Is this enough to get into UC Berkeley?

Applying to College
21

I will try my best, thank you!

22

Well, if you’re open to the community college route with hopes of a UC transfer, that would be a very economical option. Berkeley City College, for example, is currently FREE and credits are transferrable to UC/CSUs.

23

That does sound like a good plan. If I dont make it into any UCs/CSUs I apply to I will definitely be using community college.

24

Another option, as a safety in case things don’t go quite as you hope, is CSU. Some CSUs also offer guaranteed admission if you meet some pretty achievable minimums (in terms of GPA and courses). I don’t know what county you live in, but you mention you are near UCB, so look at Cal State East Bay, which offers guaranteed admission to high school students in a number of neighboring counties.

25

UCB does not do TAG like some other UCs, and both L&S CS and EECS are among the most competitive majors for transfer applicants.

26

Out of curiosity, if you happen to know off the top of your head, how does the transfer acceptance rate compare to the freshman acceptance for CS? It seems like the transfer acceptance at UCB is generally pretty high? Obviously, CS is its own animal, so just curious if you happen to know.

27

Transfers by major | University of California has information about UC transfer admission rates and college GPA ranges.

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28

Will do, thanks

29

I have complied some Freshman CS admits rates for the UC’s and CSU’s if the data was available:

UCB 2022: EECS: 4.5%
CS in College of L&S: 2.9% Historically around 6%
UCLA: 5.4% for 2021
UCSD: No specific admit data for CS however it is a capped/impacted major and you need a direct admit into the major. Mostly likely below 10% and similar to the top UC’s.
UCSB: No specific admit data for 2021/2022 but historically around 6-8%
UCD: No specific admit data for CS. Estimated admit rate based on the overall College of L&S admit rate and the # of enrolled CS majors puts it around 10-20%.
UCI: 2021 admit rate for CS was 7.1%. For 2022, it was 5.8%.
UCSC: 2022 admit rate for CS BS was 60% and BA was 51%
UCR: 2021 admit rate for CS was 37%. For 2022, it was 36%.
UCM: 2022 admit rate for CSE was 91% and for 2021 it was 85%.

For the Cal states:
Cal Poly SLO: 9% 2021
SDSU: 40.2% 2022
CSULB: 53.5% 2021
SJSU: 31% 2022

30

Wow I would have thought UCB would have had a higher rate, I should definitely rethink things

31

The overall admit rate (not major specific) for UCB was 14.5% for California residents in 2022. UCB has changed their CS admit policy this year since that major has been over enrolled. CS in the College of Letters and Sciences is now a High Demand major.

CS has become so popular and competitive not only at the UC’s but the CSU’s that it is very important that you get a direct admit into the major. Changing into the major later can be problematic and not guaranteed.

It should be interesting to see if CS continues to be as competitive when it comes time for you to apply, but just assume that a school like UCB will continue to a very difficult admit. That is why exploring different schools and coming up with a balanced college list with includes several Likely, Target schools along with a few Reach schools is important.

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32

Also, please understand that none of this is to discourage you from applying to UCB. But the reality is that you can do everything “right” (with classes, GPA, ECs, etc) and still not get the result you hope for. That is why it is imperative to several other options - including some targets as well as safeties (which can include some of the less competitive CSUs, UC Merced, community college with an eye to transferring, etc.). It seems every year there are top notch, high stat students who apply only to top schools, which they are absolutely qualified for, but which do not have unlimited space and must turn great students away. So make sure you always have a back up plan that you can live with.

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