<p>Hey there!</p>
<p>So I just started applying to UC schools, and I'm not sure whether to put down "engineering undeclared" or just a random major like "mechanical engineering". Isn't just easier to apply to an easy major and attempt to switch later? And if I apply mechE, can I switch into say, bioE later?
I'm OOS and my stats aren't bad (2220, 780 math, 740 CR, 3.85ish UW GPA) and decent extracurriculars.
Any help is appreciated! Thanks</p>
<p>I will assure you that there is no easy engineering major in Berkeley. Since you have decent stats, you should be fine whichever major you apply; just pick the one that you want to do.</p>
<p>Yeah ur stats are pretty good. The major that you put on your app does not matter. People used to tell me that and I didn’t believe them but now I’m at berkeley. soo put whatever u want. I’d put what you REALLY want to do so you know you got in for what was the truth.</p>
<p>By easy major I meant majors that have higher acceptance rates. Is it easy to switch majors within the college of engineering?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help upmagic and clueless I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>Engineering Undeclared is extremely competitive. It is as difficult as EECS. I would not put that major down unless you are really confident in your stats. You have good stats but I don’t know that they are “sure thing” stats with regards to Engineering Undeclared. My son is Engineering Undeclared. I did go to a meeting about engineering and heard that it was doable to switch majors within the COE as long as you have at least a 3.0 GPA. I’m sure others have more experience with this, but this is what I heard when we went to the meeting. The nice thing about Engineering Undeclared is that as long as you have a 2.0, you are guaranteed acceptance into any engineering major (even joint majors). This is why it is so tough to get Engineering Undeclared - because you have the option to study whatever you want within the COE. Good luck with your applications.</p>
<p>The major for which you apply for does affect your admissions decision if you apply to CoE. I’m assuming clueless2400 is talking about L&S specifically because that’s the only college where your intended major does not have any weight. </p>
<p>I would apply to BioE because I think for anybody, it’d easier to get into BioE as a freshman rather than switching after getting into Berkeley because the lower division classes aren’t a breeze. </p>
<p>I was able to switch into EECS this semester, so if you want some information about my process, you can PM me. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>really? I thought if you applied to any major, it wouldn’t matter. And yeah, I’m L&S but I didn’t know at the time that I applied that it didn’t have any weight.</p>
<p>It’s different for L&S. For the COE, you have to specify a major and some majors are definitely more competitive than others.</p>
<p>Yep. The exception might be if you apply as an English major, and you include in your application the fact that you’re a published author or have won various literature awards, then they will probably take that into consideration in L&S. </p>
<p>For CoE, and I presume the other non-L&S colleges, your intended major matters. I know for a fact I would have been outright rejected from Cal had I applied EECS in the first place because while my stats were good enough to get me into CoE, they were nowhere near good enough to get me into EECS.</p>
<p>This is prevalent to the OP: BioE, EECS and Undeclared Engineering are probably the hardest majors to receive admission for. There is a very competitive applicant pool for those majors. From what you’ve posted, and based only on that, you look like you’d get into BioE especially because out OOS have an easier time getting in now because Cal is so poorly funded.</p>
<p>It would be nice if there are statistical facts that shows EECS/BioE/Undeclared are the hardest.
After all, EECS is the largest major in Berkeley, even larger than MCB or Political Science.</p>
<p>I talked to the Dean and was told that exact fact if that helps. We had no idea when my son applied to Undeclared Engineering how competitive it was. We didn’t know about EECS. He just didn’t know what he wanted to study and so he put Undeclared Engineering. We were told by the Dean that the admit rate for Undeclared Engineering was 11%. Oh the Dean mentioned Undeclared and EECS. Nothing was said about BioE</p>
<p>My word is only through hearsay and personal experience, so take momfirst3 as a more credible source. Maybe the BioE’s I know have just been perpetuating the idea that it’s a difficult major to get admitted to, haha. </p>
<p>My senior year, I know of three people from my class that applied to the college of engineering: my friend who applied BioE, another friend who applied EECS, and I applied to Nuclear Engineering. My friend who applied BioE had much more impressive stats than I did but she was rejected. My other friend who applied EECS and I had similar stats (rank 10 and 8 respectively) but he was also rejected. I believe one of the reasons I was admitted over either of the other two was because I applied to a far less populated major within the college.</p>
<p>BioE could be as competitive. It just didn’t come up when I was talking to the Dean. He just said that EECS and Undeclared Engineering were the two most competitive majors at Cal. I’m just assuming he knows what he’s talking about. It was kind of funny how it came up. My son was just trying to figure out whether or not he wanted to go to Cal and he was concerned about getting classes and the like. The Dean was reassuring him that Berkeley takes care of its engineering majors. Bottom line is engineering at Cal is tough to get into period. That is an interesting personal story. You are probably right. Your choice of major might have helped. Interesting… I feel bad for the two that got denied.</p>
<p>I’m in engineering undeclared and going to EECS. The big difference is transferring from another major (and especially another college) they have to review your status and need a higher gpa to get in. You need to maintain a 2.7 in engineering undeclared and you are guaranteed into any engineering major.</p>
<p>If you want to go into EECS I would recommend applying EECS, as you can avoid taking E92, and having to get a faculty advisors later on.</p>
<p>Oh, the handout that I got at the Engineering Undeclared meeting said 2.0, but I doubt that would be much of a problem for all your smart students. :-)</p>
<p>Maybe it is a 2.0, but either way is substantially lower than what transferring from other majors require.</p>
<p>When I attended orientation, one of the EECS professors mentioned that they admitted ~300 students out of around 2500 applicants for EECS (this was in 2008).</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help guys!</p>
<p>Honestly I’m unsure of what to major in at this point. Bioengineering seems interesting but I’m not completely sure if I want to pursue it. I’m thinking of applying industrial at Cal (and attempting to switch later?), and applying undeclared at UCLA. Given my stats, is that a good option? Or should I just apply BioE at Cal?</p>
<p>Does anyone know if the same applies to CNR? I’m thinking about applying there and picking MEB. is CNR A LOT more competitive than L&S? also, anyone know if CNR offers admission for the spring? ( I know L & S does that)</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure CNR is less competitive to get into than L&S.</p>