<p>I remember being in the same situation as many of you where you guys begin to have many questions about schools after applying. Because I have nothing else to do the next few days due to my surgery, I decided to answer some questions you guys might have about the whole transferring process. I was super naive about the process last year, but once I finished my first semester at Berkeley, I finally got an idea of what the whole process is like. </p>
<p>So if you guys have any questions about the social life, transfer stigma, the workload, or anything - feel free to ask me. </p>
<p>My background = Poli Sci major, transferred from CC, 2-in-1 year transfer student, had a 3.8 CC GPA, was accepted to UCLA, UCD, UCSB, UCI. At Berkeley, I lived in the dorms with all freshmen and joined a social fraternity. </p>
<p>I'm not going to do answer chance questions because honestly- my opinion of whether you get in or not does not matter. No one but the admissions officers know whether your chances. But I will say this - don't doubt yourself. I've met people with gpas as low as 3.0 get in at Berkeley during CalSO in "impacted" majors. Apply for the heck of it. </p>
<p>What surprised you the most about Berkeley? What did you totally not expect? What would you do differently? Do you feel prepared for the upper class division? How different is the coursework from CC? How are the students? Are they constantly studying?</p>
<p>What surprised me the most about Berkeley? What did you totally not expect?
When deciding between UCLA (which was my dream school) and Berkeley, some of the things holding me back from Berkeley was: 1- the competitive nature, 2- lack of “community”, and 3- the proximity to home (i live in the bay area).</p>
<p>These three things were essentially turned into a good thing for me.
1 - The competitive nature wasn’t really that bad. I found many students willing to help each other out. Now I can’t say this for non-Liberal Arts majors (which Ive heard stories about), but for Poli Sci majors - everyone is nice. Plus the competition wasn’t really a bad thing but more of a good thing. I’ve developed the mentality of - “Who cares how well everyone else is doing. I should give it my best regardless of the ‘curve’.” And that worked out for me in the end.
2 - Lack of “community”. There’s a myth out there about Berkeley being a “dead” school due to its “competitive nature” and “ugly girls.” For me that wasn’t the case. The first few weeks were great for meeting people. I think those people who complain about there being a lack of a community are those that stay in their dorm rooms doing nothing. I joined a social fraternity and met so many people (btw, I highly recommend joining the Greek community… it’s a great way to network with people). Also, during Gamedays, everyone really comes together. I never had any problems meeting new people during Football games and just having a great time.
3 - Proximity to home. This was a problem at first because being the youngest in the family, my parents were definitely content on me getting me to go home every week. Of course I began my “rebellious” stage and refused to go home. My parents eventually got the idea and quit begging me to go home. Now I must say though, since Berkeley was so close to home, I was able to go to my parents whenever I needed something - i.e. money, food, etc. So for some, who are still young, being close to home isnt really a bad thing. But sooner or later, you are going to have to get away. As the semester progressed, I became less-dependent. But I won’t lie and say having my parents help launch me didn’t help me. Because it did. </p>
<p>“What would you do differently?”
Although joining a fraternity was awesome during my first semester because it made me enjoy Berkeley more, I definitely would have done it second semester. I spent 80% of my time focusing on pledging and 20% on other things. As a result, i definitely didn’t feel like I did my best at Berkeley. But hey, it’s a learning experience and I definitely learned my lesson.</p>
<p>“Do you feel prepared for the upper class division? How different is the coursework from CC?”
To be honest with you, CC is a joke compared to Berkeley. Get ready to realize that just because you were a 4.0 student at CC, doesnt mean ***** at Berkeley. I took 9 classes my first semester at CC last year and yet that was only 20% of the amount of work I had at Berkeley where I only took 13 units (4 classes). For Poli Sci majors, get ready to do 200+ pages of reading per night. Of course, you don’t have to do the reading… but you’ll feel it during discussions, midterms and finals. </p>
<ul>
<li>But don’t feel too alarmed. Like I said, if I didn’t have other stuff on my plate, I could have done way better at Berkeley. Getting an A isn’t impossible, it’s just the amount of effort you put it. Anyone is capable of getting an A. </li>
</ul>
<p>“How are the students? Are they constantly studying?”
The students are chill. Like I said, all these myths of Berkeley students being competitive, ugly nerds who do nothing but study is nothing but a myth. Ive met some really chill people who know how to have a fun time. It’s really a matter of getting out there and meeting people. But I will say this - when it comes down to crunch time, everyone studies. During dead week, the libraries were packed. Everywhere you went, people were studying. Greek row was definitely quiet as well since everyone was studying. This was good for me personally because it really got me to sit down and focus on studying. But after finals, when everyone was starting to be done, it was parties every night. Unforuatenly for me, I had a final on the last day… but that didn’t stop me from partying the night before! (highly not recommended though…) </p>
<p>Hope that helps. </p>
<p>P.S. Sorry for the grammatical mistakes. Ive been taking some meds so my perception is a little off.</p>
Haha, I’m not going to lie but yes - there is a significant amount of stoners at Berkeley. In the dorms, every floor had stoners. I was as straight-edged as a ruler before Berkeley but as the semester progressed, I started smoking more and more. However I didn’t do it recreationally like most people. I only did it to relieve stress during finals.</p>
<ul>
<li>This shouldnt turn you off from Berkeley though. I know tons of people who were like me and started smoking once they got to college at UCLA, Stanford, some ivy leagues, etc etc. It’s part of the college life.</li>
</ul>
<p>I don’t get how or why the smartest students at the best public school in America is like #1 (or somewhere near the top) of every list when it comes to smoking weed. Westpoint is up there too, which is even more mind bobbling</p>
<p>@Laker,
It’s because the harder schools lead to more stress. Weed helps with the stress factor. The night before my 2nd final, I was stressing so much, I couldn’t go to sleep (and this was after being awake for 30 hours or so). I had a few rips and next thing you know - I’m laughing, chilling with my floormates, and going to sleep. Wake up the next morning, go to my final, and (not to jynx it) killed it. Smoking weed is not a bad thing; it’s just when and how you smoke it. I think recreationally is bad (i.e. those who do it as a hobby). But those who do it just to relax a little bit every so often, it’s not that bad.</p>
<p>@xMathx,
No worries. Keep asking. Thanks for the wishes. It sucks being stuck in bed for the next few days.</p>
<p>Might I add that another thing I was really surprised about was the “transfer stigma”. I remember reading some sort of survey posted on CC last year about how transfer students are looked down upon at Berkeley. That is TOTAL BS. In all of my classes, because I was a transfer student, I was the guy everyone looked to for help. Professors generally pointed to transfer students to generate discussions. In fact, in all of my discussions, it was the transfer students who were holding up the discussion. At first I was scared that I wasn’t going to be able to “compete” with students who were perfect in hs… but after getting back my first midterm and getting one of the highest scores (along with other transfer students), I knew being a transfer student was not a disadvantage.</p>
<p>Wow. That really inspires me! I’m so glad the transfer students are doing so much better than the actual students there! I’m glad they’re the complete opposite of being looked down upon [=
Berkeley is my DREAM school. I’m still in high school, but I screwed up my soph/junior year because I was diagnosed with a chronic illness…and I failed a lot of my classes. Before that, I was in the top 10 (not percent) ranking at my school. I’m planning to apply as a bioengineering major (transfer of course), and then later on apply to their ‘graduate’ med school…I hope I can do it! >_<
I’m a bit concerned about handling my major, the MCAT, volunteering as an EMT, and keeping a high GPA…but it’s a bit weird, I’m excited for it all [= Overwhelmed in a good way.</p>
<p>Haha i was a horrible student in h.s. which is why i went to cc. But i will say this - its good to have such high inspirations for yourself…but be prepared to lose them while at berkeley. It happens to everyone including myself. Best way to get around it? When you get to cal, just enjoy it. Live in the present your first semester by meeting ppl and have fun. Worry aboutnyour future later. I saw wayy too many ppl get too caught up in their future that they lost sight of the present. They ended up having a bad time at cal.</p>
<p>It’s about signing up for classes. Is there any sort of priority system for registration?</p>
<p>If so, do transfer students get relatively good priority because we are Junior level? I tried researching this, but could only find that Cal does registration in two stages (which i thought was pretty cool). On the first stage though, can some people sign up before others, or is it a free-for-all, or determined by last name… etc.</p>
<p>Also, why didn’t you go to UCLA if it was your dream school and your were accepted?</p>
<p>not unless you are coming from high school =D</p>
<p>Ok… never mind, i was wrong. Oops!
Ya i think you have to, so that they can check that you got your language requirement or something.
The GPA doesn’t matter though</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Berkeley does registration for classes in two phases - Telephase 1 + Telephase 2. Telephas 1 is given to those already in a major to get two classes in their major. So for instance, I’m a Poli Sci Major, so the only people im competing with for Poli Sci classes during Telephase 1 are other Poli Sci majors. Also there is a cap limit of 10 units so that’s roughly about 2 classes. During Telephase 2, it’s a free-for-all and you can sign up/waitlist for any classes depending on if you meet the requirements or not. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes, there is a priority given to those depending on how many units they have. It usually goes Athletes and DSP students first… but assuming you are none of those, being a junior automatically gives you an advantage over freshmen and sophomores while coming out as a transfer student. However, seeing as you are a junior, you are going to be competing with other juniors and seniors for upper-div classes, whom probably already registered for classes. The first semester of registration, you are merely competing for classes among transfer students which is why I would like to emphasize that YOU WANT TO SIGN UP FOR A EARLIER CALSO DATE. You register for classes during CalSO, and the earlier session you get - the higher priority you get among other transfer students. </p></li>
<li><p>I chose Berkeley over UCLA because I wanted to set my own trail in my family. Ive had people in my family go to UCLA, NYU, USC, etc etc - and I was always looked down upon because I didnt meet the same level of expectations. However no one in my family had gotten accepted to Berkeley so it was really a chance I had to take. I still love UCLA but I don’t regret choosing Berkeley over it. I love Berkeley a lot and all the negatives I had about Berkeley were disproven in a heartbeat. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>
</p>
<ul>
<li>Yes, I still had to send my high school transcripts after I submitted my SIR to Berkeley to check if I did the language requirement. But they didn’t really care for my high school scores during the admissions process. </li>
</ul>
<p>
Well first of all, I’m only a year older than freshmen so it really wasn’t a big deal. I roomed with another transfer student and he didnt mind it at all. I wanted the “college experience” so I chose to live in a Residential Hall. It’s an awesome experience and you really get to meet a ton of people. Freshmen tend to be more sociable since they are new and naive. </p>
<ul>
<li>I will like to note that transfer students who dorm in Wada (the all-transfer apartment) tend to seclude themselves from the rest of the student population. I live in Unit 2 with them and I rarely see any of them. I mean, yeah - if you are older, you are probably passed that “college experience” phase. But if you want to have a good time, living in the dorms, whether it be with all freshmen or not, is pretty fun. Freshmen really arent that much of a problem in my opinion. But hey, it’s really a personal decision.</li>
</ul>
<p>wow your backstory basically is the same as mine
i just applied trying to go 1 year in 2 as a polysci major </p>
<p>my question does Berkeley try to push you out in 2 years or can i stay for a third and graduate how I regularly would? </p>
<ol>
<li><p>How is the “Berkley grade deflation” affect social science majors specifically polysci my ultimate goal is a top 14 law school and a 3.7+ GPA would be awesome </p></li>
<li><p>frat question…do you recommend rushing fall or spring / why</p></li>
</ol>
You are only allowed an extra semester unless you double major in something. IF you double major, they’ll allow you to stay another year. I’m going to just stay another semester (Fall 11), then travel abroad my last semester (Spring 12), then graduate (Spring 12) instead of graduating Spring 11. </p>
<p>
If you have the commitment and good study habits, you’ll be able to pull off a 3.7+. I highly recommend only taking 13 units your first semester because you are going to need an adjusting period. Ive met transfer students who’ve overloaded themselves (even with only 15 units), and screw up. But most transfer students who’ve done 13 units were able to exceed.
I will also like to say that it’s good to have high expectations for yourself, but like I said before - don’t get so caught up with them. I was just like you but once I got my first midterm scores, I began to question whether I really wanted to do law school. It wasnt because I did horrible to the point where I lost my chance but its because I was so caught up in trying to fulfill my high expectations that I lost sight of the present… and as a result, I didn’t get the grade I wanted and ended up being depressed for a few days. “Lower your expectations when you get to Berkeley and enjoy your college experience” is my biggest advice to any potential transfer students. </p>
<p>
It’s tricky. Keep in mind rushing is different from pledging. I HIGHLY recommend rushing first semester just to get yourself out there and meet new people. Plus you get free food and stuff. But when it comes to pledging, it’s a little different.</p>
<p>I personally would have pledged my second semester just because I wasn’t able to adjust as well academically because pledging took up 80% of my time. If you think you can handle the workload of 200+ pages of reading per night as well as pledging activities (which depending on which fraternity you join - could be either drinking, memorizing, history lessons, and/or stupid crap), then go for it your first semester. It helps make Berkeley more enjoyable. </p>
<p>It also depends on which fraternity you join. Most people get caught up into the fraternity “tier” system. Generally from what I gathered, those in the “higher tier” have more drinking and physical events (such as morning jogs and stuff), whereas fraternities in the mid tier have more brotherhood activities (history lessons, bonding events, etc). Of course that is a huge generalization that I can be wrong in. All I know is my fraternity was definitely more focused on brotherhood activities and not so much on drinking. </p>
<p>Oh and a side-note, when it comes to choosing a fraternity, join one you feel the most comfortable with. The bonds you make with your brothers will last forever; it’s just a matter of whether you want to make those bonds or not. I had a friend who pledged for a fraternity because they were “top-tier” and ended up depledging halfway through because they didn’t back him up during a conflict they got him into. Note that during rush, EVERY fraternity will try to “rush you” and try to sell you something that might not be true. It’s really your own opinion and whichever one you feel more comfortable with.</p>
<p>If you recommend us taking only 13 units our first semester, how on earth are we going to manage to graduate in 2 years like Berkeley wants us to?</p>
<p>^^^ I’m worried about majoring in EE for this reason. I looked at the classes required for graduation and it seems as though it might take me ~2.5 years to graduate. </p>
<p>To the OP: How feasible is it to graduate in two years after transferring?</p>
I really appreciate it, and I hope you do get better!</p>