<p>emil theifin’ on my QandA threads >:O</p>
<p>OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH MY GOD. all those replies were beastly emil ahahahahah. and i LAWLED at “emily sinclair”
thanks for your replies man theyve been superrrr helpful and good luck with your finals!!!</p>
<p>Aw great, thanks for the reply Emil! You must lose so much time helping us poor souls.</p>
<p>Hi BerkeleyOrBust: I entered Cal as an older transfer student in 2008. I also wanted a college experience so applied for Wada and Channing-Bowditch, but was only offered a spot in a triple room at Clark Kerr. I complained because I didn’t want to live with Freshmen, but was told I couldn’t change it. So I turned it down and applied to live at International House. I-House provides housing to upper division undergrads, grad students, exchange students (upper div or grad), and some visiting professors and scholars. It’s a 50-50 mix of American and international students. It was kind of expensive compared to a private apartment - but comparable to Cal’s dorms, and the dining hall food was pretty bad (well, not always), but I’m so happy I chose to live there my first year. The age range is pretty wide so I never felt too out of place and I now have a worldwide network of friends. </p>
<p>Another housing idea is the BSC co-ops. There are two that house grad students and older upper division students - I think one has to be 25+ if an undergrad. In those two houses you get your own room right away, in the others you have to earn points to “buy” your own room. They are very reasonably priced and can be cheaper than a shared apartment since each resident has to put in a certain number of work hours per week. Room and board is included. There are many different co-op houses, and although there is a general character to the whole co-op system, each house has its own unique character. Some are major party places (Cloyne is currently the most notorious), others are far more quiet. Most of them are close enough to walk to campus. The co-ops fill up fast, so apply now and be prepared to be put on a waiting list for fall.</p>
<p>Either of these places are considered “off campus” for financial aid status. I didn’t have a problem paying for housing, or anything really, but I did take on some debt and I worked part time during the school year and full time during breaks.</p>
<p>omg intercampus visitor program!! i totally forgot about that and my memory was jogged. thanks @emilsinclair! i would love to be able to do it if possible.
[University</a> of California - Intercampus visitor program](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/campuses/beyond-campus/intercampus-visitors/index.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/campuses/beyond-campus/intercampus-visitors/index.html)</p>
<p>Emil needs to be compensated for his awesome work answering all our questions haha. We all really appreciate you taking the time to do this Emil :)</p>
<p>@ redoplease: Thanks so much! Believe it or not, I really enjoy doing this. Iono, I’ll probably always have a personal connection to community college and the transfer process. It meant quite a bit to me and still does…which is why I’m still on here :). I enjoy helping people, and I love seeing you guys get into the schools you want! The CCC system in California is amazing…tricky, but amazing. I’m just happy to have experienced all of this myself and to help everyone else however I can.</p>
<p>@ BostonCrmPir: Nah, my finals are over! lol. I’m just writing my final papers at this point. Half of the time I’m home and not even in Berkeley nowadays. No lost time here.</p>
<p>@ mytime: Yeah, I definitely recommend the Intercampus Visitor Program. I haven’t done it, though I wanted to, and it seems like a great opportunity to get to experience a different UC entirely.</p>
<p>@ GottaGetToCal: Of course! 
Always happy to help. And thank you and everyone else for all the good questions and for thanking me. You guys are the best.</p>
<p>Go Bears!</p>
<p>Can I ride a bike around the campus itself? Are there bike paths or something? Also, what do you suppose is the best way to meet folks and make new friends? If I’m not living on campus, I figure I’ll need to figure out another way than roommates.</p>
<p>@thatgirltoo</p>
<p>Is getting a room at I-House difficult? I heard that it’s open during the holidays so it would be convenient for me, since I don’t really have anywhere to go during breaks.</p>
<p>@ santacruzstefan: Yeah, you can ride your bike on campus pretty much everywhere except for Sproul. There are too many people on Sproul, so you’re actually not allowed to ride there. There aren’t bike paths; you just ride and avoid people to the best of your ability.</p>
<p>As for meeting friends and living off-campus, that is tough. Honestly, I’d recommend getting close to the people in your classes. My best friend is in 2 classes with me and she’s been a major help in terms of studying together and just finding class more enjoyable. I don’t know how open you are to joining a fraternity or a sorority, but that’s another way to meet people too.</p>
<p>Yea, I’m living off campus too to try and save some money that way and my main concern is not being able to meet as many new people since I’m rooming with old high school friends. Ah but I guess there’s nothing for it. I just got to make those moments when I do get to meet new people count :D</p>
<p>Hello Emil! I don’t know if you can recognize me, but I got into UC Berkeley! YAY! I got admitted to Cal as a spring admit and I’m looking forward to attending! (although I’m still debating where to attend: Cal vs. UCLA). I have a few questions for you, and I would really appreciate your responses!</p>
<p>1) I’ve been living in SoCal for awhile, and having a car is necessary in LA as you know. I’m not planning to bring a car to Cal. My question is: Will I be able to live just fine without a car? I mean, I have families here in SoCal, so I practically don’t know anyone in Berkeley. Will I be able to get around with BART and buses? How comfortable are BART and buses? I realized that buses in LA are…not so good, so I’m wondering if it’s same in Berkeley? Are there a lot of students without a car? Please let me know!</p>
<p>2) Like I said, I’m a spring admit, which means I will be attending Cal next spring. I’m planning to take off a semester after my spring 2012 semester for personal reasons. Will I be able to declare non-attendance for a semester in Fall 2012? It’s just a semester… I would like to know how difficult is the process, and I would like to know if I have to have some specific reasons.</p>
<p>3) I have been admitted as a Philosophy major, but I’m planning to switch to Political Economics. Will it be hard to switch to Political Economics? any requirements you may know? 
Also, would it be hard to graduate in 1 1/2 year as a spring admit?</p>
<p>AHHH this would be really helpful to know all of them! I’m still having hard time deciding whether I should go to Cal or UCLA!!! Thank you for your time in advance!!! :D:D</p>
<p>You def don’t need a car. If you need a car from time to time, there is still the option of zipcar, a carsharing company. Your cal id is also valid for AC Transit, the public agency for berkeley and oakland.</p>
<p>@Koreo: I-House admission seems competitive, but I was able to get in without a problem. Being open during the holidays was a plus, but be advised that there is limited or no dining hall for at least a week during the winter break and there are no kitchens (there is one microwave) available for regular use. There is one kitchen for residents to use for special dinners, it has to be reserved in advance. Many of the international students travel around CA or the States during holidays and those who stay tend to group together for dinners and outings. </p>
<p>Re a car in Berkeley: definitely do not need one, and it could be a problem if you live on campus. I don’t believe on-campus housing is eligible for city street parking permits, and ALL of the streets around campus require one. If you have a scooter or motorcycle, there are designated places to park on streets around campus that don’t require permits. I used my AC Transit class pass to get around Berkeley and Oakland and to/from SF. There is the F bus that goes directly from campus to downtown SF. I miss that free ride! It is very easy to get around SF on MUNI and BART. If you need to go to the airport, no problem, BART goes directly to SFO and there is a connection between OAK and the Coliseum BART station. Bicycling is easy, it is also easy to walk pretty much anywhere (I walk or bike to campus from Rockridge, just over 1.5 miles away), it is an urban area with lots of stores, places to eat, and entertainment. Zipcar and CityCarShare both have sign-up specials for UC Berkeley students and have many cars available around campus in case you need to run to Target or something.</p>
<p>@ berkeleyphil: I do remember you! Congratulations on being admitted!!</p>
<p>As for BART and buses, the BART is really comfortable if you can get a seat. Sometimes it can get really crowded around commute time and you’ll have to stand, but I’ve never been uncomfortable on BART at all. Plus, everything from SF to Berkeley is within about 30 mins on BART, so even if standing, it’s not for all that long.</p>
<p>Just be careful not to lose stuff on BART :p. Somehow I lost my old cell phone and a large check on BART, but I managed to get both back lol. However, that’s my fault, not BART’s. As for the buses, for one, they’re free with the bus sticker on your Cal ID. Also, they’re not like ultra comfortable, but you shouldn’t have to ever ride them very far. At worse, most likely between south and north campus. Almost all students don’t have a car btw.</p>
<p>2) As for taking the spring 2012 semester off, did u mean spring 2011? I’m a bit confused. I think maybe you meant you would go spring 2012 and take fall 2012 off? If that’s the case, that’s totally fine! You can definitely take a semester off. Actually, it’s surprisingly common. You should definitely be able to take a semester off if you’d like. Double check with the administration and your counselor here as well.</p>
<p>3) It won’t be hard to switch into Political Econ as long as you have the prereqs done. It’s really important that you have them done or you won’t be able to declare. If you do have them done, it should be no problem.</p>
<p>4) As for graduating in 1.5 years, that is difficult. I guess if you take a semester off, you’d be graduating with 3 semesters of schooling + a semester off. That said, you’d be graduating end of fall 2013? You can definitely do it, but you’ll probably have to take summer school. I was a spring admit as well, and I’m taking 7 units this summer along with a job and an RA position. Everything is more condensed as a spring admit to be totally honest, but you can do it if you do summer school at least once. </p>
<p>P.S. as for picking between Cal and UCLA, it’s crucial that you go to the school you fit in best at. Go somewhere you can see yourself at and genuinely enjoying. Also, philosophy at Cal and UCLA are completely different. Do a bunch of research on both schools’ programs, look at their requirements, classes, etc. Same goes for Political Econ. Look at the requirements and determine whether you can see yourself doing those classes.</p>
<p>After that, you should have a MUCH clearer idea of where you’d like to go. I wish you the best!! :D</p>
<p>“Also, philosophy at Cal and UCLA are completely different.”
I’ve been admitted to both UCLA and Cal for philosophy, and was wondering if you could expand on the quoted statement a little more.</p>
<p>I’ve been asking people on CC, roaming the schools website, listening to Berkeley’s online podcasts on the topics that I am interested in(unfortunately UCLA does not have this feature available to non-students), but I would still appreciate more input to really see the differences between the two in regards to their undergrad phil departments.</p>
<p>Also for those who are in a similar situation here are some threads that you might find useful:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/700942-berkeley-ucla-philosophy.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/700942-berkeley-ucla-philosophy.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/1063935-berkeley-vs-ucla-philosophy.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/1063935-berkeley-vs-ucla-philosophy.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/1135684-procrastinating-graduating-senior-ucla-ask-me-questions-3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/uc-transfers/1135684-procrastinating-graduating-senior-ucla-ask-me-questions-3.html</a></p>
<p>All these posts discuss the philosophy departments(undergrad) at both UCLA and Cal.</p>
<p>@ CCjuniortransfer: While it’s unfortunate for me to say that I have yet to take a philosophy class at Berkeley, I can definitely tell you that it will be difficult at UCLA or UCB. </p>
<p>I guess I’ll start by saying what I -do- know. For one, Berkeley’s philosophy library is beautiful and quiet. It’s in Moses. It has a fireplace, wooden floors, troves of books, etc. It has a really captivating ambiance about it. I will be studying there all summer (Ancient Phil). </p>
<p>Another thing to consider is prerequisites. I know most CCC’s don’t offer phil prereqs that matriculate to UCB. That said, if you do have them completed i.e. Ancient, Modern, and Logic, then you’re good to go. If you don’t, as most do not, then you will have to take all 3 prereqs in addition to the 8 Upper Div requirements including 2 history classes. </p>
<p>Recently I’ve been considering switching my major to philosophy, as it is my passion, but feasibly and pragmatically speaking, it just won’t work. You need to take (without prereqs done) 11 requirements for the phil major to graduate, not to mention the American Cultures requirement and 2 UD courses outside of your major. </p>
<p>Realistically, unless you want to spend a minimum of 4-5 semesters at Cal, if you don’t have the prereqs done, I would recommend going to UCLA or at the very least taking summer classes to get ahead here at UCB. I’m not saying it’s impossible if you don’t have your prereqs done, but just that it will be very hard. I believe the average GPA at UCB for philosophy is around a 3.1 :/.</p>
<p>However, on a more positive note, I do know a philosophy major here at UCB with a 4.0! :).</p>
<p>As for the departments themselves, this is actually one of those things that I’ve always been somewhat hazy about. I know there is a big difference as I too have read about it in multiple threads, but I haven’t experienced it for myself and I don’t know what specifically is different about them.</p>
<p>I would recommend asking pinkerfloyd, one of the phil majors at UCLA here on College Conf. what he thinks. He’s super knowledgeable about everything. </p>
<p>Good luck on whatever you find! :)</p>
<p>Thank you Emil for your answer!</p>
<p>so in total that would be 11 classes for phil(if one does not have the pre reqs completed- which i do not), American Cultures requirement and 2 UD courses outside of your major(3 courses) + 2 history classes? I mean that totals out to 3 phil classes a semester + 1 non philosophy class(Am Cultures, 2 undergrad courses, 2 history classes). I’d be looking at 4 classes every semester or 3 depending on whether or not I take advantage of summer courses, or winter courses if they even offer philosophy classes during the winter. Is 4 classes a semester too big of a work load? I was going to take my friends advice and just take 3 classes my first semester at Berkeley(One upper div - Philosophical Methods #100, Intro to Logic 12A, and Ancient Phil 25A) would it be too much to add 130(Descartes) to my courseload for my first semester?</p>
<p>so a total of 15 classes to earn a B.A in phil as opposed to UCLA’s 9(13 if U dont have the pre reqs done- which i do have completed coincidentally) </p>
<p>Also is your friend with a 4.0 in philosophy a transfer student?</p>