<p>I haven't been on here in quite some time, but this website and the community within it really helped with my transition, comfort, and excitement on this new venture. So I figured I'd come on here and offer whatever I can by way of my own experience. </p>
<p>A little about me? I transferred from CC in Orange County, I'm 24 years old, live off campus, am only majoring in psychology without a second major or minor because of the abundance of classes that I want to take but wouldn't have time for otherwise. I also plan to go to grad school right after I graduate. </p>
<p>I have been pretty involved on campus so far, I've had 2 internships, got involved in research right away, joined 2 honors societies and now have leadership positions within both, and will be doing an honors thesis. I was actually invited to be a psychology peer advisor, but due to a scheduling conflict, I had to revoke my position.</p>
<p>Oh, and one last thing before I open up for questions: Last year there was a thread along the lines of "Does anyone else feel that transfers are grossly subpar" or something along those lines...Let me tell you from experience: It's the transfers who are complaining about getting an A- because they know they can do better, the front rows of class are generally dominated by transfers, they are the most vocal in class, the grad student I do research for prefers working with transfers (our lab of 8 or so was all transfers), and it's the transfers who form study groups the most. It seems that all of the people I meet in class that are the most on top of their game are transfers. So dont let any of that BS get to you. Yes, it is harder than community college. And much different. But if you did well at your community college, you will do well here too. Just dont assume that you can skate by at Cal like you did at CC, you will be in for disappointment. </p>
<p>Alright, so lets do this: Ask me anything! I'll be checking this periodically over the next week or so until the questions die down, so keep checking back to see if I've responded to yours yet.</p>
<p>I believe that for liberal art majors, transfers don’t really have any disadvantages at UCs, but I am not sure if it is the same for science majors,tho.</p>
<p>Hi, I do have one question. Do you actually have to take 15 units per semester? I’m planning my course schedule now when I encountered this statement from the UCB catalog:</p>
<p>“The continued enrollment of a student who fails to achieve minimum progress is subject to approval. To achieve minimum progress, two criteria must be met.”</p>
<p>I’m confused about the 2nd criteria it says:
“A student must have successfully completed no fewer units than 15 times the semesters less one of enrollment at Berkeley (15 x N - 1 = units needed. N = semesters at Cal. Summer Sessions are not counted as semesters.)”</p>
<p>Does this mean that if I take 12 units minimum on my the first semester, I need to take 17-18 on my second semester?
I can probably ask this at CalSo but it’s still weeks away. Trying to figure out whether I can still do summer school at my CCC to reduce the amount of courses I gotta take at Cal per semester. Thanks</p>
<p>You can ignore my other question lol. Sorry it was so long. I got a more important one. Is it worth skipping my summer class to attend CalSO?
I mean if I really have to attend it, my summer class is actually only two hours long maybe I can leave and come back? But I don’t know if it’s actually worth it. Plus it costs $200.</p>
<p>Hey, thanks for the paragraph on transfer students at Cal. That was nice. :)</p>
<p>Do you feel like it’s been easy to start getting involved once you’re there? Would it all depend on your major? Do you reckon there’s enough opportunities for the philosophy students to join organizations, do internships, etc? From the vibe the Berkeley website gives me, it seems like most students are powerful people who are as involved as they can be. And if Berkeley takes me in, I’d want to start doing something right away.</p>
<p>sgtbrecht–As per your first question:
You have to take 13 units to be considered full time by the College of Letters and Science, and you have to petition to be able to attend full time. I’m not sure about the other stuff. What I do know, is that you need 120 units to graduate, you can transfer up to 70 units from your CC (you get credit for the classes you’ve taken but only get to count 70 of the units), so you have to complete somewhere from 50-60 units at Cal, depending on how many you’ve transferred with. So If you only transferred with 60 units, you have to complete an average of 15 units per semester (not counting summer). If you are transferring with 70 units, then you have to complete 50 units over the course of 4 semesters, which 13 units per semester covers. </p>
<p>As for CalSo? There is a makeup CalSo during Welcome Week that you can attend if you didn’t go to Summer CalSo. I found CalSo fun, informative, interesting, exciting…but also a little redundant since I did a lot of research before coming to Cal. If you can’t make it, though, it’s not the end of the world. Do go to the one during Welcome Week though. The most valuable piece of CalSo, and the reason people pay 200 bucks to go IMHO, is that you get to sign up for classes then. If you don’t go to CalSo, you have to wait until after all of them to register, by which time the classes you were hoping to get into may be full. </p>
<p>Hope that helps! Let me know if you need any extra clarification or have any other questions.</p>
<p>Salmos–It was easy for me because I am motivated, organized, and did a lot of research. Most of my friends, on the other hand, did not get involved their first semester because they found it overwhelming to try to find opportunities while trying to navigate their first semester. I think it does depend on your interests and major. Being a psychology major interested in gender and sexuality, I found the Gender Equity Resource Center online for an internship, and applied before school even started. I also found a research assistantship through the psychology department. Being a philosophy major, I would recommend emailing your major advisor and asking if they know about any opportunities given your particular interests. I would also go to Calapalooza which is basically a fair during welcome week of a majority of student organizations. While it may be hard to find an internship (though not impossible), you should definitely be able to find a club, org, or volunteer opportunity to meet your interests. And yes, I do think there would be enough opportunities for everyone that is interested–it just depends on your motivation as to your ability to find them. Let me know if you need any help, and I’m happy to do it!</p>
<p>As long as I can be in a club or at least volunteer somewhere, I’ll be happy. I do understand that internships could be more specific. That part is tough for me because I’m generally interested in most areas of philosophy. Thus, there is no major interest or area of study on which I can sell myself, although it’ll be really easy for me to sell my personal qualities/skills. </p>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to help me out. :)</p>
<p>Hi smartyskirt</p>
<p>I will be attending Cal in the fall - I’m also a transfer student from Los Angeles City College. I am a Sociology major. my question is: I also want to get immediately involved in research and wondered what the first steps of finding the best research opportunities would be. Also, you mentioned being organized and prepared for your first semester - can you tell me what that entailed? I also want to be super prepared!</p>
<p>@mdia–sorry for my delayed post! I would contact your sociology advisor and ask him/her for whatever opportunities regarding research there are. You can also check URAP to see if there are any opportunities you’re interested in there. As for being organized and prepared, I would suggest browsing the berkeley website and becoming familiar with the different things around there. That’s how I found URAP originally, but ended up finding my research position through an RA position that was sent through my psychology advisor. Also, keep track of things mentioned at CalSo, things you find at Calapalooza, etc. </p>
<p>PS to EVERYONE: If you’re interested in getting involved in any clubs, internships, or other activities, GO TO CALAPALOOZA! Also ask around at CalSo. Utilize the resources they give you and ask around for what kinds of opportunities people know about.</p>
<p>Yeah, Atrina! Good to see you posting again lol.</p>
<p>Good times, and I’ll see you in class.</p>
<p>Psych majors are well connected on CC. OH! and thanks for the scantron the other day; you saved me.</p>
<p>I originally applied as a Legal Studies major, but as we all know, was admitted to the College of Letters and Science in general. So I’ll have to file a petition for a major soon.
The long term plan is Law School, so GPA plays a major role. Have you heard anything about the Legal Studies classes from students? Are they boring/hard/dry?
Please, let me know</p>
<p>thanks :)</p>