Berkeley Spring Admission & Various Tips

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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<p>Hey guys! I'm writing this all now so that I don't forget on the 29th.</p>

<p>First of all, congrats to everyone that has gotten into the UC's so far! Leaving CCC for a UC was one of the greatest accomplishments of my life, so I hope you all are proud of your own academic conquests as well. And in that same vein, I just finished my first final at Cal :)! Unfortunately, I have two more this Thursday lol. Anyway, as I know that many of you are waiting to hear back from Berkeley, I decided to take some time away from studying to post about a few important things that many of you will undoubtedly have questions about. </p>

<p>I'll begin by saying that I'm a Psych major and a junior, but I may be switching to philosophy. Lately that has seemed like the better option, but we'll see. I was also a spring admit, so I have a lot of knowledge about what that exactly entails. As the system is currently maintained, Berkeley admits ~500 spring admit transfers each year. Many of you won't anticipate it (I definitely didn't lol), but some of you will be spring admits. </p>

<p>In the event that you are a spring admit, I hope you look back on this post and find it useful in one way or another :).</p>

<p>First of all, don't let spring admission deter you from coming to Berkeley, unless you already preferred another school. I chose it over UCLA (fall), and my gf at the time went there too. I'm not trying to be a Berkeley homer or anything like that either, but it's important that you pick the school that's right for you regardless of the semester you're admitted for. It wasn't even like I disliked UCLA....in fact, I really liked it, but Berkeley seemed better suited for my personality, and I was spot on.</p>

<p>Also, some may wonder why they were chosen as a spring admit. I wondered this for a while lol. At first I thought it was due to a borderline GPA (mine was 3.75), but I personally know 2 girls here who spring transferred with 4.0's. However, they were each missing a prereq. Thus, despite that this is anecdotal and pretty limited, I think people are chosen for spring based on borderline circumstances such as the aforementioned. </p>

<p>If you are rejected...appeal! I was initially rejected from UCLA, appealed, and was admitted. People make mistakes, and one of the reviewers who read my app missed counting one of the prereqs I had taken. From what I've read on the board this year in some other threads, it seems like people with GREAT stats are being rejected. i.e. 3.8+ GPA's and all prereqs done. If you're in that batch somewhere, I highly recommend you guys appeal. For UCLA, you can call them and ask why you were rejected (I called 3 times last year), and if you pester the right person, they'll tell you. I called, found out the reason, and the next day I received an email from UCLA stating that I was admitted. At Berkeley, this isn't always as easy, so try to call but if that doesn't work, file a formal appeal.</p>

<p>Picking your Classes:</p>

<p>Do 13 units! :) I took 16 this semester, and this week I am paying for it. I know in CCC some of you guys can do 21+ and get 4.0's, but that will not fly here. Take 13 units (the minimum) if you can. Also, and this is super important, make sure your finals are on different days! All 3 of my finals were supposed to be this Thursday, but I was able to petition to take one earlier today...thank god lol. I would recommend taking classes you're generally interested in. Aside from stats, I haven't really liked many of my classes this semester, so next one I'm taking courses I'm interested in.</p>

<p>Research:</p>

<p>Do research. I like to get into things right away, and considering I was a transfer with limited time, I knew I had to get into it right away. Currently I'm a research assistant of Organizational Dev. in Haas. To be honest, I don't love the research, but at the very least, it's good experience and a possible LOR. </p>

<p>Social:</p>

<p>Join a fraternity or sorority...or at least a club :). It's really important to have a social life in college. I cannot stress this enough. Coming out of CCC, I had one goal in mind: Study. That was my only goal. Of course, I do study all the time, but it's imperative to have a balance of academics and a social life, and this is true pretty much anywhere. I found myself somewhat unhappy at Berkeley with only my roommates and a few classmates to hang with on occasion, so I sought out other people too. Of course, not everyone needs to do this, but it's only a suggestion if you want to :).</p>

<p>Now to contradict myself lol. Don't overload yourself! I'm taking 16 units, am doing research, I'm in a fraternity, and I was in a long-distance relationship for most of the semester. Just keep everything in perspective and do your best in all your pursuits, but don't go too far. </p>

<p>Sorry to post this before admission decisions come out, but I didn't want to forget or get wrapped up in end-semester/beginning of my summer activities. I wish you all the best of luck, and I hope to see some of you in my classes someday!</p>

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<p>I had no idea they did spring admits for us transfers. </p>

<p>This is great information, thank you for taking the time to post!</p>

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<p>Thank you for posting this, it showed me that there is some hope.</p>

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<p>Thanks for this post emil. Wait - I thought you wanted psych?! Now switching back to your applied major? Well, whatever happens you seem have a good handle on things from the looks of it. </p>

<p>I’ll keep this thread in mind if I end up at UC Berkeley. :3</p>

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<p>@ pyoro: lol ya know, I’m kind of disillusioned with psychology. Every course I’m taking this semester (aside from decals) are psych courses. I think I may have overloaded on it, and now I’ve come to sort of dislike it. It’s unfortunate but true. </p>

<p>As for philosophy, I find myself wanting to read some of my favorite old philosophical texts from CCC, and I wonder why I didn’t at least attempt pursuing it at Berkeley in the first place. Next semester I should be in 2 phil courses regardless of whether I change my major.</p>

<p>@ santos and keith: No problem, guys! Good luck! :)</p>

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<p>Hi emil, thank you for the helpful post. Although I hope I’m not a spring admit, I wouldn’t mind it at all actually so I can take a much needed vacation abroad :P</p>

<p>It’s less than three days until decisions are out, but I was wondering if you can grasp my chances of getting in with a ~3.92 as a sociology major. I finished all of my prereqs with A’s, including a class on sociological research that isn’t offered at most CCCs. My ECs weren’t great and my essays, well, I’m not so sure. On the first prompt I mostly talked about my volunteer experience tutoring youth from low income families. I got into UCLA, but I hear how Berkeley is much more holistic in their admissions than UCLA, which worries me because I don’t think I stand out in any particular way. I felt pretty confident about my chances at UCLA all the way, but Berkeley, I’m not so sure since I’ve seen applicants with just the good stats get rejected.</p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

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<p>@ Naniwa: You’re almost definitely in! All A’s in the prereqs is big. Let me know what happens. Good luck :).</p>

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<p>which number should I call?</p>

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<p>Although it doesn’t mean much, thank you for relieving some of my stress haha :P</p>

<p>I will definitely let you know what happens. Thank you again for being such a great help to us prospective Cal students!</p>

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<p>@ Naniwa: Any time! Berkeley is an incredible place. Even during finals week, which for me is this week, I still can’t believe how lucky I am to be here. I genuinely believe it has a sort of charm unlike any other school I’ve ever seen. Best of luck!</p>

<p>@ pakaer: I’m sorry, I don’t know the number to call UCLA to appeal :/. It was mentioned by another poster in the UCLA appeal thread though.</p>

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<p>Emil, is it really that simple to switch majors at Cal?</p>

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<p>emilsinclair9- I went to cal day for psychology and they told me that since my interests in psychology lie in neuropsychology, basically the biological aspects of it, they told me that UCSF is not that far away if you want to do that kind of research for my focus for psychology. </p>

<p>How far is UCSF from berkeley? Do they offer shuttle service between Berkeley and UCSF?</p>

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<p>How does Financial Aid work for Spring admits?</p>

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<p>@ deanza: Yeah, as long as it’s within your college i.e. L&S, you can switch into anything you want…it’s a major loophole.</p>

<ul>
<li>Media Studies, Psych, poli sci, econ…w.e. you want as long as you have a 3.2+ GPA. Oh! And prereqs done with a 3.2+ major GPA.</li>
</ul>

<p>@ Pessimistic: I’m not the best person to ask about that. I don’t get any financial aid :/.</p>

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<p>Thanks for posting this, I just got accepted as a Spring transfer. I didn’t have any of my major prerequisites completed before applying, so I’d say that your theory about prereq completion and Spring admittance is spot on.</p>

<p>Also, I am definitely going to Cal & beyond excited about getting in :)</p>

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<p>@ claire: Thanks! I pondered that question for months lol.</p>