<p>Apologies since I know this topic has been discussed many times on CC. Just wanted to clear up some misconceptions on my part:</p>
<p>From what I know, Cal's College of Engineering is much more difficult to get into than any of its other departments, in particular College of Letters and Sciences. Yet Comp Sci majors are offered in both of these departments, and from what I've heard, the content of both these majors remains relatively the same. Additionally, the College of Engineering strongly recommends having good SAT II scores on Math and a Science, whereas College of Letters and Sciences makes no mention of this.</p>
<p>Now, will applying for Comp Sci under College of Letters and Sciences be more feasible for someone like myself, who could care less about B.A. vs. B.S. and is more into it just for the Comp Sci content? Also, will SAT II scores be taken into account at all if I opt to go into Letters and Sciences? (Considering whether or not I should retake them)</p>
<p>Short answer: L&S is easier to get into, so you have a higher chance of getting in and doing CS. </p>
<p>There are a few upsides to EECS (scour the forums), but if you don’t care then there isn’t too big a difference, if any. Can’t speak for the SAT II thing since they were required my year - can’t hurt if they’re high?</p>
<p>L&S is easier to get into like meep said, but sucks if you want to take upper division classes like 188 when you have not declared the major. For example, I know many sophomore EECS kids taking CS61C this semester along with either 188/EE122, two of the most popular upperdivs because of the professors teaching them, but it’s almost impossible for sophomore CS (Undeclared in L&S) kids to take 61C along with any upper div because of their Undeclared status. </p>
<p>Also, HKN (the honor society of EECS) has some perks and whatnot. On the other hand, CS gives you more flexibility of choosing classes and also save you from getting babakued. There are so many things to list. Ask yourself: Would you rather go with taking EE, CS, and a bunch of physics and math, or would you like to do CS, along with humanities like Econ, which opens doors to a possibility of double majoring? Then go with what your heart answers :)</p>
<p>Employment-wise, it’s not much of a difference. SAT II, I don’t know, so just go with other people’ answers.</p>
<p>To build off that, it is still doable to double when in CoE. There are only 3 additional science requirements and 1 extra math class (+EE20/40 and R1b if you get a 5 in lit). Babakues aren’t that bad if you enjoy the material (and don’t fail. hah.). If you really feel like you want to do EECS after getting in, you can try to transfer into CoE if you think you can keep your tech GPA nice and high. </p>
<p>Getting into classes as L&S is a pain though.</p>
<p>Thanks a bunch for the input guys =).</p>
<p>@sparkyboy: You mentioned that there’s difficulty in getting into classes if I opt to enter Letters and Sciences. I realize that all freshmen enter L&S as undeclared, regardless of whatever major they selected on their application. If this is the case, during the first two years, will I be able to take classes geared towards a computer science major?</p>
<p>You should be able to take the lower division prerequisites as an undeclared L&S student:</p>
<p>CS 61A, 61B, 61C, 70
Math 1A, 1B, 54 (depending on AP credit, you may be able to skip 1A, or 1A and 1B)
EE 42</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> L&S CS Students | EECS at UC Berkeley](<a href=“CS Major Information | EECS at UC Berkeley”>CS Major Information | EECS at UC Berkeley)</p>
<p>However, undeclared L&S students have the lowest priority in upper division CS courses (i.e. those numbered 100-199):</p>
<p>[Enrollment</a> Guidelines](<a href=“http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Policies/enrollment.shtml]Enrollment”>Getting Into Computer Science Classes - Google Docs)</p>
<p>Therefore, it is best to complete the lower division prerequisites as quickly as possible and declare the CS major to gain scheduling priority.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus: Thanks for clearing that up, sounds like L&S is the way for me to go. Wish me luck :D.</p>
<p>Quick question: As a current second-year planning on declaring CS next semester (which is when I’ll be completing all of my CS prerequisites), will I be missing out on this scheduling priority when I try to enroll in upper division CS courses for the following Fall 2013 semester? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>^ Yes, you will miss out on phase 1. Once your application goes through, which is likely to be sometime after your spring grades are entered, you will gain the priority for phase 2 which is in July since you will be declared then. It sucks… but yeah. I’m in the same position. No CS188 with Klein next Fall :(</p>
<p>@OneMore: Good luck :)</p>
<p>@sparkyboy: Thanks! Yeah, that really does kinda suck but I guess I could always try to go for lower-demand CS courses. :/</p>