minor/learning another Asian language). Unfeasible. :rolleyes:
<a href=“7”>quote=morepractice</a> Is community college education comparable to that of UC? Do transfer students struggle at UCLA because of the quality in education?

[/quote]
No, and no. :rolleyes:</p>

1929

<p>

Out of the $27,000 annual tuition for international students, you shouldn’t expect more than $5,000 to be covered by university-sponsored merit scholarships. Working an on-campus job depends entirely on the hours and type of job worked; if you work during the academic year, part-time (20 hours/week) on an average ASUCLA salary ($12.50/hour) that would be $10,000. I encourage you to seek out full-time summer internships rather than work on-campus part-time during the school year because the pay tends to be much better. I don’t know anyone who’s actually applied for the HSSEAS-specific scholarships, so I can’t comment on the competitiveness… :rolleyes:</p>

<p>Helpful links (includes a list of HSSEAS-specific scholarships):
[HSSEAS</a> OASA | Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/scholarships/index.html]HSSEAS”>http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/scholarships/index.html)
[UCLA</a> Scholarship Resource Center](<a href=“http://www.ugeducation.ucla.edu/src/]UCLA”>UCLA Scholarship Center | University of California, Los Angeles)</p>

<p>

Since you’ve already had a look at “the site” ([HSSEAS</a> OASA | Change of Major](<a href=“http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/current/change.html]HSSEAS”>http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/current/change.html), I presume) I presume you know the process, and that’s pretty much the extent of my knowledge as well, unfortunately. I can only vouch from anecdotal evidence that every CS major I know of that has wanted to change majors has been successful. :rolleyes:</p>

1930

<p>

</p>

<p>changing majors within engineering is no big deal. fill out the form, wait a few weeks. there will only be problems switching into impacted majors (BioE and EE, according to flopsy).</p>

1931

<p>Flopsy, thank you for your answer. Actually I had another post for you to answer:
On Wikipedia.com, based on USNW UCLA was ranked 13th, while UCSD was ranked 11th. GASP! I read your thread about USNW ranking, Flopsy. But these numbers surprise me. Back of my head, I get a thought: ‘I should have applied to UCSD’ Also in ARWU rankings, UCLA was 32nd, while UCSD was 10th. I know UCLA has been declining and UCSD has been rising, but this seems illogical. Please tell me UCLA’s CS is as prestigious and good as UCB’s, and that they are wrong. Also please do tell me I will have better chance getting recruited by software companies.</p>

<p>So from your replies, I get the impression that extracurricular almost has no effect on internship if it is not academic-oriented. Is that true? Please tell me more about the importance of sports. Right before 2:00pm, I will be heading to a local CC to sign up for CS 32 equivalent course. You said too many scary things about CS 32/33 that I am not sure if I should take it at UCLA. But tell me if I need to stop. (Learning experience etc)</p>

<p>I hope to become a manager in companies, like Microsoft or Google. (Hopefully) Do you think accounting will be helpful? Assuming that I handle it all. Actually, could you tell me a career that utilizes both economics and CS? I mean I love them both. lol.</p>

1932

<p>morepractice:</p>

<p>UCLA has weeder courses in CS (CS31-33) and UCSD has weeder courses in CS and I’m sure most other highly ranked schools have similar CS weeder courses. Switching schools for fear of these courses won’t necessarily solve the issue since it’s not just UCLA that has them. You can view them as your enemy (they’re hard and require a lot of work) or your friend (they’ll convince you whether or not you really want to pursue CS and if not, you can switch majors). </p>

<p>If you want to become a “manager in companies” why are you pursuing a CS degree? It might be difficult to complete the CS degree if you have little interest in CS. </p>

<p>The difference in a few ranking positions on US News is irrelevant and can (and likely) have nothing to do with the actual undergrad CS education you’ll get. Both UCLA and UCSD CS majors are pretty respected by employers given the types of recruiters at these campuses.</p>

1933

<p>I signed up for CS 32 equivalent course here at local CC.
I am pursuing a CS degree because I think it is the most useful degree in 21st century, and once again, I like Computer Science.
Ucdad, that you know a lot about UC system since you have two daughters in the system, but pursing business is not a surprise considering the 30% of MBA students are from engineering schools.
Flopsy where are you? I need you. (btw, UCDad, thanks for your reply)</p>

1934

<p>Sorry for the late reply… I have classes to go to on weekdays. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>

UCLA has maintained the same rankings over the past decade; UCSD is rising in the rankings. UCLA Computer Science is not as prestigious as UCB Computer Science. You will have a better chance getting recruited by software companies at UCB, though that may partially be due to proximity to Silicon Valley rather than prestige. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>

Sports have little importance when it comes to getting an internship – in fact, it might even hurt you. Academic extracurriculars, such as research and contests, matter more. :rolleyes:

Take CS 32/33 at UCLA. What grade did you get in CS 31? :rolleyes:</p>

<p>

Seems like consulting would be a good path. :rolleyes:</p>

1935

<p>

</p>

<p>Internships typically only look at your resume when they ask you for an interview. You usually would only put your field related activities on them. Therefore, sports would not go on a resume and would not be viewed by a company looking to hire you. The only extracurriculars that I think would help would be participating in organizations - specifically, having leadership roles. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes, CS32 and 33 are “weeder courses”. However, look at how many CS majors there are - obviously, the courses are doable, they are just hard. I would say one disadvantage of doing CS32 at a CC is you may not learn the same material (even if it does say it’s equivalent). That might make your upper divs harder if you don’t have the basic knowledge. However, it depends on the kind of student you are; if you study hard, it doesn’t really matter.</p>

<p>One thing I encourage you to do is plan out your first year schedule. I know you aren’t at UCLA yet but there is a problem I see a lot with students who take classes at a CC. When they come to UCLA, they still have some prereqs to finish up, they’re stuck just taking non-required classes while they do the prereqs. </p>

<p>For example, a typical first year CS schedule would be (assuming no AP or CC credit):
Fall: CS31, Math 31A, Chem20A/EngComp 3
Winter: CS32, Math 31B, Physics 1A, GE
Spring: CS33, Math 32A, Physics 1B, Physics 4AL/GE</p>

<p>Let’s assume you get AP credit for Math 31A and B, Chem20A, EngComp 3, and Physics 1A (I assume this is what you mean by “I have enough credits from AP and Community colleges to almost skip my freshman year”). You have CC credit for CS 31 and 32. You might even have CC or AP credit for 1 GE. Your first year schedule will now be:
Fall: Math 32A, GE, GE
Winter: Math 32B, Physics 1B, CS 33, Physics 4AL
Spring: Math 33A, Physics 1C, CSM51A, Physics 4BL</p>

<p>First, you’ll notice your Fall quarter will be boring. This is because CS33 right now is only offered Winter and Spring quarters. Second, as you keep planning your schedule for future years, you’ll notice that your schedule might be a little skewed because of all the CC and AP credit you have. Third, keep in mind that if you want to take classes at a CC over the summer AFTER you start at UCLA, you can only do this when you have less than 105 units. If you come in with a high amount of units, this may stop you from doing this and you can only take classes at a 4-year school or another UC.</p>

<p>Does this mean I’m telling you not to take CS32/33 at a CC? Not at all. But I don’t see why you’re in such a rush to get those classes done with and to get out of UCLA - you haven’t even started yet! Also, keep in mind that your upper division classes are not going to be any easier than CS32/33. They are still hard classes. Honestly, I recommend that you slow down and just enjoy college. You’re worrying about way too much way too early on.</p>

1936

<p>

</p>

<p>I just wanted to add that when you fill out the form, they will evaluate you based on your grades. If you do well in your major, or in the classes for the major you want to switch into, you almost are guaranteed to be accepted (I say almost because nothing is a guarantee when you submit a petition). This is true even for impacted majors.</p>

1937

<p>Do people fail ChemE?</p>

<p>Yes. Heard Drake gave out 3 Fs, 3Ds out of a class of 30 for 104A Winter 08. 6/30 = 1/5 = 20% failed.</p>

<p>Heard people complained about Drake, resulted in chair Monoboquette telling Drake to bump their grades up to not fail them. Do not know what happened currently.</p>

<p>Also heard Liao failed 3 people in ChE 101A. He was pretty nice in 107, kept giving us ice cream and telling us the secret of the universe.</p>

<ul>
<li>TB54</li>
</ul>

1938

<p><a href=“how%20do%20i%20get%20the%20grey%20box?%20I%20have%20firefox,%20is%20that%20why%20I%20don’t%20see%20the%20tool%20box?”>Honestly, I recommend that you slow down and just enjoy college. You’re worrying about way too much way too early on.</a>
Dear PeerAdvisor
You finally gave me the answer I need. The peace of mind. Yes.
But I am not sure about CS 33 being offered only in W/S quarter.
[Schedule</a> of Classes Course Selection](<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/crsredir.aspx?termsel=07F&subareasel=COM+SCI]Schedule”>http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/crsredir.aspx?termsel=07F&subareasel=COM+SCI)
I thought I need to take CS 32, because it won’t be offered in Fall quarter. Thanks for the detailed outline of my freshman schedule, though.</p>

<p>Dear Flopsy
You know how people expect the superheros to appear on time and forget that they have a life too? I think I am getting the same mindset.
I got A in CS 31 equivalent course; that was C++ II (second) in my first CC college; C++ I did not count at all, but I also got an A. Due to your late reply, I signed up for the CS 32 equivalent course. But I don’t regret it.
I think I will learn a lot in UCLA, but now I am considering about transferring to UCB after my sophomore year. My parents (and I) in the Silicon Valley.
How difficult is it to transfer to UCB, assuming that I get around 3.5+ GPA?</p>

<p>Thanks again both of you.</p>

<p>p.s. Never mind my title (wth?)</p>

1939

<p>

Questions about UCB transfer admissions should be directed to the UCB forum, but I personally expect you’ll need more than a 3.5 to transfer into UCB EECS (whether it’s CC->UCB or UC->UCB), since the average CC GPA needed to transfer into UCLA CS/CSE is about a 3.80, not to mention that UC-to-UC engineering transfers are inherently difficult. :rolleyes:</p>

1940

<p>

</p>

<p>Sorry, I got them backwards. CS32 is only offered Winter and Spring while CS33 is only offered Fall and Spring. That’s what I get for not double checking. :)</p>

<p>Anyway, the main issue I wanted to bring up still holds. You’re going to be starting your upper divs really early and honestly, it just doesn’t seem worth it to rush through all of this. Luckily, CS is one of the more flexible majors when it comes to term offerings/prereqs (as in there aren’t many prereqs and classes are usually offered every quarter) but I just don’t understand why you would want to start your upper division classes during your first year.</p>

<p>You keep talking about wanting to find an internship - a company won’t care that you graduated in 3 years. They’re going to care that you got a 3.5+ and honestly, I think the best way to do that is to stick to the curriculum. Learn the material well in the classes you’re supposed to take and the rest will follow (as long as you continue to study).</p>