<p>Alright, so this is my first semester in CC and I didn't do as well as I would have liked. I really want to go to UC Berkeley for either Economics or Applied Mathematics.</p>
<p>My grades this semester: (14credits)</p>
<p>Econ macro A-
Art Hist B
US hist B
Intro to engineering A
Trig C+ (non transferable)</p>
<p>UC GPA 3.31</p>
<p>Next semester: (18 credits)</p>
<p>PreCalculus
Econ Micro
World Religions
English
Music appreciation</p>
<p>What do you guys think? Do I still have a chance to bring my GPA up? Enough for econ at UCB? Also, what sort of EC"s should I start adding? I volunteer for a relay for life (cancer society) about 100 hours a year.</p>
<p>A 3.3 is still good for a first semester. You definitely have time to bring it up to 3.6~3.9 by the time you apply.</p>
<p>Why are you taking 18 credits next semester? That’ll definitely make it more difficult to do well. I suggest decreasing your courseload somewhat. I’m not saying it’s impossible to do well with an 18 unit courseload, but you’re definitely endangering your chances of obtaining a GPA high enough to get accepted to Berkeley in an impacted major such as Economics.</p>
<p>In regards to ECs, I suggest joining or starting your own economics club, interning at a business and other econ-related things.</p>
<p>In order to be competitive for admissions I should have my GE out of the way and I never took a language in high school, which makes me have to double up. One way I could cut it down is instead of taking calc based physics class and take something like geology with a lab. But other than that, I have a ton of classes to get done if I want to transfer in two years.</p>
<p>I think you can complete your requirements in the normal amount of time without having to take such heavy courseloads, but you’ll have to take classes in the summer and winter and enroll in those sessions as a full time student. I could be wrong on this, though, and I admit that. If I am wrong, all I have to say to you is to be careful in each of your semesters and to refrain from procrastinating. It’ll be detrimental to your academic career, but I guess you already know that.</p>
<p>Good luck. Economics at UC Berkeley is a fantastic program.</p>
<p>Thank you, we do have summer courses but unfortunately no winter courses. I could drop down to 15 this semester and still get it done on time (by utilizing the summer). Do you go to UCB for Econ? If so, could you share some insight on the program? All I know pretty much is that it is top of the line.</p>
<p>Does your CC GPA actually utilize the +/- system? At most CCs a B (80-89%) is a 3.0 and an A (90-100) is a 4.0. I know someone applying this year to UCB Econ with a 4.0 GPA. To be competitive you will need to get a 3.8+ GPA. The Bs in your GEs and the C in Trig worry me. Did you not use rate my professor . com or are you naturally struggling with those subjects?</p>
<p>Last semester I took Comparative Politics, Ethics, Geology w/ lab, Financial Accounting and Calculus 1. I got all As. Granted I know a bit of accounting from HS and I was studying calc the summer prior. Regardless you will need a similar course load (or more difficult) if you want to be competitive. </p>
<p>Since the C isn’t transferable you still have a good shot IF you can pull off all As from now on. I wouldn’t drop units. You are better off doing 18 units for 3 semesters + 6-7 units in the summer and then 0 in the spring prior to transfer.</p>
<p>I did not use rate my professor and later on when I found out about it I checked and all my professors were rated 2.6 or below (one had a 1.6). I do not blame my bad grades on the fact I didn’t use rate my professor though. Others got A’s, so it is very well possible I could have as well. My CC does use +/- grades as far as I am aware. </p>
<p>I think taking 18 units this semester and then 7 during the summer will be good for me now that I found easier professors. Also, now that I understand how college works. Next fall and spring I will be taking around 16 each and hopefully this will bring up my GPA enough to be accepted. Do you know if you are able to put down a alternate major? Because I would be willing to go ECON or Applied math</p>
<p>lol, no, I’ don’t go to UC Berkeley, but what little I know about UC Berkeley’s econ program and I suppose for UC Berkeley in general is that it is extremely rigorous…you have to be on your A-game every day in that program.</p>
<p>@TheKracken5 it’s only your first semester bro. I think you are starting off just fine. When I first started I had 2 B’s, 1 A and a C in a nontransferable class. This was my first time back in school after taking a 5 year break, serving my country. I have been on a heavy upward trend of 4.0 semesters since then. I think once you use RMP you will bring that GPA up.</p>
<p>Good Luck </p>
<p>Take advantage of every resource the school offers. tutoring, join groups, office hours, etc. Do what ever it takes to get the grade you desire.</p>
<p>Alternate Majors usually aren’t considered even at the schools that have them. Finish Calc 1 and then decide if you want to continue the math route. One of the reasons I choose to apply for business instead of econ at Berkeley was because I didn’t want to do any more math. Econ is a very math heavy at schools like UCLA/UCB.</p>
<p>To recap, to maximize your chances of getting into UCB for Econ: use rate my professor and find the easiest profs. Then load up on units; 17+ a semester. Take easy science classes, geology & marine science instead of chemistry or physics. Work on keeping that gpa high.</p>
<p>Alright, so I have the option to take a class called “Explore Leadership” which makes you apart of the student government essentially. Would this course be better to take ( I am sure it has less homework and it is 3 units) than lets say world religigions? And get I can still be on track for two years.</p>
<p>I doubt a course called “explore leadership” fulfills as a IGETC or Breadth Req so I probably wouldn’t take it. </p>
<p>One of the reasons I say keep your units high is because 20 units at CC level is the equivalent of 12 units in a competitive major like UCB Econ. So if you show that you can handle that kind of course load it really helps establish your credibility. </p>
<p>The other reason is because I’ve met a few crazy people that are taking 22-27 units a semester.</p>
<p>Well I will try to petition for the cap to be removed take another online course. But other than that I have to stick with 18 (no one unit course I can take worth my time)</p>
<p>Do you think it would be a good idea to take a semester off at all? If I take my 18 (or 15) now and then next year take courses and then next fall take calculus 2 and differential equations. If the spring before transfer I go travel. Or possibly get an internship or something.</p>
<p>Econ is really competitive. I have above a 3.8 and I don’t think my chances are that great. </p>
<p>I definitely would reconsider doing Applied Math though, especially considering you didn’t have the best time with Trig and haven’t even gotten to Calc I yet. It has one of the lowest, if not the lowest average GPA at UCB. The whole Calc series isn’t really difficult in the sense of actual Calc, but instead computation and your strength in arithmetic and trig especially. I would not take a semester off, you still have 6 or 7 (if your school has discrete math) math classes to complete including precalc. Once you finish Calc I and II reassess your goals. Taking a low amount of units will only drag your CC time out and at a place like UCB, they want you out in 2 years, and they would look and wonder if you can handle a strong course load of upper division classes.</p>
<p>For Econ if you do well in Calc I and Calc II and your next Econ class and got your GPA up you’d have a good chance, or could consider Applied Math after some more exposure. Don’t overwhelm yourself by planning to take Calc II and DE at the same time. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>At my college, Calc III is a prerequisite for DE. Don’t know whether or not that’s the same for you. I think that you should try to figure out whether you want Economics or Applied Math and try to gear your schedule toward preparing you for that major, because you’re going to have to go a lot higher in math for AM than Econ.</p>
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<p>Are you going to have at least 60 units? Even if you cram in 18 units in the coming spring and fall terms, you’re only going to have 50 units. If Calc II and DE are 5 units each, I suppose that gets you to 60, but you’ll have to make sure that you’re allowed to be only a part-time student the semester before transferring. Really you should just stick to taking full schedules each semester. </p>
<p>Don’t jeopardize the quality of your undergraduate education for one semester of travel or a spring internship. If you’re really intent on traveling or pursuing an internship, travel in the summer or do a part-time internship while still being a full-time student. As long as you don’t have a crazy difficult last semester, you should be able to make enough time for it.</p>