Monday, February 19, 2024

Decisions to Make For My Last Quarter as an Undergraduate at UCSB


Next quarter (spring quarter 2024) will be my final quarter as an undergraduate at UCSB. While I do look for this quarter since there will be fun events like celebrating my 22nd birthday in addition to graduation (which will be on June 15 for me since my major is Statistics and Data Science), there are some decisions that I have to make. Specifically, I am still in the process of choosing which courses to take for my final quarter as an undergraduate, such as whether or not to take additional classes for my major since I already completed the requirements for my major but still have to stay at UCSB because I got into the yearlong Data Science Capstone Program for this school year. If I don't end up taking additional classes for my major, I will likely take some GE (general education) classes. Moreover, because I live off-campus, I have the option to purchase an off-campus meal plan (which I have done last year and this quarter (winter quarter 2024)) or make my own meals (which I did during fall quarter 2022).

Taking Additional Major Classes

Since I already completed the requirements for my major, most of the classes in my major's department (Department of Statistics and Applied Probability) that are listed on UCSB GOLD (Gaucho On-Line Data), which is where UCSB students like myself register for classes each quarter, for the upcoming quarter are classes that I have already taken. The classes that I haven't taken yet but could take include PSTAT 160A (Applied Stochastic Processes), PSTAT 171 (Mathematics of Fixed Income Markets), and PSTAT 175 (Survival Analysis). In addition to PSTAT classes, I can also take some upper-division math classes that can be counted towards my major, including MATH 108A (Introduction to Linear Algebra).

Pros
  • Some of these classes can be helpful for graduate school. I have been applying to a few graduate school programs that relate to my major, and according to the Statistics and Data Science major sheet, PSTAT 160A is one of the classes that is for students preparing to continue to graduate school. In addition, at least one upper-division math course (MATH 117 (Methods of Analysis) and/or MATH 108A) is highly recommended. If I end up getting into any of the graduate school programs that I applied to, then perhaps taking an additional major class or two could be helpful for graduate school.
  • For PSTAT 160A at least, some of the content covered is similar to the content covered in PSTAT classes that I have taken before or am currently taking. For instance, according to the Statistics and Applied Probability Courses page of the UCSB Catalog website, PSTAT 160A covers topics like Markov chains with applications to Monte Carlo simulation and mathematical finance. I am currently taking PSTAT 115 (Introduction to Bayesian Data Analysis), which covers topics including Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. PSTAT 160A also covers random walks, which was covered in PSTAT 174 (Time Series), a class that I took last year during spring quarter. If I end up taking PSTAT 160A, I could learn more and potentially gain a better understanding of Monte Carlo simulation and random walks.
Cons
  • The professors for these classes may not very good, so it might not be easy to do well in those classes, such as the professor for PSTAT 171. I also heard mixed things about the MATH 108A professor that I was thinking about taking if I end up registering for that class. Since the upcoming quarter will be my last quarter as an undergraduate, I do hope that it goes as well as possible. Thus, taking classes with professors who might not be very good could make my upcoming quarter not go as smoothly as I would like.
  • Some of these classes are very early in the morning. Both PSTAT 160A and PSTAT 175 have 8am lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays, and their finals happen to fall on 8am on the last day of finals (Friday, June 14, 2024) according to the final exam schedule. Since 8am is quite early for me, I am worried that I would not always be able to wake up on time for 8am lectures. Moreover, I remembered taking a major class during the fall quarter of my second year (fall quarter 2021) that took place 8am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and ended up with a grade that I was not too satisfied with. I also remember missing a final for one of my classes last year during winter quarter that began at noon and lasted for about 90 minutes due to not hearing my phone alarm and staying up late to study, although I fortunately was able to take the final during the first week of the following quarter (spring quarter 2023). Thus, I'm worried that my last quarter as an undergraduate at UCSB might not go very smoothly if I ended up taking a class with 8am lectures.

Taking GE Classes

Although I have already fulfilled all of my GE requirements, I am considering taking additional GEs that sound interesting to me, including those that feature data science and those that do not feature data science.

Pros
Cons
  • The GE classes that relate to data science that interested me the most COMM 187 and ENVS 193DS, already filled up on GOLD and so I can only waitlist those classes during my next pass time when I have more units. Moreover, the lecture times for COMM 187 conflict with those for the data science capstone class for this quarter (PSTAT 197C - Capstone Project in Data Science). For ENVS 193DS, not only is the class already full, but I also was not able to choose it during my first pass time since only certain majors, including Environmental Studies, could choose the class during the first pass time.
  • Some of the GEs that do not involve data science but still sound interesting to me have lecture times that conflict with the data science capstone class for this quarter (such as CHIN 134K (Chinese Calligraphy - History and Aesthetics)), are classes that I am not able to choose until my second pass time (such as GEOG 119 - Climatic Change and Its Consequences), or both (such as ENVS 193GC (Global Environmental Change - Impacts on Terrestrial Systems)). There is the possibility that the GE classes that still currently have space may be full before my second pass time and so I would have to look for other GE classes that interest me.

Off-Campus Meal Plan

Although I purchased an off-campus meal plan during last year and this quarter, I am considering not purchasing a meal plan for my final quarter at UCSB since the closest dining hall from my apartment is around a 10 minute walk from my apartment.

Pros
  • The dining halls provide nutritionally balanced meals, and I am someone who cares about my health. In addition to main meals, there is also fruit at the dining hall, and I tend to eat a few fruits at the dining halls in addition to eating some of the main dishes.
  • I don't have to worry much about cooking my own meals. Personally, I usually make myself a sandwich, which doesn't involve cooking, for lunch and go to the dining hall to eat for dinner. Since I don't have to worry much about cooking, I wouldn't have to worry much about washing the dishes after finishing the food. When I cooked my own meals during fall quarter 2022, I remembered that it took me a while to finish washing my dishes, and I did want to spend more time on my academic work since I was worried about one of my classes that quarter.
Cons
  • Last year, when I lived in the San Joaquin Villages apartments, the closest dining hall wasn't too far of a walk. This year, I live in an apartment in IV (Isla Vista), and the closest dining hall is around a 10 minute walk from my apartment. There are times when it may be more convenient to cook food in my apartment than walk to the dining hall. For instance, if it is raining heavily, walking to the dining hall may not be very convenient because my shoes would likely get soaked and I don't have boots with me in UCSB. Although I'm not sure how often I will be on campus for the upcoming quarter, there are many days during this quarter where I am not on campus or am only on campus for a while and so it might be more convenient to cook in my apartment than walk to campus and eat at the dining hall.
  • The cost of a meal plan can be somewhat pricy. For this quarter, the cost for a 5 meals per week meal plan from January 8 to March 22 (the dates that mark the beginning and end of winter quarter 2024 respectively) is $678. This would be a total of 55 meals throughout the quarter, or around $12.33 per meal. I did hear from other people that eating out can be less expensive than having a meal plan, and my apartment has many restaurants nearby, including Freebirds and The Habit. Moreover, there can be times when the dining hall food is not very good, and apparently other people at UCSB have gotten food poisoning at the dining hall. Personally, I remember seeing undercooked eggs in the dining hall before. Thus, having a meal plan sometimes isn't worth the price.

Preparing my Own Meals

During fall quarter 2022, I cooked my own meals. Although it was nice getting to gain more cooking experience, I did find myself spending a lot of time in the kitchen washing dishes in addition to cooking the food. However, I do think that cooking can be more convenient than walking over to a dining hall. Moreover, there are several stores (such as the ones in IV that are close to my apartment in addition to Target) that have single serve meals and other meals that can be eaten once microwaved, and there are many restaurants close to my apartment if I wanted to eat out.

Pros
  • There are many instances where it can be more convenient for me to stay in my apartment and cook food than walk around 10 minutes to a dining hall from my apartment to eat, especially when it is raining or if I am not on campus very much throughout the day. Moreover, it might be better to eat in my apartment if the dining halls are too crowded since I do remember often having trouble finding a place to sit whenever the dining halls are crowded.
  • If I am too busy, I can eat single serve meals and/or other microwavable foods to save some time instead of cooking. I have personally tried some of these meals (including fried rice) and didn't find them to be too bad. I could also eat out since there are many restaurants close to my apartment, although I don't think that it's a good idea to eat out often.
Cons
  • Cooking food and washing dishes after cooking can be time consuming. While microwavable foods can save time, I personally don't think that it's a good idea to rely on them all the time. Since my apartment during this school year does not have a dishwasher, I would have to hand wash dishes, which can take a while since I want to make sure that the dishes are fully cleaned. My apartment last school year did have a dishwasher, but some pots and pans were not fully cleaned even after using a dishwasher, and I remember taking quite a while to thoroughly wash any pots and pans that I used when I cooked my own meals during fall quarter 2022.
  • I'm not very experienced in making that many foods/meals. During fall quarter 2022, I mainly cooked rice, noodles, and dumplings/potstickers in addition to various vegetables. I personally do not have much experience in cooking meat, so I would likely have to buy meat that is already cooked or meat that can be microwaved if I end up cooking my meals next quarter and wanted to use meat for the cooked meals. I am, however, open to learning how to cook additional meals, such as the meal in this video that I saw a few days ago (also shown below).

In conclusion, there are pros and cons on whether I should additional classes for my major besides the capstone class, take some GEs, get an off-campus meal plan, and prepare my own meals for the upcoming quarter, which will be my last quarter as an undergraduate at UCSB. I hope that regardless of what decisions I end up making here, I will be able to have an amazing final quarter as an undergraduate at UCSB 😊.

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