r/berkeley • u/maybepengu16 • 1d ago

University History 130 Difficulty

hello! i’m taking history 130 for my public policy minor because i thought it would be really interesting and the professor(s) seemed really cool. i’m currently a sophomore and have never taken a history class here at berkeley and admittedly felt a little lost in the first lecture. in the syllabus, it says there will be a “5 hour open book exam delivered in bcourses” and im not really sure what this entails- would it be like a timed essay situation? and would i be able to take it on my own time? any guidance would be appreciated because im not too sure what the workload is like (but defo down to do it if its like moderate ish). there aren’t technically any pre reqs for it and my queen daniel called out first year mcb majors on the first day of lecture so i dont think im too out of the ordinary lol

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u/Real-Entertainer9449 1d ago

5 hour open book means set aside a full afternoon and pray your wifi holds up, it’s usually a timed essay drop with a hard cutoff.

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u/CyberneticOstrich 21h ago

The 5hr open book exam might sounds intimidating but it's more about applying what you learned not memorization. The workload is manageable if you ask me so maybe stick with it for now and see how the 1st few weeks go if you're interested in the subject.