<p>hi, im going to apply to berkeley with my major declared as EECS. i recognize this is one of the harder majors to get into. if berkeley rejects me on the basis of my major, would they assign me, or give me admission (granted im qualified to be accepted to another division) to another school (engineering/letters and science), or just deny me period?</p>
<p>Just deny you period. Yep. That's why applying to EECS is high risk, high reward. It's all or nothing. You get in, you're sitting pretty. If you don't, you don't get in anywhere at Berkeley.</p>
<p>wow, i didnt know that...thx sakky. is the same thing true for engineering undecided (will they just deny you period if u dont get into that)? additionally, as EECS is so competitive, is it hard to switch in from say, engineering undecided, or college of letters and sciences?</p>
<p>It's true for engineering undecided, MecE, or any other major at Berkeley. Basically, you get one shot which you can use to apply to any Berkeley undergrad program, but only one shot. If you shoot and miss, that's the end of the game. So if you shoot for a difficult program and you don't get in, the game is over. </p>
<p>It is also extremely difficult to switch into EECS from any non-engineering major or from any, shall we say, 'lower' engineering major (like Civil Engineering). It is fairly easy to switch into EECS (although not completely guaranteed), however engineering undeclared is one of the most difficult majors to get admitted into. So, no, there is no way to 'game' the system by just applying to an nonimpacted major, getting in, and then switching over to an impacted engineering major. If anything, trying to switch into an impacted engineering major is even harder than just getting into the impacted engineering major as a regular admit. On the other hand, if you try to switch over and don't make it, well, at least you're still in Berkeley. You're not in the major you want to be in, but at least you're in Berkeley.</p>
<p>Hence, the process is basically fair. It's ruthless, but also fair. It's far easier to switch from EECS to another major than vice versa. Hence, if you apply to and are admitted into EECS, you have a lot more freedom to choose your 'true' major than most other students do. For example, if you get into EECS and then later decide that you would rather major in American Studies, that switch is far far easier than trying to switch from American Studies to EECS. On the other hand, you ran a big risk by applying to EECS, because there is a higher chance that you wouldn't have gotten into Berkeley at all. On the other hand, you could choose to apply to an easier major, and have a greater chance of getting admitted, but if you do, then you have less ability to switch around later. Hence, the more risk you are willing to take, the more freedom you will have if you get in.</p>
<p>Thx again sakky. As you know from a post where you answered me earlier (about a double major), is it possible i apply to berkeley, say for a major in materials engineering, but i have no prior experience in materials engineering (no reserach, no courses, etc.)- only a strong interest. essentially (i know this is a broad question) but is it absolutely neccessary to have prior experience, or something tangible in the field you are goin to major in...esp. for places like berkeley (unlike as you pointed out earlier, HYPM), where they defintely take your major into account in the admisssions process? i dont want to bore you with my statistics, but im guessing have slightly-below-average scores/grades for people in the college of engineering....is that little tangible experience needed (if i apply for a materials engineering major) to give me that extra edge, to make it? i am willing to declare a major as EECS, or materials engineering, as i will be happy with both.</p>
<p>Can tangible experience help? Well, it certainly can't hurt. However, I would venture to say that it isn't all that easy to get materials science experience while you're in high school. Not too many high school students that I know have access to a semiconductor fab clean room or a polymer processing facility or a metals foundry. </p>
<p>Could experience give you an edge? Sure. But in Berkeley engineering, it is mostly about the numbers.</p>
<p>wow, thanks a lot, sakky! would you happen to know where Berkeley publishses stats for only engineering majors, for ex. (lik Cornell, Columbia, etc. do)?</p>
<p>just a quick note. engineering undecided is the most difficult major to get into because you can switch to any engineering major later, including EECS (without the process of applying, etc.). everything else sakky says is right though.</p>
<p>At CalSO, I met people in EECS (CS option) that don't have programming experience nor knowledge. They would have go to into the CS3 series if CS61A still had the test.</p>
<p>You are never sitting pretty in EECS. Never. EECS is one of the most difficult and competitive majors at Cal. But the rewards are well worth it...</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for the input... I know this is asking a lot, but would u happen to know if there are average sat scores/grades existent for EECS, or the college of engineering, in general? I just wanna know where i stand.</p>
<p>oo, thanks!!! just wondering, are u guys in cal engineering?</p>
<p>When I went to Cal Day, there was this one guy in the engineering science breakout session who said he applied EECS but was admitted into the engineering physics major. He was actually denied a couple times when he tried to change majors into EECS. So it appears that it is indeed possible to apply EECS, not be admitted into the major, but still be admitted to Berkeley. However, this probably is a very uncommon occurrence.</p>
<p>(It all worked out well for him in the end, though--at Cal Day he said he had been admitted to and was choosing from among some very prestigious graduate schools--MIT, Stanford, and UCSB were on the list--for EE, physics, and materials. He also said that he was able to take a lot of electives in the EECS department and that his transcript had a lot of the same content as someone majoring in EECS.)</p>
<p>And also, I had the impression that engineering undeclared majors have to apply to EECS or BioE (the two impacted majors) just like other engineering students--only that they were seen as having more "legitimate" reasons for switching departments. I guess I must be wrong.</p>
<p>I will be a freshman this fall, prospectively to major in engineering physics. (This is why I went to the engineering science breakout session at Cal Day).</p>
<p>
[quote]
You are never sitting pretty in EECS. Never. EECS is one of the most difficult and competitive majors at Cal. But the rewards are well worth it...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I meant sitting pretty in the sense that if you an admitted EECS student, you have, from a defacto point of view, more choice about what major you may ultimately want to get than somebody who isn't in EECS. For example, it is easier to switch from EECS to a major in L&S than vice versa.</p>
<p>yeah, i'm me/mse at cal.</p>
<p>i always had the impression that undeclared meant you can switch to whatever you want. that's basically how the undeclared kids talk about it.</p>
<p>"After completing this curriculum, the student must transfer into a degree program for the final two years. All programs within the College of Engineering are open to engineering science (undeclared) students."</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info! additionally, i saw CS as a major listed in the college of letters and sciences. on <a href="http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Peer/%5B/url%5D">http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Peer/</a> , it says:</p>
<p>"The main difference between the L&S CS major program and that of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) concentration offered through the College of Engineering is the admission procedure. The L&S Computer Science program does not admit students to the major as a freshmen. Instead, students intending this major are admitted as undeclared majors, and must later apply for admission to the Computer Science major, on the basis of their performance in the lower division prerequisites courses taken at Berkeley."</p>
<p>So...if EECS and the L&S CS program are essentially the same thing, why are there two different admission procedures (and why are they listed under L&S and engineering)? Is admission to L&S easier? As you can see, im thoroughly confused...sry for spewing out these many questions.</p>
<p>EECS and L&S-CS isn't the same. It's EECS with Option IV (CS).</p>
<p>I've heard of some people be able to choose an alternate major because EECS was full but I don't know of the veracity of such statements.</p>
<p>In L&S to get into the CS major you have to compete for spots. I'm told that the grade average cutoff is quite high (something like a 3.4).</p>
<p>I'm going to be an EECS freshman next semester.</p>
<p>My "dream" schedule looks sorta like this:</p>
<p>Chem 4a
Math 53
CS61A
CL 60AC</p>
<p>Of course, it might not end up like that. At any rate, Should I be very frightened? Right now, I'm teaching myself scheme, cause it is so very lame and stupid in comparison to C. </p>
<p>Actually not true, I like it, scheme that is. C is "stewpod" and smells also, like dirty socks.</p>
<p>At any rate, should I be very scared? I <em>hopefully</em> plan on leading the way on the 4.0 marathon. </p>
<p>A++</p>