I am a 2015transfer student. I have been at cal for one year. I recently struggle a lot about dropping out of this school. (or transfer back to another UC)
I intended major in computer science, and I was admitted to L & S school. I need to take some lower classes for me to declare this major. But I was admitted into EECS in UCSD one year ago. I chose berkeley over UCSD because I think prestige school has better opportunities in job hunting. The fact is, the lower division at cal in CS department are recently extremely harder than past years. Why? More and more students intend to go for CS. In 61b you can see over 1000 people in lecture. the exams are very picky. Many can observe it with the comparison of the past exams. I think I am not be able to declare since the GPA raises to 3.3. I really regret not going to UCSD. Talented people in programming are all over the place. Many sophomores become TAs, but me as a junior level transfer is totally shined out by those people in career fair. Why do I have to go to this school? I can spend 3years at UCSD beside beach and under the sun. I don’t have to bear the unstable weather and coldness in bay area. And their CS programs are definitely comparable from my perspective. UCB is a good school, but the prestige is because it has all the smart and hard-working students. The programs are not that great. They just assign harder exams and homework than normal so that you have to spend more time and learn more stuff than other people.
I don’t want to be a “bad student” because as many transfers know it is so hard for me to get into this school. I should have spent my every day gratefully. However I am not happy honestly. The workload is so heavy. I don’t have any time for social or other fun events. I feel bored and plain studying in this school. And I don’t understand the hype that many EECS major people rank them higher than the other majors, or show off their internship experience.
I have thought deeply about the future. I could have lived a more comfortable life without suffering from CS, but I won’t be able to sustain my life and my mother’s life. She is a single mom. I am a female. What could have left for me if I don’t work hard for a better job?
I hope someone can talk to me, especially someone who really believes that Berkeley is not what I think, Berkeley is a great place for studying, I should not drop out, and so on. I wish i could love this school like everyone around me. But I can’t. It is a hard struggle.
How many classes are you taking this semester?
Perhaps you can consider taking less classes, i.e., three next term.
You can also form a group with your classmates to study together.
I am not taking 4 classes and I still feel heavy…CS70 is discrete math and probability. It is hard.
@springtree First of all, keep your head up through all of this. You’re clearly working hard and your drive to provide for your mother is awesome. Never be afraid to talk to a counselor or a friend if the going gets too rough. And while you should always count your blessings, it’s perfectly okay to acknowledge that you’re not happy at Berkeley right now.
Now, let’s take a look at your situation. I feel like you’re under the impression that your only choice is continuing the miserable grind as pre-CS at Berkeley, and the thought of what could have been at UCSD is keeping you from considering other options right now. I don’t think that’s anywhere close to your only choice, and I don’t think regret over choosing Berkeley will help you at this point. Keep in mind that CS is competitive everywhere and it was never guaranteed that you’d be successful at UCSD. At this point, you should focus on your current situation and the future, not dwell on the past and blame that for your present unhappiness.
Like @StevenToCollege said, you can take steps to improve your academic standing right now. Taking even fewer classes and forming study groups are great options. There are also tutoring services on campus–a quick google search of “Free Berkeley CS Tutoring” helped me learn about free tutoring from Upsilon Pi Epsilon and the Student Learning Center. There’s no reason to not try these out and there’s no shame in doing so–these resources are there to help you. However, you have to consider that the more CS-adept students you’re studying alongside right now will be your competition for jobs in the future. This may sound harsh, but if you don’t feel like you’re enjoying your CS experience right now, I don’t see why you would want to subject yourself to that for the rest of your life.
That brings me to my point: you don’t necessarily have to drop out of Berkeley or transfer elsewhere to find success. Instead, consider your passions and the subjects you’re good at. Are there other majors where you can succeed? My cousin switched from CSE to Materials Science at UCLA and is now working at a large corporation. A lot of UCSD students who aren’t interested in the regular CSE department for whatever reason choose to major in Math or Cognitive Science (maybe look into Cognitive Science with a specialization in Computational Modeling at Berkeley). Whatever you decide to do, just remember to never give up hope and keep your options open. A degree from Berkeley in just about any field can help you make money in the future, as long as you take whatever opportunities you’re given and apply yourself. I hope this helps and feel free to ask if you have any questions or want to talk.
You are receiving some good advice here. My son is currently a student at Cal in CS. He recently told me a story about a young woman who has a 2.9 GPA at Cal and received one of the most competitive summer internships available. I hope you don’t let one class or lower grades discourage you. If you hang in there, the job opportunities are tremendous.
@DoctorP Thank you so much! I am appreciated
@springtree Trust me, they’re not going to care that much of your GPA. You’re going to graduate from Berkeley…you’re going to find a job for sure lol. It’s #3 in the world for EE&CS for a reason :p. You’re going to find a job easily, chillax and enjoy Berkeley :).