<p>For anyone who doesn't know, SCU is a medium-sized, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, CA. Right now I'm trying to choose between that or UC Berkeley.
Price-wise, they're exactly the same cost annually for me (I got a scholarship at SCU)... but I talked to advisors at SCU, and basically I'd be able to graduate in three years because of AP credit, overlapping classes, etc, so that saves me $30k compared to Cal or even $60k if Cal takes me 5 years like UCs tend to do these days. </p>
<p>So... I'm unsure of where to go. After graduation I want to go to law school, which makes a high GPA from college super important... and that's apparently difficult to achieve at Cal. In comparison, SCU is safer, smaller, easier to get classes at, and has a more laid back atmosphere where class sizes are small and you get to know your professors and all that jazz. But on the other hand, Berkeley is Berkeley and it seems exciting and it's well known across the world... but it also seems cutthroat and much more stressful compared to SCU.</p>
<p>So yeah, just looking for advice for choosing between the two... and insight from Cal students who obviously know the school well. I understand you'd be biased, but eh. My priority is whichever will give me a better chance at getting into a good law school, but of course, atmosphere matters too (although, honestly, I can imagine myself happy at both places). Thanks!</p>
<p>Hmmm what’s your intended major at Cal and SCU?
Depending on your AP credits and so on, you definitely have a chance of graduating in 3 years or less at Cal, too.</p>
<p>I’m planning to do PoliSci… as for APs, upon graduation, I’ll have 5. Idk if that’ll make much of a difference at Cal though, because I imagine most people have that much or more… Is graduating in less than 4 years common at Cal? I thought it was the opposite, that it’s hard to graduate even in 4 because it’s so hard to get classes, haha.</p>
<p>Well if anything, I’m doing a double major (poli sci is one of them) in two years. And I’m not a transfer. It’s doable, you just have to be committed.</p>
<p>It’s not exactly common, although it’s hard to tell if that’s because of preference or an inability to do so. There are many reasons why people like to stay for four years.</p>
<p>APs allow you to pass out of some requirements (R&C, Math, etc.) Why does it matter how many APs other people have? Either way it’ll make a difference for you.</p>
<p>Anyway just two things: judicious planning, and determination.</p>
<p>You only have to take two lower-division PoliSci courses before declaring and these are large lecture classes so you shouldn’t have trouble getting a spot. Once you declare the major you will automatically have priority enrollment for all PoliSci courses. One thing I would recommend in order to facilitate graduating early is to take some breadth classes at your local CC over summer. Just make sure to check that the breadths are transferable to Berkeley. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>Oh and another thing you might want to consider - upper div poli sci classes are among the hardest to get into at Cal and some of their WAITLISTS fill up within a week of phase 1 opening. Once you hit upper division, you need to plan very well. It’s more or less impossible to get >2 upper divs per semester.</p>
<p>So, I ended up choosing Cal. Haha it took a while for me to decide, but I’m already feeling good about Cal. I looked into the reqs as you guys mentioned, and you’re right about how I’d get to skip a few of the reqs
Oh, and about the upper division courses… I get that the unit req is 36 units, but how many classes approx. would that be?
And I feel like this may be a complicated answer, but do you have any tips on how to plan my upper division courses “well”, as you mentioned?
Seriously, thanks for the help guys!</p>
<p>70% of entering freshmen in the mid-2000s at Berkeley graduated in 4 years.</p>
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<p>Most courses are 4 units (some are 3 units, and a few other other unit values), so that is usually about 9 or 10 courses. A typical course load is supposed to be about 15 units per semester, usually about 4 courses per semester. 120 units are needed for graduation; your AP tests may have some units which can help you avoid late graduation if you are just a few units short on just Berkeley courses after 8 semesters (or they can help you graduate early if you plan your schedule carefully).</p>
<p>Most political science courses do not require long sequences of prerequisites*, so planning your schedule should not be too difficult. Less popular courses may not be offered every semester; if you want to take them (or have to take them; Political Science 3 may be such a course), you may have to jump on them when available.</p>
<p>*124A lists 5 as a prerequisite; C131A lists economics courses at the tip of a three to five course sequence as a prerequisite. But other upper division courses do not list any prerequistes.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the help you guys. Just one last question, and maybe this one’s a little obvious, but when do freshmen sign up for classes? I’m doing CalSo on June 8th, so is it during/after that? Online, I think I read that you can start signing up for classes April 11th, so I don’t want to be behind and have everything fill up… is it first come first serve for getting classes btw?</p>
<p>Your phase I sign up (up to 10.5 units’ worth) is during CalSO.</p>
<p>Make a larger list of courses than you actually want to take in one semester, so that you have alternatives in case your desired ones are full. As your CalSO date approaches, watch the on-line [Home</a> Page - Online Schedule Of Classes](<a href=“http://schedule.berkeley.edu%5DHome”>http://schedule.berkeley.edu) – if some of your desired ones are full, consider adding additional non-full courses to your list of potential courses.</p>
<p>Remember to take extra care when planning for poli sci upper divs - they are notoriously difficult to get into if you have a late TeleBEARS appointment and places fill up really fast - so have backups if you can and be prepared to adjust your general schedule of courses accordingly if you don’t get a certain class in that semester.</p>
<p>It was because of this that I had to switch my specialisation from IR to American Pol.</p>
<p>Alright, I’ll keep that in mind when I get around to upper div classes; thanks
Btw, does it make a difference which CalSo date you have? Like, does having the earliest CalSo date (June 1) give you an advantage as opposed to a later date (i.e. June 8th) at getting the classes you ask for? In that sense, is it first come first serve?</p>
