<p>See i have a passion for CS but EECS is the top ranked program and im scared a BA will look weak for good companies (google, yahoo, etc) and top grad schools( caltech, stanford, cornell).
any input. are those attainable with a BA?</p>
<p>It is not the type of degree, ba vs bs, but the place it came from that matters. Hard to imagine that an employer wouldn’t consider a Berkeley CS degree or EE degree top notch. Look at all the people hired by silicon valley firms who come out of Cal (or who become founders of startups there).</p>
<p>yea that makes sense, i just cant get over the BA. but ionno i have to think about it. any other opinion appreciated.</p>
<p>Okay well, most employers will look at your transcript and the classes that you took. The only difference in classes are at the lower div level. EECS students have to take Physics 7A, 7B, EE20 and EE40 on top of the CS61 series and CS70. And even L&S students take EE42, which is a ‘watered-down’ version of EE40. So you’re only missing a physics and the signals and systems class which you could take on your own. After that, upper div/electives are all the same.</p>
<p>OP, with your stats, Berkeley - as a whole - is a reach. For either CS or EECS, it’s super reach. However, if youc an improve your SATs to 2300, your chances would go up. Berkeley is getting more competitive every year. 5 years ago, you would have been in the mid rage of the accepted students. based on last year’s data, you’re not even in the top 50% - 60%. Both you GPA and SATs are low for Berkeley, and I guessthey’re significant low for either CS or EECS. Perhaps the only way to make it to Berkeley is to increase your SAT to 2300. below that would hurt your chances terribly.</p>
<p>well cs is in letters and science, so i am not competing against cs people rather everyone at berkeley. I know its a reach but i am looking for my best shot. and my gpa is above the average.</p>
<p>[University</a> of California - Admissions](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles/camp_profiles_ucb.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/selecting/camp_profiles/camp_profiles_ucb.html)</p>
<p>well from what i have read, you dont apply to CS, you apply to college of letters and science and then you pick after freshman or sophomore year. So from that i would think that it is easier to get into CS.</p>
<p>But so in your oppinion there isnt much difference and i should go for the EECS?</p>
<p>the average UW gpa for berkeley is 3.93 and yours is only 3.9. The average SATs for berkeley is 2085 and yours is below 2000. </p>
<p>both CS and EECS are oversubscribed programs. their acceptance rates are significantly lower than the rest of the university. for example, according to the 2009 data the acceptance rate for berkeley is 26%. but for the college of engineering it’s ony 17% and only 13% for EECS and CS (of L&S). I dont have the detailed data for this year yet, but i’m guessing they’re not any different from last year’s or last, last year’s. </p>
<p>and lastly, not because CS is in L&S makes it less selective. berkeley’s admissions are different from the Ivies. at berkeley it is the department that ultimately choose their students.</p>
<p>here’s the latest data for Berkeley. <a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/freshmen.asp[/url]”>http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/freshmen.asp</a></p>
<p>and, again, historically, both EECs and CS are oversubscribed programs, so its just natural that their students have scores and stats that would make them in the upper 30% or so of the data set.</p>
<p>again, aim for 2300 and you’ll probably be fine. ECs are just as important too.</p>
<p>well from what i have read, you dont apply to CS, you apply to college of letters and science and then you pick after freshman or sophomore year. So from that i would think that it is easier to get into CS.</p>
<p>But so in your oppinion there isnt much difference and i should go for the EECS?</p>
<p>im not sure what happened?hhahah</p>
<p>yes, but CS does have requirements and the slots are much lower compared to EECS. if you like the EE side of CS then I suggest that you apply for EECS. otherwise, go for CS. I also believe that CS is slightly more lenient - in terms of admissions. That is just my personal belief, however. </p>
<p>BTW, I applied for CS (about 10 years ago) and wasn’t accepted, so I am not a Cal alumnus.</p>
<p>yes. i know my stats are a little low, but i am more focused on applying to places and things i want to do. I dont want to apply to CS because it is easier and then not go because i dont want to get a BA. Obviously EECS is better but the name berkeley is also very important too…</p>
<p>Actually, RML, L&S CS is easier to get into. CoE applicants apply to the major as freshmen, but L&S are all admitted undeclared, so they’re on an even playing field. The major itself might be impacted when you apply junior or sophomore year, but to get into L&S as CS is the same as getting into L&S as an Ethnic Studies major. </p>
<p>But you’re right mc matches L&S way more, and it might be a slight reach given the low SAT scores.</p>
<p>WAIT???
so if i applied to L&S and i got in and went, i still might not get into CS? that is the only thing i want to do. Would that possibly be a waste of time</p>
<p>thanks for the clarrification, eyeheartphysics. but shouldn’t you tick the box of your intended major when applying for CS as a freshman applicant? that used to be the case, i believe. </p>
<p>mccormickt12, yes, that was I was trying to say. even if you already are in L&S as undeclared major, you’d still need to apply for CS after completing certain requirements and I believe CS accpets only 80 or so students per year.</p>
<p>Because i read that you dont apply for your major if L&S, so if i went and applyed for CS after 2 years what would i do if i didnt get in?
does that happen often
or do most people get in?</p>
<p>^ that’s one of the cons if you’ll go for L&S first because the CS part is under the College of Engineering, from what i understood. The pre-reqs are only taken at L&S and all majors will then be at CoE. Now, if CS won’t accept you, perhaps you will end up majoring in something you’re not really interested in. </p>
<p>can someone form L&S answer this please? I also want to hear the answer to the question.</p>
<p>Okay so, I’m in CoE, but I know about the L&S bureacracy.</p>
<p>@RML: I believe CS used to be impacted because of the dot com boom back in the late 90’s which might be why it’s different now. It’s not impacted anymore. It’s not required to tick the right box as a freshmen, it just shows what you’re interested in. It can help or hurt you if your personal statements reflect a correspondence to your intended major. Applying to the actual majo was the difficult part, but now, as long as you meet the GPA requirement, you’ll get into CS L&S.</p>
<p>If you don’t get into CS at L&S, you probably shouldn’t major in it. The GPA requirement is something like a 3.0 I believe. If you’re not pulling a 3.0 in the intro classes [except maybe the first if you’re new to CS] you might want to rethink your plans. </p>
<p>As far as other options, the applied math major with a cs minor is an option to look into if you like technical classes, which it seems is the case.</p>
<p>So as long as you have a 3.0 you will get into the CS major?
And i am writing my essays about computer science</p>
<p>I believe so, yes. I wouldn’t write both essays about CS though, unless you’ve made stuff for a company or something; the readers like to see breadth.</p>
<p>Thanks again, eyeheartphysics. you’ve just cleared out some clouds… </p>
<p>in that case, CS is the safest route, mccormickt12.</p>