Advice from a UCB Student

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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<p>If you intend to do the “more math” version of the Berkeley economics major (which you will want to do if you want to do graduate study in economics or go into a quantitative field like actuarial work), take the sophomore math courses that math majors take (multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations) in addition to freshman calculus and introductory economics. This will also give the option of declaring a major in math or statistics if you are not admitted to the economics major, which is capped.</p>

<p>Most community colleges do not offer a statistics course that articulates to Berkeley Statistics 20 or 21, and the economics major at Berkeley requires at least one math or statistics course to be taken at Berkeley anyway.</p>

<p>[Prospective</a> Majors](<a href=“http://www.econ.berkeley.edu/econ/ugrad/prospect_transfer.shtml]Prospective”>Incoming Transfer Students | Department of Economics)</p>

<p>It is also a good idea to complete breadth requirements or IGETC before transfer so that you won’t have to worry about them after transfer.</p>

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<p>if the college offered the stat and i did not take any stat class before transfer ， will i fail to fulfill the pre-requirement？</p>

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<p>^ No. But just take it anw to have a preview of what stats is all about. It is super easy anw. If you don’t want to, just preview the lectures here to see what stats at Cal is all about: [Statistics</a> 21 - Lecture 1 - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>

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<p>Did you transfer to UCB from a CC? Even if it was a cal cc they don’t have tag at Berkeley so what GPA should people shoot for minimum I am an out of state cc student with interest in UCB.</p>

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<p>You are an out-of-state-er in community college?
I don’t know, but I think a 3.8+ will put you in a good zone. No GPA is safe for Cal however… I have a EECS friend with a 4.0 rejected last year because he missed Physics E&M, so yeah, try to get as high as you can, and complete everything for your major if possible</p>

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<p>@Emilsinclair9: thank you for doing this, I have a question that I think you could answer and I’d really appreciate it. I have a 3.61gpa ( a couple of ec’s/ 1 psych related ec/work experience) and am applying to Cal this fall. I’m applying as a psych major, however, I know it’s an impacted major and considerably more impacted than say, Rhetoric, which I’m also interested in. I’ve considered applying as a Rhetoric major and if/once admitted switching to psych (but leaving the Rhetoric major behind completely/ NOT double-majoring). Is it possible or would I be obliged to stick to the Rhetoric major?
Thank you!</p>

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<p>would it really hurt my chances at CAL if I complete the only prereq required for my major (English) in the spring ): ? And especially, if it’s the only prereq available at my school out of the 3 prereqs usually required? I’m terrified that they may question why I haven’t tried taking the other prereqs at another CC or why I’ve waited till the very last semester before transferring to start & finish my only prereq > <;;</p>

<p>thank you so much!</p>

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<p>Off topic but can you guys tell me how much programming experience was needed for CS 61A or is it just a better idea to start off with CS 10?</p>

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<p>You can check course notes and assignments for current and past Berkeley CS 61A courses here:</p>

<p>[CS61A</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www-inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61a/archives.html]CS61A”>CS61A Home Page)</p>

<p>Note that books for both the old (Scheme-based) and current (Python-based) versions of the course are free to read on the web. The language interpreters are also free to download to use on your computer.</p>

<p>If you will be a transfer student, you will need to complete CS 61A as soon as you can, rather than spending a semester on CS 10. If you feel that you need preparatory programming experience, take whatever transferable CS courses are available at your community college (including those that articulate to CS 61B if available, or which articulate to other UC and CSU campuses’ CS courses for your backup transfer options).</p>

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<p>Alright thanks ucbalmunus</p>

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<p>Wow, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to forget about this thread; I was absorbed with schoolwork. Anyway, I’ll try to answer these as they came, but due to the amount of posts, I’ll have to be fairly brief with each of you.</p>

<p>@ Flobot: It really does depend on your major. I know tons of engineering majors/premeds, and they’re always very stressed out. As a Psych major, I can tell you that it’s primarily memorization (a ton of it, in my opinion), and not incredibly stressful. Overall, I would say the classes are substantially harder to get A’s in than CCC, but getting B’s is about as easy as it was in CCC. As for the social life, I’m in a fraternity, so I’d say that I’ve had no issue meeting social people. As for the Berkeley students not associated with a frat/sorority, many of them join groups and clubs with other like-minded people. Personally, I love fraternity life because mine doesn’t haze and it’s pretty fun, but be aware that Greek life takes up a lot of your time.</p>

<p>@ UCLAProspect: I actually live with a Poli Econ major lol. Honestly, he doesn’t think it’s that rough. As for specifics in regard to Legal Studies and Poli Econ, I’m not sure what you were looking for, but neither one is supposed to be too difficult (on par with other L&S majors). I wish I could tell you more, but I don’t know anyone in Legal Studies, and aside from what you have to take for Poli Econ, I don’t know all too much about that either. </p>

<p>@ asphyxiac: Many people do double major in L&S, but MCB and CS is going to be hellish. I really really mean that. I highly advise against it, but you know yourself better than I do, so maybe you could do it lol. </p>

<p>@ PsychBruin: You’re probably in at both. I would be pretty surprised if you were rejected at Cal. You are a slight long shot at UCLA due to the competitiveness of the psych major, but if you write good PS’s, I think you’re in. </p>

<p>@ Atomica: You will not be penalized for courses not offered at your CCC. Of course, if there is a CCC offering the courses in your area, I advise you take them to make yourself more competitive. Essentially, you can’t be penalized for not having them done, but you can -help- your chances by taking the courses at nearby CCC’s. </p>

<p>@ MeStudyStuff: Hmmm academically, not really. I don’t find Cal too much harder than CCC, but then again, I’m a psych major. It varies by major. I’m not perfect; I had a 3.75 GPA in CCC and at Cal I have a 3.58…so in the vicinity. As for meeting friends, admittedly, it was tough until I joined the fraternity I’m in. I’m pretty social in general, but since I lived in Unit 2, Wada (150 people in the complex…not too social), I had to look elsewhere to find most of the people I hang out with.</p>

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<p>@ crunchyleaves: Ahh you had to ask lol. Great question. Here’s my best answer: If you apply as a Rhetoric major to Berkeley and write great PS’s that incorporate both rhetoric and psychology well (you have to write in that you’re a double major in your PS since you’re applying Psych everywhere else), then I would say that’s your best bet. Now, if it’s way too much work to write about your passion for both rhetoric and psych, or if the statement just doesn’t flow well in general, I’d advise just going with psych and crossing your fingers. With a 3.61 as a Psych major…you have an okay shot, but you are a long shot. It’s WAY too easy to switch majors once you’re at Cal, so don’t worry about being able to switch once you get here. </p>

<p>However, only apply as a rhetoric + psych double major if you have all the prereqs done for both majors. I can’t emphasize this point enough. I really hope you get in! Your situation is tricky lol. Best of luck!</p>

<p>@ SunnyBanana: Hmmm, well, it doesn’t look great, but honestly it won’t affect your chances all that much. If you have a 3.75-4.0, I would say you’re fine and not to worry about that prereq. As long as you tell the UC’s that you’re taking that prereq in the spring, technically they can’t penalize you.</p>

<p>BAM DONE! For now :). Hit me up with more questions…and this time, I’ll reply promptly.</p>

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<p>“Other L&S majors” do have widely different reputations as far as workload and difficulty are concerned. MCB is the most popular undergraduate major on the Berkeley campus, and generally has a workload reputation on the higher end of the scale.</p>

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<p>How much harder do you think psychology is to get into? I have a 3.91, three club officerships (one relevant to my major), volunteer work (relevant to my major), self study of a language, and PTK and deans list. I will finish all of my prereqs to UCB and UCLA by spring…which means I don’t have any other major’s prereqs done, so it’s not like I really could have applied to a different L&S major in hopes of switching, right? Will applying to a competitive major kind of ruin my chances?</p>

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<p>I would not be surprised if the majors listed as “capped” (meaning that current Berkeley students need to apply to declare the major) here:
[Office</a> of Undergraduate Advising: List of Majors](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/major/majorlist.html]Office”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/major/majorlist.html)</p>

<p>are also the ones that are harder to get into as a transfer.</p>

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<p>@ ucbalumnus: True, MCB is in L&S and considered more difficult than most social science and humanities majors. I meant to suggest that the majors weren’t extremely difficult, or at least aren’t generally considered so. </p>

<p>@newsoul: Right. You could not realistically apply and get into another major because you don’t have the prereqs done for other majors. In my instance, I had the prereqs done for psychology, and none were offered for philosophy at my CCC. However, I had taken a few philosophy courses. I decided to apply as a phil/psych double major because:</p>

<p>1) No phil prereqs offered at my CCC, therefore, they couldn’t penalize me for that.
2) Phil is easier to get into, and I had taken a few phil courses.
3) Wrote in double major in my PS because I was applying phil to UCB and psych to UCLA.</p>

<p>It worked out for me since I got into all the UC’s, but in retrospect, it was a ton of work just to improve my chances slightly. I would not recommend you doing this because you have a 3.91, which gives you a great shot at all the UC’s.</p>

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<p>emilsinclair9, are you still a pre-med? I saw your posts before, and I was just wondering how things were going for you!</p>

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<p>@emilsinclair: ok thanks so much!! n_<em>n ahh I have a 3.8 so I’m a little more relieved x</em>x;; oh well no point worrying now-- come april we shall see if it was really ok lool… </p>

<p>btw would you advise dorming? i’d really love to dorm just for the experience but idk if it would be worth the expenses T__T;;</p>