8/6     Are there any bioE majors on soda?  My friend's advisor (Bryan Jones,
        for those of you who are familiar) told her she had to take 8 tech
        courses her sophomore year.  I'm of the opinion that this is only going
        to screw her and her gpa over.  Thoughts?
           \_ screw her?
              \_ [ the joke got old months ago. deleted ]
        \_ I have a degree in Biophysics and tried to take 7 tech courses my
           junior year (including OChem and QM at the same time). Yes, it
           screwed up my gpa and probably kept me out of med school. -ausman
        \_ I took Physics 137A, Physics 105, Physics 112, Math 104, Math
           110, Math 113, and Economics 101AB my junior year. I didn't do
           so hot. Then again, the alternative is to stay in school forever
           while you take the hard classes one at a time. If she doesn't
           take the 8 classes then what are her options? --dim
        \_ Yes, it's possible, and sometimes even the right thing to do. I've
           had semesters when I've taken 4 techs, and without regrets. In most
           cases, for most people, it's probably NOT the right thing to do,
           given risk to GPA/academic standing, stress level, lack of free
           time, etc. The best thing you can tell your friend is probably to
           get a second opinion of some other faculty in the department, and/or
           from other undergrads who have taken the particular techs she's
           being pushed into, and then think for herself. -alexf
        \_ Tech courses were fun while I was at Berkeley.  Four at a time
           is even better.  If she fears them, maybe it's not for her.
           For example, I feared four upper division CS courses.  That was
           not for me, but if she's got a knack --
           \_ Math power pack: 104, 113, 110, 128A.  Delicious, nutritious,
              and educationally stimulating.
           \_ in my experience, Bryan Jones is nearly always wrong.  She should
              plot out her academic future with help from sympathetic profs or
              better yet upperclassmen friends.  Best of luck and let us know
              if she actually ends up needing to take 8 tech courses.
        \_ At last something I really can help with. BioE is in the eng. science
           cluster of majors. They are very much catch as catch can for advisors
           and the advising I received was poor verging on criminal. I made
           numerous mistakes in class choices, some of which I am still dealing
           with as a result. By all means, get a second opinion. Unless your
           friend is a whiz kid who is comfortable with the load, find a way
           to balance out the 8 classes over time. It's better to just be in
           school longer. Really. It is. Feel free to email me if you want to
           talk about it more.
           -- ulysses (BioE for first year, then grad. in Env Eng Sci, 1995)
        \_ My brother is doing BioE and he seemed to be able to handle that
           load just fine while keeping his GPA above 3.
           When I was an undergrad I took 6 technicals 2nd year and 8 techs
           junior year and it wasn't too bad. I even graduated above 3.
           \_ I don't know what the case is outside of BioE and my own major, but
              we needed a 3.5 or better to be seriously considered for graduate
              school - and it is assumed you are going to grad school if you
              are in an eng. sci. major. Also, don't forget that for BioE two
              of those classes are the biochem sequence where you are head to
              head with bloodthirsty pre-meds, many of whom are taking only that
              one course or maybe one other. -- ulysses
        \_ Are all ucb students this wimpy now, or is it just the bioE majors?
           I was eecs, and I've never taken less than 15 units of technical
           classes a semester.
           \_ When I was a student, we walked uphill, both ways, in the rain.
              \_ Pansy.  We walked through blinding snow, and we didn't
                 have schools.  We had treebark!  We would sit down on
                 treebark and take notes on treebark, and we liked it!  We
                 loved it.