<p>Is the college of chemistry just as competitive as the college of engineering in terms of admissions and students who attend? I was thinking of either majoring in chemistry or chem engineering. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Chem Engineering is very difficult to gain admission to, on par with the College of Engineering. It is one of the hardest majors on campus along with EECS, BioE and etc.</p>
<p>Chemistry is slightly easier than Chem Engineering to gain admission into, but still is harder than L&S admissions which has less competitve admissions as a whole.</p>
<p>If you want to do ChemE, but are afraid of not getting into Cal becuase of your intended major, then you can apply as L&S then transfer to ChemE. Transfer from L&S to CoC during your first semester is guaranteed. It will be harder if you decide to transfer after your first semester because you'll have a UC GPA that might count against you. I've actually talked to the CoC freshman advisor about transferring from L&S to CoC ChemE, and I was quite surprised by this "loophole."</p>
<p>As for the difficulty of ChemE, I've heard that it's very difficult. In fact, ChemE majors have to take 8 more units than EECS majors. Although that isn't exactly a good measure of the difficulty of the major, I'm more than certain it's no pleasant walk in the park.</p>
<p>Wait, beastmaster, do you mean do the 1st semester at L&S, and then transfer, or transfer at the beginning of your 1st semester?</p>
<p>I'm actually not sure that gaining admission into the College of Chemistry is harder than gaining admission into L&S. I have a friend who applied to Berkeley's L&S and was rejected, subsequently repealed several times and was accepted into the College of Chemistry.</p>
<p>CoC is actually pretty easy to get into. Many people who can't handle chemistry or chemE end up switching out, which is probably why.</p>
<p>I agree with nanday0..i switched into CoC from L&S before the first semester started..and it's really easy to do that. I don't think that CoC is actually hard to get into..b/c a lot of people end up switching out after the 1st semester.</p>
<p>Wait, beastmaster, do you mean do the 1st semester at L&S, and then transfer, or transfer at the beginning of your 1st semester?</p>
<p>vicissitudes, I mean transferring before the first semester ends (as long as you don't have a UC GPA yet).</p>
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Chem Engineering is very difficult to gain admission to, on par with the College of Engineering. It is one of the hardest majors on campus along with EECS, BioE and etc.</p>
<p>Chemistry is slightly easier than Chem Engineering to gain admission into, but still is harder than L&S admissions which has less competitve admissions as a whole
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</p>
<p>Uh, no, this is false. There is no difference in the difficulty of ADMISSION between ChemE and chemistry, because the CoC does not admit by major. The difference in difficulty is in the actual COURSES but not in terms of just getting admitted. The only college that has different admissions tiers for different majors is the CoE.</p>
<p>College of Chemistry will be merciless at going medieval on your ass, get ready for F averages on midterms.</p>
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vicissitudes, I mean transferring before the first semester ends (as long as you don't have a UC GPA yet).
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<p>Okay I gotcha. Does the College of Letters and Sciences even offer the 4-series? I thought only the College of Chemistry offers it. Can you take the 4-series while you are in the College of Letters and Sciences?</p>
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Okay I gotcha. Does the College of Letters and Sciences even offer the 4-series? I thought only the College of Chemistry offers it. Can you take the 4-series while you are in the College of Letters and Sciences?
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<p>Actually, it's irrelevant as to whether L&S formally offers the 4-series, because, whether it does or not, you are allowed to take any undergrad class you want from any college/school (subject to possible preference rules given to a college's/school's own students). For example, any undergrad is free to take an undergrad Architecture course, even though those classes are run by the College of Environmental Design. Any undergrad can take an undergrad Plant Biology course even though PB courses are taught by the College of Natural Resources. </p>
<p>Grad courses are different. It is true that, with few exceptions, undergrads are generally not allowed to take, say, law classes at Boalt, or clinical classes at the School of Optometry. But this is fairly common at all schools. Harvard undergrads can't just sign up for advanced surgery classes at Harvard Medical School. Yale undergrads can't just sign up for classes on torts at Yale Law School.</p>
<p>Alright, I wasn't sure on the policy. Thanks for the clarification.</p>
<p>Does that "loophole" apply for only the CoC or for other colleges as well? I want to transfer to CoE into nuclear engineering and/or get a simultaneous major. Should I wait or would it be easier to apply for a transfer now, before the semester is over?</p>
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If you want to do ChemE, but are afraid of not getting into Cal becuase of your intended major, then you can apply as L&S then transfer to ChemE. Transfer from L&S to CoC during your first semester is guaranteed. It will be harder if you decide to transfer after your first semester because you'll have a UC GPA that might count against you. I've actually talked to the CoC freshman advisor about transferring from L&S to CoC ChemE, and I was quite surprised by this "loophole."
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<p>The drawback of this 'loophole' is that if you use it to get into the CoC and then find out that it's too hard, you may not be able to switch back into L&S, because you may have a string of bad Chem/ChemE grades to count against you. Hence, you may be stuck in a major that you don't really want.</p>