Computer Science at Cal (Chances?)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Hey everyone,
I'm interested in pursuing a degree in computer science, but I don't know whether I want to apply to L&S or CoE...I know CoE is more competitive and I know L&S doesn't guarantee you a computer science major until junior year; with that in mind, I'm leaning towards CoE just because of the safety it offers. I have a briefing of my stats. Would it be wiser for me to apply for L&S, or should I attempt CoE knowing it is more competitive?</p>

<p>Male/South Asian (India)
California Resident
Cumulative Academic GPA: 3.86 UW/4.41 W/4.09 UC GPA? I don't know how to calculate UC GPA...</p>

<p>SAT I: 2160 (Failed to improve in October :()
690CR
780M
690W (66MC/10Essay)</p>

<p>SAT II:
Math IIC: 800
Physics: 760 (Sigh)
US History: 680 (Ehh..I don't plan on submitting this as part of my UC app, although colleges will see it on my full score report)</p>

<p>AP:
5 - Phys C: Mech, Calc AB, Calc BC (subscore 5), Comp Sci A, Eng Lang, US History
4 - Chemistry ( Not proud)</p>

<p>Transcript:
9 Geometry A/A
9 Algebra 2 A/A
9 Chemistry A/A
9 Modern World History A/B
9 Freshman English 1 A (1st semester)
9 Freshman English Honors A (2nd semester)
9 Introduction to Programming C++ (Honors) A (1st semester)
9 Video Production A (2nd semester)
Total freshman GPA: 3.92 UW</p>

<p>10 Math Analysis A/A (equivalent of pre-calculus)
10 AP Calculus AB B/A
10 AP Chemistry A/A
10 Development of Western Civilizations B (1st semester)
10 English Sophomore English Honors B/A
10 French 1 A/A
10 Computer Science Honors 2 (Java) A (2nd semester)
Total sophomore GPA: 3.75 UW</p>

<p>11 Calculus CD (Honors) A/A
11 AP Physics C A/A
11 AP United States History A/A
11 AP English Language A/B
11 French 2 A/A
11 AP Computer Science A A/A
Total junior GPA: 3.92 UW</p>

<p>Senior year, I am taking: AP Statistics, Biology (received A/A already...summer school), AP Environmental Science, AP English Literature, AP Art History, French 3, AP Comparative Gov't. I'm hoping this schedule shows my continued pursuit of high-leveled academics.</p>

<p>Essays: I am a decent writer</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
-3 academic teams (3 years for two, 1 year for the last. Captain of one team. We do fairly well, so we are highly recognized)
-Cofounder and president of Bridging the Gap (a program that allows high schoolers to interact with senior citizens and middle schoolers)
-Varied participation in several clubs (No officer position)
-Internship at a university sophomore year
-Volunteer/intern for an environmental facility that takes care of an estuary (2 years and counting)
-Tutoring (3 yrs...several high-level subjects)
-Religious study group for one year (COMPLETE failure, but my mom made me do it for a year. Don't ask...)
-Former world record holder for a hobby puzzle (Recognized and published in Europe. Recognized in US)
-Featured in a full-length documentary (currently in the process of getting funding for mass distribution. Sent to various film festivals ie. LA Film Festival)
-Pomona Wisconsin (1 year. Honorable Mention, I think. I don't remember...Haha )
-AMC 12 (3 years, but didn't qualify for AIME al;lasdhf augh, sickening)
-USACO (Computer Science Olympiad) competitor</p>

<p>I was the only junior in second year calculus, and I was the only student to take Calc AB as a sophomore in my school. In comparison to other schools, it may not be much, but in context of my school (and a class of ~800 students), I hope it's a distinguishing factor.</p>

<p>I'm hoping CoE isn't a huge reach...If it is, should I attempt L&S? My other prospective major is Chemistry. Would applying to CoC be any better than applying to CoE?</p>

2

<p>Oh, if it matters...
-I'm the first from my family to attend college (son of immigrant parents)
-School does not rank
-School is highly competitive</p>

<p>Thank you for any responses :)</p>

3

<p>probably a slight reach, just bc SATs could be better (though they are very good), and you are applying to the most competitive school in CoE. I think CoC is just as competitive.</p>

4

<p>I'd say you stand a decent chance at EECS. Your writing and critical reading scores are a bit low, but your math and science scores look good. I think a lot of EECS people are like this anyways. </p>

<p>And also, if you are certain that you want to study just pure CS, then perhaps doing CS in L+S would be better. The CS major is no longer impacted, which means you can declare it as long as you have finished all the prereqs and have passed all of them with a C- or higher. </p>

<p>Though L+S would be easier to get into, EECS in the CoE would offer more opportunity. You could supplement your CS courses with some EE. Also you would also be able to reap the benefits of being under a department already instead of being undeclared until having completed the prereqs.</p>

5

<p>I think I'm slightly confused regarding CS at CoE and CS at L&S...Is it possible to do pure CS at CoE? Although I could be wrong, I'm honestly not very interested in EE at this moment, but I do want to be under a department without having to complete prereqs. Would CS with some EE padding open up broader opportunities in terms of research, etc.?</p>

6

<p>if you want an EECS degree you need to take at least ee20n (basic signals and systems), ee40 (basic circuits), multivariable calc, and linear algebra</p>

<p>cs (which is through the l&s department) has some 7 course breadth requirement, meaning you have to take one class of each of the following:
* Arts and Literature (language instruction excluded)
* Biological Science
* Historical Studies
* International Studies
* Philosophy and Values
* Physical Science
* Social and Behavioral Sciences </p>

<p>personally i think the former courses will be more worth while for you. just apply for EECS. as long as you write passionately about engineering in your personal statement, there's a pretty slim chance of your getting rejected.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
Physics: 760 (Sigh)
4 - Chemistry ( Not proud)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What is this?</p>

<p>Anyway, you have a strong GPA and SAT, and your ECs are good. I'd say you're a match for Berkeley. You stand a good shot of getting into CoE, though obviously it's more difficult.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Although I could be wrong, I'm honestly not very interested in EE at this moment, but I do want to be under a department without having to complete prereqs.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Really, it's fine. You just do the classes required to get into the major, get at least a 2.0, and you're in. L&S CS has been uncapped, so you don't have to worry about declaring your major and being afraid you won't get in. If you just want to do pure CS, no EE, then apply to L&S; you stand a better chance of getting into Berkeley.</p>

8

<p>CoE is actually harder to get in from major to major. EECS is one of those harder to get into majors. I would strongly suggest you go for L&S. One of my roommates and plenty of my friends are taking the first CS/EECS class CS 61A and its pwning them badly. That class is a weeder class. If you go for CoE as EECS and discover you hate Berkeley CS, you're f'ed into becoming an electrical engineer; if you go for CS in L&S you have an extremely broad field of alternatives.</p>

9

<p>"Physics: 760 (Sigh)
4 - Chemistry ( Not proud)
What is this?"
Kyledavid, that's just self-deprecation because I honestly expected a tiny bit better on both those tests. Sorry about that. Thanks for your input. I hope your predictions are correct. They're terribly reassuring :) </p>

<p>I'm not too keen on taking humanities classes, but I don't want to jeopardize admission. If I apply to CoE, would my chances of acceptance drop significantly? Slight reach --> reach? </p>

<p>The thing about L&S is that I don't want to take six courses in fields that don't pertain to my prospective major(s). I understand that I can take courses for both chemistry and computer science in L&S, but I'm sure I don't want to major in any field remotely close to international studies or philosophy. </p>

<p>I read a few websites and student blogs, and right now, I'm not too worried about hating Berkeley CS and becoming an electric engineer. My main concern is losing admission to Cal because of the school I pick. If my test scores weren't as weak, I'd probably stand a better chance, but I guess they are what they are.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
I'm not too keen on taking humanities classes

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You won't have to, for the most part. There are plenty of CS courses to take -- not to mention math courses and other science courses to take, too.</p>

<p>
[quote]
If I apply to CoE, would my chances of acceptance drop significantly? Slight reach --> reach?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's difficult to say. General Berkeley admissions are already very selective -- near 20% acceptance rate. Since engineering is even more selective, it gets harder to tell your chances. As a rough estimate, though, I'd say a slight reach if you were to apply to CoE.</p>

<p>
[quote]
The thing about L&S is that I don't want to take six courses in fields that don't pertain to my prospective major(s).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, look at it like this: very often the breadth requirements can be satisfied with a course within your own major. Sometimes, you have to go outside your major, but you usually can stay away from humanities. For example, there are quite a few CS courses that satisfy the historical studies requirement. Of course, you might have to take a humanities course or two, as for the arts/lit requirement. But it really isn't much, and I'm sure you could find at least one course that interests you. And ask yourself: would you rather be in the CoE and take EE courses and such, even though you're interested in pure CS (not to mention you'd jeopardize your chances of getting into Berkeley at all)?</p>

<p>
[quote]
but I'm sure I don't want to major in any field remotely close to international studies or philosophy.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, nobody's forcing you to.</p>

<p>As an added note, part of the reason for L&S's breadth requirements is to get you to expand your horizons -- explore new intellectual interests, etc. It isn't so terrible to take courses not in your major. (Believe me, I had the same attitude -- I stayed away from LACs because I didn't like the idea of being required to take on a core or huge distribution requirements, but I'm still open to new things.)</p>

11

<p>also remember you have to take a bunch of humanities classes within the CoE too (<a href="http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/current_students/hssreq.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/current_students/hssreq.pdf&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

<p>oh and someone i know was rejected from the EECS major last year with a 2290, 3.9 uw/4.2 uc</p>

<p>so i'll retract my earlier statement and suggest you just apply for the pure CS major. you could always transfer into the CoE from L&S later</p>

12

<p>Mother of hell, okay. I think I will be applying to L&S...Slightly off-topic question: in the link bob posted, it says two out of the six required courses can be completed through AP credit. To the extent of my knowledge, I thought Cal treats AP credit as general credit...Is there any system that allows me to use my AP credit?</p>

<p>Also, non-CoE students can take classes such as multivar or linear algebra freshman year, right? I took introductory multivariable calculus in high school, and I'd like to take linear algebra. I studied the latter subject up to eigenvectors last summer, so I'm interested in it now.</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
Also, non-CoE students can take classes such as multivar or linear algebra freshman year, right?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yup, if you can opt out of the pre-reqs. See this:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/csugrad/freshman-samples.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/csugrad/freshman-samples.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>