<p>I keep seeing all over CC about transfer students who are accepted to Cal as Spring admits... How is this decided? Is it by major? Do Spring admits get an extra semester do graduate? I really want to go to Berkeley, but I'm concerned that I wouldn't be able to take all the classes in time if I didn't have the Fall semester (all hypothetical, of course). I'm a poli sci major, but I'm also taking science classes to apply to medical school. My concern is that if Spring admits are based on your major, the admissions officers won't know I'm pre-med and I won't be able to finish the two two-semester sequences I need. I'm planning on mentioning that I want to attend medical school in my essay, but will they factor that in to deciding (if I were to be admitted) if I'm a Fall or Spring admit? I'm just so confused about the whole thing! Thanks in advance :)</p>
<p>Nobody knows?</p>
<p>[Office</a> of Undergraduate Advising: Unit Ceiling](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/registration/unitceiling.html]Office”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/registration/unitceiling.html)</p>
<p>Transfer students who take longer than four semesters to graduate after entering Berkeley as juniors are subject to a 130 unit ceiling (not including deductible units like AP/IB/A-level, community college units after completing 70 college units, college units completed before high school graduation, etc.).</p>
<p>Ok, thanks. But do you know how admissions decides whether students are accepted to fall or spring semester?</p>
<p>Calibabe, I think their official stance on admitting people for Spring is that with an overload of equally qualified students, some are simply chosen to start during Spring. It’s just an unfortunate spot to be in.</p>
<p>This is me speaking on instinct at 11:00 pm so take it with a grain of salt… Don’t give them any opportunity to consider you a candidate for spring admittance. Keep your grades high without seeming capable of finishing up in 3 semesters. Maybe if you apply with a full 70 units, they’ll find you suitable for finishing up in 3 semesters? See, that’s something I wanted to do but with the goal of finishing a semester early, not this nonsense. </p>
<p>While browsing through the Cal acceptance threads here, I noticed a lot of philosophy student were taken in as Spring admits. Most had decent stats (3.5-3.7 GPAs). If that’s how Political Science is, it could just be a coincidence since they accept students by school.</p>
<p>Hey! I was a spring admit…and weirdly, I had applied as a philosophy major too lol. Honestly, I have a couple theories as to why we’re spring admits. I’ve pooled my info on the ppl that I know personally that are spring admits.</p>
<ul>
<li>One girl I know had a 4.0 in CCC but was missing a key prereq for the psych major.</li>
<li>I had a 3.76 GPA and claimed to be a double major + premed…when I applied I had no clue what I really wanted. (spring admission could be due to having a ton of reqs (i.e. premed/ 2 majors))</li>
<li>Others seem totally random with high GPA’s and prereqs done. Others I know had like 3.3’s and go in.</li>
</ul>
<p>My theory is that each spring admit has something glaring in their application that is questionable enough to defer them a semester. For me, it could have been the iffy GPA or the fact that I had so many requirements to still complete. As an example, philosophy requirements are barely EVER offered at CCC’s. For my friend with the 4.0, imo it was clearly because she was missing a prereq.</p>
<p>Overall, I’d avoid ambiguity in your personal statement. Write about being premed if, indeed, you have some/most of your premed reqs done. But if you have say 1 or 2 done, I’d advise against writing about it because Cal wants you in and out ASAP…it allows them to bring in more students and make more money. The semester deferment to spring allows the student to focus on getting those extra prereqs done. </p>
<p>Just my two cents :).</p>
<p>Emil, how do you like the Berkeley philosophy department? I’ve been told by one professor and a couple of students that it sucks, and I’ve even considered not applying at all. But I’d rather hear input from someone who’s there now.</p>
<p>@ Salmos, I ended up majoring in psychology. I’m still here and a senior. However, I have taken a Phil course at Berkeley. I took Ancient Philosophy (25A), and to be honest, I was not greatly impressed. Essentially, borderline grades were decided by attendance, and each week we would have an essay due. To be fair, I did take this class over summer, but basically I thought it was fairly standard. </p>
<p>It was a 5-week course, and each week we would have an essay due, except the first week. Each essay was worth 25% of your grade, so there were 4 essays.</p>
<p>Honestly, the criteria for grading came off as very subjective. The Prof./GSI would write about a paragraph of input per essay and attach a grade, but their input did not strike me as being necessarily correct and often times seemed more like their personal interpretation. Granted, I’m sure I was off at times, but for the most part, I really disagreed with their points. Overall, I don’t have much experience in philosophy at Berkeley, but I can tell you that the average GPA for the major is around a 3.1, which is relatively low, and I can also tell you that the classes, themselves, require an absolute ton of reading (my own experience & friends’).</p>
<p>I would definitely recommend applying and asking others for their opinions! oo one last thing, the philosophy library at Cal is pretty awesome! They have a fireplace, nobody is ever in there, and it’s stacked and stocked with tons of philosophy books. </p>
<p>Hope I helped somewhat, and I wish you the best! Again, I would recommend applying.</p>
<p>@emilsinclair: Hello! Long time no talk! I’m a spring admit as well and I’m excited to start in Spring 2012… However, I’m desperately hoping to change my major as well. I was admitted to Cal as a Philosophy major but my plan is to switch to either Political Science or Political Economy… I do know that it’s possible, but I just don’t know how the process goes… Do I have to do something NOW or do I just wait until CalSO? 
please please give me some advices! Thank you!</p>
<p>By the way, for Political Economy major, I can fulfill all the major requirements by Spring 2012 (my first semester @ Cal). Is it too late? I have like 2 or 3 left…</p>
<p>Hey man, at CalSO you’re going to be paired up with students and facilitators within your own major. That said, you do not have to do anything now, but at CalSO, do join the political econ or science major group. It’s not an issue, and no one will hassle you about it. </p>
<p>After that, you’ll have your CalSO with that group, and you can sign up for classes (presumably within that major). As for finishing up prereqs during spring 2012, that’s totally fine! Do finish them all that semester though, and then declare the major at the end of the semester << you must do this.</p>
<p>In other words, you’re good to go as long as you get those prereqs done first semester! :)</p>
<p>Emil, any input from someone who’s actually there is a ton of help so thank you!</p>
<p>I want my studies to focus on ethics, which is a little unfortunate because most of the professors there have interests in metaphysics, epistemology, math, and the like (the first two I despise and I don’t plan on taking any classes in those areas beyond what’s necessary). I suppose American philosophy is by definition scientific/analytical so I can’t do much about that. Were I in Germany, maybe I’d be studying phenomenology with my tall blonde girlfriend.</p>
<p>As far as the arbitrary grading, I feel ya. Even in community college it can affect your grades in pre-req courses. Good luck with your final year in psychology. And please once you graduate, convince your department heads to free the philosophy department of epistemology and embrace it as their own.</p>
<p>@Emil: thank you! 
So basically at CalSO, they won’t even care what major I applied as right? I can just join Political Economy group? I’m worried if I will be able to sign up all the major req classes I need to take… So until the end of Spring 2012, I don’t declare major? Thank you so much anyways!</p>
<p>Nope! They won’t care what major you applied as. And yes, if you ask, you can just say that you’re going to switch to Political Economy, they’ll be cool with it, and you can go with that group. You should definitely be able to get into all the prereqs you need, as they save spots for transfers.</p>
<p>^^ I had the same concerns switching into psych which is also impacted/high enrollment, but it worked out fine. And as for declaring the major, you can declare it at any time during the semester :). For me, it was at the end.</p>
<p>@ Salmos: I’ve heard over and over again that UCLA has a less analytical philosophy department. It definitely sounds much more up your alley.</p>
<p>Thank you! you’ve been the most helpful ever :)!!! seriously. I thought I should’ve contacted the major department already but now I’m relieved… Thank you! I’m so excited for CalSO for now! although I’m not sure what exactly they do at CalSO</p>
<p>You’re welcome! 
I’m always happy to help. Seriously, I went into CalSO just kind of keeping my fingers crossed that they’d let me slip into (or rather…that I’d have to sneak into) the psych major group. Fortunately, they were totally cool with it!</p>
<p>As for CalSO…do u want a spoiler? lol</p>
<p>Sure! I want to hear everything about CalSO… I’m just too excited! I mean, if you have time haha</p>
<p>Oh and do you know why Cal is so lenient about switching majors? Because I heard that UCLA usually doesn’t let people to switch their major haha…</p>
<p>Pssh I’m pulling an all-nighter already, it’s definitely no problem! :)</p>
<p>At the beginning of CalSO everyone congregates in Dwinelle Auditorium to listen to some of the faculty/board people speak. They talk up Cal a lot (which I liked), and you get some papers/folders with important info…such as drop deadlines, how to register for classes, financial aid options and things like that. Afterward, the students are broken off into groups related to their majors. I actually dabbled in both the phil and psych groups lol! </p>
<p>Somewhere in there, there’s a lunch, and then a few options. You can listen to like 2 presentations out of 10 or so. I opted to choose the research and grad school admissions presentations. The research one helped me figure out how to get an RA position at Haas. :)</p>
<p>Afterward, the students go off with their major groups and pick their classes. It’s your Telebears Phase I, which means that you can only register for up to 10.5 units. Obviously, this is the time to sign up for your most pressing classes. Once you’re done with that (presumably with 9-10 units), you can basically do whatever you want. </p>
<p>Personally, I really liked CalSO because I managed to meet a lot of new people, and I’m still acquainted with a few, and also (weirdly, I became acquainted with a few College Conf. users at my CalSO haha). </p>
<p>Hmmm after all of that, I’d recommend grabbing dinner somewhere in Berkeley with your parents or new pals if you manage to meet a few, and yeah! That’s about it!</p>