<p>I want to get my degree in Computer Science, and while the EECS college is simply out of the question due to the ridiculous amount of prereqs and the difficulty of the classes, they still offer a BA i n Computer Science offered by L&S. I have two years left to go of CC (actually 1.5 but since Spring transfer isn't really an option, I have a "free" semester before Fall) and I plan on applying next fall.</p>
<p>My GPA is currently 3.2-3.3, but I imagine I can get that back up to 3.6-3.7 with straight A's. I'm also planning to do some colorful EC's such as volunteering (there's a volunteer fair tomorrow at my CC), starting a interface design portfolio, doing some front-end development (websites HTML,CSS, JS, etc.), and MAYBE a Kickstarter campaign this semester to fund a YouTube channel idea of mine. The point of listing these is 1/2 vanity and 1/2 of seeing myself as an entreprenuerial-minded person so I have no problem making up some really cool projects and passions to pursue. </p>
<p>The college essay is also really important so I'll be buying a book or two on how to write great essays in preparation. What are my chances & how hard is it to get into Berkeley. How does it work - am I generally applying for the L&S college or is there impacted-ness for the CS BA major?</p>
<p>I am in the Berkeley TAG program, and am planning on transferring as a CS major. This is the information I’ve gathered from my counselor. In order to be competitive you need a 3.6, and that is borderline bottom. Yes, there are exceptions, people getting in with a low 3 GPA, but you shouldn’t concern yourself with them. Having all GEs and pre-reqs completed really helps. Don’t waste your time with GEs for application purposes. If you want to do them for yourself, then go ahead and do them, but ECs won’t help in your application unless it’s something amazing like creating a non-profit that has built 4 schools in a third-world country. Instead of ECs, focus your time on your classes to get those A’s. Again, take ECs if you want to for yourself, but not for the application. And if you have a low-end GPA, having a killer admissions paper can make up for it. In your case, assuming you have all A’s from here on out, your increased progression of grades will make up for the lower GPA.</p>
<p>For your essay, use the essay help area on this forum. I’m sure there are a lot of people willing to help you out. If you’re serious about getting into Berkeley, and get those A’s, then I would say you have a realistic chance, not the greatest in the world, but a chance that’s realistic.</p>
<p>I thought UCB didn’t have a TAG program :o</p>
<p>anyways yea the EC’s are for me after I realized how little they mattered in the application. I planned my next 3 semesters to complete all pre-reqs and GE requirements (there are three major-specific classes on assist.org that UCB acknowledges aren’t available elsewhere so I’ll have to take them in the pre-enrolled summer and fall semesters). 3.6 isn’t unreasonable to get imo.</p>
<p>You have no chance…Ive seen people get rejected with 3.8…realistically you need a 3.9+ because CS is a very hard major to get into. Its very competitive. You can always apply to a major and try to change major when you get to berkeley but im not sure if CS will let you do that. I know you can do it for econ.but to get into L/S, you need at least a 3.6</p>
<p>UCLA, L&S doesn’t admit by major… so it’s relatively easy to get into. I feel like 3.4+ could be considered an okay chance for it? I dunno, I’m EECS. 
EECS is impacted though, so you do need a really good GPA for it (I had a 3.7-3.8, was probably on the low end).</p>
<p>Your logic seems a bit flawed though, OP. L&S CS and EECS take essentially the same classes here, so I don’t understand what you’re saying about the difficulty. If you were referring to the difficulty of pre-reqs at a CC, then uh, you’re gonna have a hell of a time if you do transfer here, cause all your classes will get a lot harder and much faster.</p>
<p>Also, the idea of “I’ll just get straight A’s for the rest of CC” is pretty flawed. Be realistic. While it’s nice to think that you can excel, you seriously need to evaluate what went wrong in your past semesters if you want your GPA to go up.</p>
<p>On a different note, keep in mind that L&S does not admit by major… that means that after transferring, if you’re intent is L&S CS, you need to complete a pile of CS requirements with a 3.0+ technical GPA to be able to declare your major. Not only is it kinda stressful to try and meet GPA requirements here, but (Those who apply to EECS don’t need to worry about the extra requirement, since CoE does admit by/into major.)</p>
<p>@failure622 thank you for your reply. To reply to your noting of my “bad” grades, i was diagnosed with adhd last semester and didn’t really address my bad study habits until march - technically i attended state school last year and i just transferred back to CC to take advantage of the UC transfer agreement. I’m much more studious and organized now. I took a second look at the assist.org requirements for the EECS school and reaffirmed my position of not wanting to go that route, not due to them actually being hard but the sheer amount of classes I would have to take. However I worded it incorrectly so sorry for the confusion.</p>
<p>I realize I have to take the CS61A,B,&C classes at Berkeley which will be hard. I’m sorry if I sounded arrogant in anyway but I had confidence flowing through my fingertips when I was writing the OP and I’ll edit it accordingly just so future posts can benefit from that</p>
<p>@UCLAProspect thanks for the post. I don’t think I will need a 3.9 for the L&S college but of course a second opinion would help.</p>
<p>Sorry about my typo earlier. I’m in TAP, not TAG.</p>