Hello!
So this is more of a vent/word of warning for future students than anything, though I would love any and all feedback.
I’m in the process of waiting on Berkeley to get back to me on whether or not my acceptance is still viable after 1) definitely not taking the course load I said I would take and 2) straight up failing one of the courses I said I would take last quarter. While I’m sure it would have been less of a big deal to not follow the exact planned course schedule, what I’m missing includes Calculus 3, which is a prerequisite for Linear Algebra and Engineering Physics 2 (for some reason my school jumps from EP1 to EP3 to EP2). These were all courses I said I would take by the end of spring quarter, with Linear Algebra being particularly important, since its a prerequisite for my intended major, computer science, which is obviously competitive enough without missing prereqs upon entering the school.
The course I failed was Micro Economics, which wouldn’t actually be fulfilling any requirements (except for the fact that I said I would take it and then take Macro Econ), but it pulled my GPA down for that quarter to below the 3.0 threshold. I’m retaking the course now and my admissions officer said Berkeley would follow my college’s policy for repeats, which is that the new grade would replace the old grade in official GPA calculations. However, I believe I am well within my rights to petition for a hardship withdrawal if that would look better, since I kind of went off the rails with a previously undiagnosed mental health issue, which I explained to my admissions officer and included in the academic update form.
I also told them I was planning on taking some of the more important courses over the summer to at least fulfill more of the planned courses outlined in the conditions of acceptance. They said they would get back to me before June 1 (the deadline for accepting the offer of admission).
I’ve been seriously obsessing over this situation, which is totally strange since I had never even factored Berkeley as even a potential plan before I was accepted because I didn’t even consider it to be in the realm of possibility. At the very least, I must have been one heck of a decision for admissions to make, since my GPA was well below the range in the stats for CS intended transfers last year, of which I believe 7% were accepted. My outlook on life seriously changed even with just the acceptance, and I’m grateful for at least having the chance at this amazing opportunity. I’m telling myself it won’t be a big deal if I get rescinded because before 5 days ago, Berkeley wasn’t even a possibility. But it makes me sad and frustrated that I might’ve just messed this up.
TLDR - Unexpectedly got into Berkeley, failed a class, didn’t take major prereq, waiting on official response from admissions.
If anyone has any advice or just anything to say, I’ll just be out here anxiously waiting and thinking for maybe the next month. Thanks for reading!