How to Get the PERFECT College Schedule | Class Schedule Tips [College Prep Ep 6]

today I talk about my TOP 10 tips on how to get the perfect college class schedule! + my previous 2 semester's schedules!
add me on Instagram if you wanna! / xrachel_lin
Video Contents:
00:00 - Introduction
1:00 - Dealbreakers
2:13 - List Potential Classes
4:20 - Units
5:25 - Professors
6:25 - Easy A Classes
7:40 - Advising
8:05 - Facebook Groups
8:57 - Tentative Schedules
11:13 - Breaks
11:46 - Full Classes
Reacting to my Berkeley Grades: • Reacting to my College...
Check out my UC Berkeley video playlist: • UC Berkeley Advice and...
Check out my College Prep video playlist: • Tips to ACE your Colle...
If you are new here, hi! My name is Rachel and I am currently a rising senior at UC Berkeley where I am double majoring in cognitive science and legal studies. I am at home in Maryland right now!
I sort of want to make this a ~thing~ on my channel, so each week I'll be posting a college related video (along with the usual vlogs and stuff) in order to help students prepare for the upcoming fall semester! Here is episode 6! If you have any questions or episode suggestions, leave a comment :)

[@rachel_lin]

Applying to colleges? Check out Study Hall College Consulting at shcollegeconsulting.com! It’s a team of myself and other UC Berkeley students where we specialize in reviewing college application essays and consulting 1:1 with students and parents. We also have a blog on our website where we post weekly tips and tricks! 📚🌟

[@patriciaburgos39]

This was amazing! Thank you so much for posting this 🙏🏼 sounds like real advice I can use, thank you!

[@rachel_lin]

Patricia Burgos thank you!! Glad you found it helpful 🤩

[@hotpeppers2793]

Thank youuuu this was very informative and I love your personality!

[@rachel_lin]

Ashley aw thank you 😍🥰

[@sydneyb5690]

This was great! About to watch the rest of the series now :’))

[@rachel_lin]

Sydney Bonaparte Thank you!! That means a lot ☺️

[@itsomaiya]

Hi Rachel! This was a very informative and helpful video, thank you :)

[@rachel_lin]

Of course! Thank you for watching!!

[@celesterodriguez383]

This was literally more helpful than the thing they assigned us to do through our portal. Thank you so much I bow down to you 🤧🙌🤩💙🐻💛

[@rachel_lin]

Celeste Rodriguez Ah! Your comment literally made my day ☺️🥰

[@OReily08080]

I still don't understand the portal. Do I do the survey first? I gotta do a survey

[@iga_angourie]

Thanks for the awesome tips! ✨

[@rachel_lin]

Thanks for watching! Glad it was helpful 🤩

[@hamsiniradhakrishnan8527]

This was SO amazing

[@rachel_lin]

Thank you!! ☺️

[@michellemclean790]

Super helpful!!

[@rachel_lin]

thank you for the support, my friend :)

[@iristherainbow5629]

Any tips on locating a syllabus from a previous class for the course I'm considering? Very helpful and thanks!

[@rachel_lin]

IrisTheRainbow usually I try to google ‘course name + professors name + syllabus’ and old versions pop up. Or if the professor has an online website that’s open to the public. Otherwise, forums work well: on Facebook for Berkeley, there is a group that’s all about Professors and Course Advice and you can post questions and previous students can answer.

[@matthewgregory8218]

What I did do is look at the add a month before the fall semester starts

[@guillermop9921]

Hi Rachel! First of all, congrats! Great video! Second... do you think taking 19 units might be too much on my first semester if I’m an EAP student? Thanks a lot! Would appreciate so much your help :)

[@rachel_lin]

Hi! I think 19 units may be a lot to balance depending on the course-load you are taking and if you are getting adjusted... like whether all 5 classes are technicals and you need a high grade in them or if some are electives or the grade is less important! But you know yourself best, if you have the work ethic and are willing to put in the time for all 19 units, then you can manage it and get good grades! I have been taking 19/20 units since sophomore year, and it's manageable but it is definitely a trade off because then I have less time to hang out with friends etc. Hope this helps! :)

[@nono7011]

thank you! this was a great video. i’m thinking of applying to be an RA for the 20-21 school yr, but was wondering if it felt limiting to you based on weekends? i’m instate and like going home every other weekend or once a month but wasnt sure on how the hours would work out w that.

[@rachel_lin]

I feel like it depends on your school and how they schedule "being on duty." For us at Berkeley, at the start of each month we pick duty shifts for the entire month, so I would pick days I know that I'm free versus avoiding duty days when I'm busy (then you can go home, leave the hall etc). For us, we do have certain requirements for like weekend duties and weekday duties that we need to take, but if you know you wanted to go home the third week of the month, then you can just pick different weekends to be on duty and then go home the weekend you're not on duty. We were only on duty around 7 times a month roughly, so I think it was manageable trying to balance RA duty, school work, and socializing! Hope this helps!

[@Tingling10]

I wished I scheduled mine right honestly. I will have to get a bike and ride it from one side of the campus to another in 15 minutes. I haven’t ride one since a decade ago.

[@rachel_lin]

Ting Zhang Good luck with the bike 😂☺️

[@jessicadecena6790]

Please make a video on work study at UCB!!!

[@rachel_lin]

Jessica Decena Later next week I’ll be uploading a Berkeley Q&A video talking some about work study! :)

[@thememesandbox8054]

Can someone please inform me on what block schedules are and the different types ? I am filling out a form and it is asking to list my top three.

[@carinaromero7578]

Can you make a video about work-study?

[@rachel_lin]

Yes! :)

[@ayatisharma1901]

Hii your videos have been incredibly helpful, thank you so much! I was wondering how we're supposed to find out the workload for each class (like the exam breakdown, number of weekly assignments)? Is there any specific link or website I can check? Ty!

[@rachel_lin]

Thank you so much! You can try googling for the course syllabi/class website from previous semesters- so I would google something like "College - Class Title/Name - Professor Teaching - syllabus" and see what comes up, so like "UC Berkeley CS61A syllabus." Then keep editing the search if nothing comes up, like you may add a previous semester or remove the professor name to see if a previous professor's syllabus comes up. Usually you wouldn't be able to find out the actual workload breakdown for the class until the first week of school when the professor gives out the syllabus. Professors could change the syllabus/workload semester to semester and if a different professor is teaching the class, they can change the entire workload to whatever they want. If you know older students, you could ask them about their experiences with a professor/class/workload. Hope this helps!

[@ayatisharma1901]

@@rachel_lin got it thank uu!! my roommate and i have been watching ur videos sm we're incoming freshmen :)) if it's not too much to ask what were some of the most interesting/easy classes u took at Berkeley? some classes u'd definitely recommend taking once?

[@rachel_lin]

@@ayatisharma1901 omg congratulations!! I'm super excited for you two! I have a video on my channel where I talk about the Best/Worst classes I've taken at Berkeley - kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHTUh5qOl8uah9U. And for class scheduling, I just filmed a Berkeley-specific class schedule advice video, which you may find helpful - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJncc5p6jK6Ue8k. Hope this helps! :)

[@ej5082]

Hi what times did you say were the busiest at dorm cafeterias?

[@rachel_lin]

I would say the dining halls get super crowded around 12-1:30 PM for lunch and 6-8 PM for dinner at Berkeley. I would always try to go right when the dining hall would open for lunch and dinner so right at 11 AM and 5 PM so the lines would be short and it wasn’t crowded yet!

[@austinp.b6625]

You can't stalk me. :D

[@rachel_lin]

No stalkers ❌🤣

[@IsabelGarcia-ev3nw]

With the classes that are back to back, did you find it stressful getting between classes quickly? I worry about professors that take attendance and mark you as absent if you are late.

[@rachel_lin]

I was never really too stressed about getting between 2 back to back classes quickly. At least at Berkeley, we have "Berkeley Time" so each class starts 10 min past the hour and ends at the top of the hour, so you have 10 minutes to walk from one class to another. Other colleges have a similar thing, where classes end at the 50 and start at the top of the hour, so you have a 10 minute break between classes. I would definitely recommend you look up the buildings where your classes are when registering for classes (if they are published already, some class locations are) so you can see if the back to back classrooms are close or far apart. Then when you get to campus, definitely scout out all of your classes and rooms so on the first day/week of school you don't get lost and aren't late to class. You could also time yourself pretend walking between classes when you are scouting the rooms out. Hope this helps!

[@IsabelGarcia-ev3nw]

@@rachel_lin That was really helpful. Thank you so much Rachel you're a lifesaver! :)

[@sydneyfessenden6119]

Is it possible to get on the waitlist during phase one and then get into the course in phase two versus the adjustment period?

[@rachel_lin]

Yes could be possible! If a ton of people drop during phase1/2 then it would be possible to get into the class earlier. But more likely the case is that the class may have reserved seats or only certain students can sign up for the class during phase 1. For example, for upper division psychology classes I needed to sign up for to complete my cognitive science major requirements, during phase 1, only declared psychology majors could sign up for the class. But the class fills up quick, so you would have to phase 1 it and be put on the waitlist. Once phase 2 happened, if you were on the waitlist and seats were still open, then you’d be entered into the class at that time since the class opened up so that not just psych majors could enroll. Hope that helps, let me know if you had other questions! 🙂

[@sydneyfessenden6119]

Ah gotcha! I have that same situation with a global studies pre-rec so thank you!

[@bartuarik2424]

I cant find the google doc. Help please!

[@rachel_lin]

Sorry, I’m not quite sure what you mean. To find google docs, when you’re logged into your gmail account, on the upper right hand side of the screen where your profile picture it, the button next to it will show you all of the google applications, which includes google docs!

[@bartuarik2424]

@@rachel_lin thanks for the explanation 😊 but I asked the doc you mentioned that had all your class programs throughout college

[@rachel_lin]

@@bartuarik2424 ooh, I have not posted that document on the internet. I just created another class schedule video where I talk about how I formatted my class document, so you could check that out and then recreate the document for your own purposes! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJncc5p6jK6Ue8k. But on my document, I just listed all the classes I’ve taken each semester and what requirement they fulfilled. Then I would also note down some classes I found interesting that I could take in the future. Hope that helps some!