On Physics 8B (summer)

First, I must apologize for my incredibly late blog posts. It was completely unintentional- I've just been caught up in other things for some time. But now, (hopefully) I'll find enough time to give you updated posts on a regular basis :)

These past few months, I've been focused on one thing: Physics 8B. For quite some time, I was debating whether to take Physics 8B or MCB 102 over the summer. Ultimately I chose to go with physics because I didn't want to have it looming over my head during the semester. Class started mid-August, mondays through thursdays, 4 hours a day- 1.5 hrs lecture and 2 hours lab/discussion. Discussion wasn't mandatory but the GSI's were great and going only helped me in the end. Labs (unlike 8A) were actually graded on your work and not on completion and there were quizzes at the beginning of each lab. You have to do 10 labs ( I think..) and one is dropped. Mastering Physics was assigned twice a week and made up about 17% of your grade while labs made up 8%. Each midterm made up around 24% with your worst midterm making up 12%- the final was around 15% (I hope the math is right..haha). Buehler (who taught physics 8B over the summer) gave 3 midterms/1 final- although the third "midterm" was just the first part of the final so it was given a day before the actual final (45 multiple choice questions). I thought Buehler was a great professor as far as lectures went. He was very clear, gave great lecture notes, and simplified the material so it was easy to understand. However, his simplicity was misleading when it came to taking the exams. Boy, his exams were tough.. The midterms usually consisted of about 5 questions with multiple parts (parts a, b, c, etc.) as well as a few multiple choice questions that corresponded to each short-response question (very conceptual). It would have been fine except that each question incorporated multiple concepts that we learned in class, so I think that screwed me up the most. I would lose track of what I was doing half-way through and completely overthink the problems.. Anyway, it was tough. Would I take physics 8B over the summer again?... Nope.. hahaha and I'm glad I never have to make the choice again. Although I don't think MCB 102 would have been much better.. However, looking back, I feel like I have a good grasp on E&M and I have Buehler to thank for that :) If I could do it all over again, I would choose to go abroad since I won't have the time to go abroad from here on out :(

This semester, my main classes are Bio 1B and MCB 102.. Wish me luck! And good luck to you guys as well! Have a fantastic semester!

-K

Dear Reader 45

Anonymous said...

Hi K,
so I had a rough first semester, with an extremely low grade in a class that tanked my gpa. First semester: 2.98 GPA Second semester: 3.71 GPA, CUM: 3.35
I know I may have 2 more years before I want to apply, but it seems unrealistic that I will get 4.0's every semester to reach 3.6+, though it is the goal I am striving toward. Do you think, realistically, I still have a chance at a top tier med school? Or even any med school. Also, any advice for contacting professors and finding research for the school year? I'm currently interning at a biotech company, but I don't think I have enough classes under my belt to be of use in a professor's lab.

Dear Anonymous,

Of course you still have a chance at medical school! :) Just keep in mind that med schools take into account science gpa as well as cum. gpa. Also, if you're still worried about your gpa after 2 years, you can always stick around for another year and take a year off (which the majority of students are doing now anyway) or do a post bacc. Getting around a 3.5 might be slightly tough for top tier schools but should be fine for mid/low tier schools (btw, all med schools are top schools in my opinion hahaha). As for finding research for the school year, I would suggest emailing professors early on and let them know you have background experience in research. I think they care more for that than having taken relevant classes at berkeley, but that's just my opinion. :) 

Best of luck!

-K 

Dear Reader 44

Hey K!
What's your opinion on P/NP classes? To be in my theme program I need to register P/NP seminar and ther is this one Freshman seminar that interests me (public health) that's two P/NP classes that I'm taking this semester. I heard that med school does not like P/ Np classes. Should I just give one up? Please let me know!

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for stopping by! Sorry for the late reply :( 
I don't think taking a 2 unit P/NP class will make any difference to med schools. As long as you're not taking too many P/NP classes every year (and as long as they're not core science courses), you'll be fine :) 

Best of luck!

-K 

Dear Reader 43

guacamole xP said...

Hello K,

Based off of your experience, does BIO 1B Lab normally take up the whole 3 hours? Due to scheduling problems, I have my CHEM 3B Lab right after, so I have to run from VLSB 2nd floor to Latimer 3rd floor in 10 minutes. x.x

Thanks,

SC

Dear SC,

I'm actually taking bio 1B this semester (I know, very late!) so I'm not sure if it will take the whole 3 hours or not.. :( 

During my freshman year, I had to go from Dwinelle to Latimer in 10 minutes and because I was so scared about being late, I walked really fast and I got there in around 5-7 minutes all the time. So it's possible to go from VLSB to latimer in 10 minutes but you're going to have to move quickly haha :) 

Best of luck!

-K 

Dear Reader 42

Hello K! Can you list some easy 3-4 units filler classes so I can meet the 13 unit minimum? I have heard MCB c62 was quite interesting/easy. Is that true? How about EPS C12? I would take Decals but they're at night and night classes are not for me. Thanks! :) 

Dear Anonymous,

I am so sorry about the late reply! I hope it's not too late to help you with your classes. I haven't taken too many filter classes, but from the ones I've taken, I know psych 2 (3 units- no discussion) is incredibly easy and interesting too. Also, Asian American studies (4 units) was easy as well but the class is slightly boring (although I did learn a lot). I've also taken Anthro 3ac (2ac?) and Classics 10B- anthro did not interest me in the slightest but tests were fair so overall it was an ok class- i wouldn't call it an easy A however, and Classics was very interesting and taught by an amazing professor but it was hard to pull off a good grade so I changed it to P/NP and ended up enjoying it a lot more afterwards haha. I haven't taken MCB c62 myself, but my roommate took it last year and said it would be fairly easy for someone with a biology background and should be an easy A. I'm not sure about EPS- I hear different things, some are easy yet extremely boring and some are hard but extremely interesting- be careful when signing up for those classes haha. Also, a lot of students say that nutrisci 10 might seem easy but it's actually pretty difficult to get an A so beware haha. Oh! I almost forgot- soc 3 is supposed to be easy as well (4 units?- no discussion). :) 

Hope this helps!! 

-K