<p>I got rejected from Berkeley, but I got this message:</p>
<p>Thank you for applying to UC Berkeley. Although I am unable to offer you admissions to Berkeley for fall 2009, I would like to extend a unique opportunity to finish your degree at Cal by taking part in our Bobcat to Bear Transfer Option.</p>
<p>The Bobcat to Bear Transfer Option is an agreement between the UC Berkeley and UC Merced campuses in which you enroll for your first two years of college at Merced and are then guaranteed admission to Berkeley as a junior transfer. This option is only offered to a select group of students; based on the merits of your application, I believe you are a strong candidate for this program.</p>
<p>i'm not sure if i will take this offer or not. i'm wondering if anyone else might do this.
i am now deciding between this or ucsd winter quarter</p>
<p>Well, if UCB is where you want to go....do it! Merced can't be THAT horrible, plus, you'll have some great grades for your first two years! I've heard the curves are set SO low in most classes.</p>
<p>I got this last year but mine was 2 years at merced then guaranteed transfer to ucla. but i declined and chose berkeley. it's guaranteed under strict circumstances.</p>
<p>In my opinion, I think going to ucsd is better because:
if u go to sd as a freshmen, you have a lot more opportunity, either in club or connection with prof and other intern.... If u start in merced, I don't think u want to transfer 2 yrs later because u already has all the connection built up. I think work experience is more important than what school u go to and Berkeley grad is not that different from other school (other than business and engineering?!)</p>
<p>^
Yea, i know. That's the negative...but then when you transfer you can build a new connection. So you have connections at both merced + berkeley. GREATT!!</p>
<p>Me too; I got this. Are we guaranteed admission to our specific major, or just the college? For me, it says the "College of Arts and Sciences". So am I guaranteed admission into ANY major there? Would it be more difficult to get into a more impacted or good major? I'm thinking about Economics, but I'm really not sure if they actually will have slots directly in that major.</p>
<p>Either that, or I go to UCSD or Davis. I don't know too much about UCSD's program, but the graduate program at least is ranked only a few positions below UCB's grad program (#3 UCB vs. #10 UCSD). So I really don't know what to do!</p>
<p>I'm in the same situation, economics as well. I feel like Berkeley economics is too good to pass up but I realize there are a bunch of problems as well. Does anyone know of any students who have gone through this process and how they liked it?</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm really hoping someone can tell us if they've gone through this because I have no idea what to expect. UCB is too good to pass up, but I really don't know if I can go to Merced for 2 years.</p>
<ol>
<li>Can I be admitted to any major once I transfer to my selected UC campus?
No, you are guaranteed admission only to the major that you designate with your selected UC campus during your time at UC Merced. Shared Experience students should make sure that the coursework they need to prepare for their intended major is available at UC Merced.</li>
</ol>
<p>linda_x what major are you planning on? if we decide to do this it'd be cool to know that there's at least one person i'll be able to go through it with.</p>
<p>I can't lie, I'm pretty disappointed. It feels like UCB just keeps giving me false hope. First they send me a talent questionnaire and now they want me to spend 2 years at merced and then transfer. Sigh, I don't know what to do.</p>
<p>I got this transfer option too. I really don't know what to do. The only other considerable UC i got into was Santa Barbara ( I didn't get LA, SD, D, or I). Do you think it's worth taking up in my situation?</p>
<p>Apparently, in 2007, the FIRST YEAR the program started, only 1000 offers were made by UCB, UCI, UCLA, and UCSD. This means that only in 2009 will students transfer to other schools, so it would be difficult to even discover any information.</p>
<p>According to another article, 820 people were offered admission to the Shared Experience Program in 2008 (UC</a> Notes - June 2008).</p>
<p>wow its scary to think that we're almost the first to be doing this
im majoring psychology, im seriously considering this though because i feel like it is the school that you get your degree from that matters
although ucsd is a really great school, it is no berkeley</p>