<p>Very soon, thousands of students will celebrate their admittance into the University of California at Berkeley. We, current Cal students and alumni welcome you!</p>
<p>We (current students and alumni) have created this topic with the goal of addressing any questions you may have (academics, dorm food, housing, social scene, etc).</p>
<p>Once again, congratulations!</p>
<p>Hi,
I was accepted into the College of Engineering. Does that mean I'm in for sure as an Engineering Undeclared (my designated major)? Or does Cal, like UCSD, send a separate letter indicating admission or rejection to impacted majors? A week after UCSD posted admission decisions I received my rejection letter to their Bioengineering program :(</p>
<p>Besides engineering, what are some majors that berkeley is known for?</p>
<p>ya. i also got into "college of engineering", not sure what it meant. Now that i think about it, my acceptance seemed very general, and i had to double check and reread it two or three times to make sure it meant i got in. When do we find out if we got into the major we applied to?</p>
<p>Law and medicine are great at Cal too.</p>
<p>Cal doesn't have a medical school.</p>
<p>OKAY. so here goes my questions :D</p>
<ol>
<li>how's food?</li>
<li>how's dorm? (are you guys serious about co-ed bathrooms???)</li>
<li>any comment on social life?</li>
<li>can you participate in researches relatively easily?(sciences..) when can you start participating in them?</li>
<li>do they actually "weed out" bottom 25% at the end of freshman year?</li>
<li>is it easy to change majors?</li>
<li>i don't expect too much attention from professors since Berkeley's HUGE. but are they approachable? i mean, when we want to go for help or something, are they there for us?</li>
<li>is it really that hard to graduate within 4 years? even with AP credits??</li>
</ol>
<p>okay. i should stop now.
ANY kind of comments on these questions would make me happy/// and grateful!! thank you soooo much!</p>
<p>-happyggal</p>
<p>LetMeIntoCal and JahxnBahx, how it worked last year for me was they sent me in paper form which department I was accepted into, which happened to be bioE. Not sure about undeclared.</p>
<p>happyggal,
1. how's food?
the food varies depending where you live, but for a summary, clark kerr has the best because the athletes live there, then crossroads have the second best. foothill and unit 3 food isn't too good.
2. how's dorm? (are you guys serious about co-ed bathrooms???)
Yes, the bathrooms are co-ed, but don't be scared! it's really not a big of a deal. people who are about to shower/finish showering DO cover up their body, and your floor can agree to buy a radio to sound out the noises when one goes to the bathroom.
3. any comment on social life?
social life: if you want to party, there are parties to go to. if you want quiet, you can have quiet. it's really up to you; however, usually you need some connections to get into the better parties via knowing fraternity/sorority/co-op students.
4. can you participate in researches relatively easily?(sciences..) when can you start participating in them?
Research is quite competitive- you'd need good grades to be able to compete against other students. If you are an under-represented minority, that is a plus because there are programs that give URM many opportunities. Summer research on campus is usually less competitive than research opportunities during the school year.
5. do they actually "weed out" bottom 25% at the end of freshman year?
Hope someone else can answer this. However, I can tell you that many lower div courses are designed to be weeder courses in which 35% of the students in a class must receive a C or lower.
6. is it easy to change majors?
Depends. Unless you want to switch into an impacted major, it is relatively easy- two popular impacted courses in L&S are economics and Mass Comm. Haas is VERY difficult. Changing majors within the College of Engineering or attempting to transfer into the college of engineering is very difficult.<br>
7. i don't expect too much attention from professors since Berkeley's HUGE. but are they approachable? i mean, when we want to go for help or something, are they there for us?
Yes. All professors have office hours every single week. From my experiences thus far, the professors are very helpful during office hours, so don't be afraid to meet up with them.
8. is it really that hard to graduate within 4 years? even with AP credits??
It is up to you. There is a set number of classes you have to take in order to graduate in time, and you have to decide whether you are able to take x amount of units every semester while maintaining sanity, grades and social life.</p>
<p>My responses were pretty brief, so if you have any more questions on those or new ones feel free to ask :)!</p>
<ol>
<li>how's food?
Dorm food, as unlimitedx has posted, is not too bad. If you feel like eating out, there are restaurants for anything and everything here.<br></li>
<li>any comment on social life?
It's a huge school with a huge population. You can't possibly NOT find someone that you can get along with.<br></li>
<li>can you participate in researches relatively easily?(sciences..) when can you start participating in them?
I would have to say no. Getting into a good lab position is difficult because you usually need top grades. I remember hearing that for MCB in particular, there is only 1 undergrad research position (in the labs) available for every 5 students.<br></li>
<li>i don't expect too much attention from professors since Berkeley's HUGE. but are they approachable? i mean, when we want to go for help or something, are they there for us?
All of my professors here so far are accommodating and helpful. They do have office hours, and most of them schedule extra office hours the week before midterms of finals.</li>
<li>is it really that hard to graduate within 4 years? even with AP credits??
No, people do it all the time. If I weren't planning on completing two majors, I could graduate in 4 years, even though I am a transfer (3.5, actually, since I only spent 1.5 years in community college).</li>
</ol>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>omg thank you soooooo much, unlimitedx and biochemist12, for your answers.. that really helped:)
it's hard to participate in researches..huh. kinda expected but still that kinda sucks.
ehh, i really have to make a decision now... i don't know what to do!!</p>
<p>THANK YOU AGAIN!!</p>
<p>-happyggal</p>
<p>Do you have any suggestions on how to get into Haas (Undergrad)? Any secret tips (feel free to PM me them ;)).</p>
<p>Well I did read a co-ed business frat who advertised their 99% Haas acceptance rate...</p>
<p>Other than that, you just gotta work harder than a lot of people.</p>
<p>how are the asian girls at berkeley?</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>"Well I did read a co-ed business frat who advertised their 99% Haas acceptance rate..."</p>
<p>Is that Alpha Kappa Psi? Only pledgies with high GPAs can get into AKPsi in the first place, so that's not too surprising. The overall accept rate is 13%.</p>
<p>So there's a chance I might be redirected to a non-impacted engineering major?</p>
<p>Is it required for freshmen to live on campus?</p>
<p>^No, but it would be fun!</p>
<p>"So there's a chance I might be redirected to a non-impacted engineering major?"</p>
<p>I really have no idea. BUT, they will send you something in the mail indicating which major you got into, so you have plenty of time to decide.</p>
<p>When can I expect this letter?</p>
<p>im guessing pretty soon right?
cuz decision came out today.. and im pretty sure that they sent out mails today...</p>