Possibility of Transferring into College of Engineering for MechE?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

My son was just accepted off of the waitlist to UC Berkeley. He’s very excited, but since applying, he has changed his mind from Environmental Economics and Policy to Mechanical Engineering. We’ve been reading about the various requirements, but we would like to know if anyone here has first hand experience with this. Thanks for any advice!

2

Expect it to be very competitive or difficult to change into mechanical engineering.

http://engineering.berkeley.edu/admissions/undergrad-admissions/change-college

3

Thanks for the link @ucbalumnus. We’ve been reading about the process on the website, we are just trying to find out if anyone here has any actual experience with this. Sometimes schools will make it sound very hard to do, when in reality it’s quite doable. Not sure about this, though. Thanks

4

@calimomof2

This might not really be relevant anymore.
But decades ago, a classmate of mine at Berkeley transferred from L&S Undeclared to EECS after two semesters.
I think his GPA was above and around 3.7.

5

@StevenToCollege wow that’s a high GPA! Someone I know also changed from L & S to EECS 10 years ago, and said it wasn’t too hard, but I’m sure times have changed since then. Plus he’s really, really smart.

6

@calimomof2

Sorry, I only encountered one personal experience like that, and his GPA just happened to be that high.
It’s possible that he might also have gotten into EECS with a bit lower GPA.
I really don’t know.

7

Does anyone else have any experience with this? Thanks

8

bump

9

I’ve transferred myself to MechE from L&S back in 2010. Things have changed a bit since that you can apply for the transfer just after a semester in instead of waiting for a year. Certainly take the classes that have overlapping required courses between EEP and MechE, and I think it comes down to 3 things: 1. Taking the relevant courses so that he won’t be behind when he officially joins, 2. Grades - I had 3.5 overall, and it would’ve been lower if I take out some easy classes that were not part of the requirement, but getting at least a ‘B’ in all relevant courses. 3. Most importantly, statement of intent what made your son want to switch from EEP to MechE.