Hello, I’m a prospective CS student who will apply to Cal as a transfer student. I’m currently attending a CA community college, however my school doesn’t have courses that are comparable to CS 61A, CS 61C, and CS 70. Should I take one or all of the 3 CS courses mentioned at Cal’s summer session 2017? Or should I wait until I’m a Cal student (if I get accepted)? Also, should I complete IGETC or the L&S requirements instead (which one is easier)? EECS or BA in CS? If I transfer in as CS student (BA degree), can I double major in business or something else? I have so many questions, sorry.
Are those courses prereqs for Transfer?
You should talk to a counselor at your school-- or better yet look up when a transfer counselor from a UC visits.
Don’t take it at UCB if you’re not admitted. It would be better if you are admitted so you know that you will actually be attending. If you don’t get in and take those courses then you might just waste your money since wherever you end up may not take those credits. Also I think if you take a course at a 4-year while attending a CC you would be affected by transfer unit limits unlike other CC students. If you get in to UCB, then you can take it the summer before the Fall term you’re planing on attending. Ex: If you get in for Fall 2017 then you should take it during Summer 2017.
It’s better to complete IGETC, since IGETC will satisfy requirements at most schools in the event you don’t get in to UCB.
EECS admits into the major while CS admits into the school and you’ll have to declare the CS major after completing the pre-reqs (CS 61A, 70, etc) with a certain GPA. EECS is a lot more competitive since it’s in the College of Engineering and a direct admit major. If you don’t get in to the major when you apply, you don’t get into UCB. CS on the other hand isn’t guaranteed. You’ll get in to the school first as undeclared, the College of Letters and Science, then have to try to declare the major which is difficult. If you’re willing to do a similar major (ex: Math) then CS might be a better choice since you can still take CS courses as a Math major and maybe even minor.
Double major in Business will probably be very unlikely if possible. You’ll have to complete the lower division CS courses to declare the major, then complete the upper division courses, all within 2 years (UCB grants an additional semester if you’re missing technical courses when you transfer). Also Haas has a separate admission process, which again isn’t guaranteed and very competitive. A minor in something else in the College of Letters and Science may be more likely, but again this will depend on how fast you can finish your requirements for your first major first.
After entry to UCB L&S, declaring the L&S CS major requires completing CS 61A, 61B, 70 with a 3.30 GPA or higher. https://eecs.berkeley.edu/resources/undergrads/cs/transfer-prereqs
If you do take some of CS 61A, 61B, 70 at UCB before applying, you may know from grades earned how likely you will be able to enter L&S CS. For example, suppose you take CS 61B-equivalent at CCs, and take CS 61A and 70 at UCB summer session, earning A grades in both (4.0 GPA). Then you know that if you get into L&S, you will be able to declare L&S CS. But if your CS 61A and 70 grades were B grades (3.0 GPA), then you know that taking the L&S CS route is not possible for you (though EECS is so competitive that your chances of admission would be much smaller in that case).