My son took AP computer science, VS.net ,java , AP Calculus AB and BC and other AP courses in his high school. Will these courses give him enough background to do well in CS 61A, CS61B, CS 70 courses . What else he should do to do well in these courses. He really wants to do BA in CS. Any other guidance for doing well in these three courses or any preparation during summer break he should do? Your help is highly appreciated. Thanks
Even though these classes are difficult, it’s certainly possible to get good grades in them.
My son is taking CS 61A at Berkeley this semester.
And during last semester, he previewed the materials by watching some of the videos and doing some of the tests.
Currently, he is doing quite well in the class.
If your son already took Java at community college, he might be able to waive the CS 61B (my son’s friend did this).
However, I don’t really recommend that as the kid is currently struggling a bit in CS 61C.
I plan to study CS over the summer (I have basically 0 experience with CS) and I plan to switch from Mechanical Engineering to EECS. How tough would it be for me to get As in all the CS lower division classes? (I need to do well in them to successfully switch).
My son is pursuing Mechanical Engineering at Berkeley now, and he is currently thinking about dual major in ME/EECS. He mentioned that he had already talked to his adviser, and the adviser basically told him that he can petition for the dual major when he completes two CS classes and get decent grades in them. All As are probably overkill. Well, we will see how that turns out.
You can check the grade distribution at the following link.
Most of the classes have B average.
https://schedulebuilder.berkeley.edu/explore/department/SP/2016/53
@StevenToCollege I’ve seen the grade distributions before but I’m just a little afraid to believe in them because I have a feeling a majority of the students have already had experience with coding and they would spike up the curve and I would fall behind. I was also thinking about dual majoring in MechE/EECS (I am an incoming freshman for MechE) but I felt that would be way too much 
I’ve heard 1 engineering major is already killer, 2 would mean I would never see the sun again so I just decided to pick one and I’ve decided it would be EECS 
Do you have lots of AP credits that you can transfer to Berkeley?
It’s definitely doable if you plan your schedule right.
His current schedules, lower-division, are a bit hectic. He is also taking Summer classes only for this Summer.
Therefore, by the time he starts taking upper-division classes, he only needs to take 4 courses per semester.
As for the CS, it’s either you get it (those getting As), or you will struggle (those getting Bs and below).
I highly recommend that you watch the CS 61A videos and tackle on the past tests during the Summer.
It will definitely help you like it did to my son.
I’m entering with all possible AP credits for engineering I think (except credit from Physics C). Are the videos and tests available online? Where do you find them?
Also about MechE + EECS, is it practical in the job market to have those 2? I only considered doubling because I was interested in both, but I’m not sure if it’s actually worth all the work at the end.
I will need to check with my son how he accessed those videos and tests.
They are probably only available to Berkeley students.
In terms of ME/EECS, an acquaintance of mine, with dual major from Berkeley, was hired to work on self-driving car at Google because he can program and he also knows the mechanics of it. Perhaps you can chat with the students or professors there once you get to Berkeley to give you more insights. My son said he actually met quite a few students pursuing both.
I just sent you a private message with the links to the videos and tests for CS 61A.
Good studying.
Can you also please send me links to videos and tests? Much appreciated. Thanks
He should be well prepared if he did well in those high school AP courses. Note that CS 70 is basically a math course, although it may not be much like the math he (or other students) has seen before.
Course materials:
http://www-inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/classes-eecs.html
Old exams:
https://tbp.berkeley.edu/courses/
Most of the course materials and all of the old exams on the sites above are not restricted.
Thank you very much!!