<p>Hi, I heard getting into classes is tough at Cal, people joked about using Alienware box to register.
Question: Is it hard to register Haas courses as a freshman since I will have 30 cedits or so transferred (Credits by Exam - A-level), I will need to jump into UGBA or higher level courses in the first year. Would that be a chanllenge? Does advanced standing get you any registration priority (earlier registration window)?</p>
<p>Thanks! </p>
<p>You will be auto-waitlisted for any UGBA upper division classes if you have not been accepted into the Haas Undergraduate Business Administration major. </p>
<p>You do know the Business major is capped and you must apply for it in the fall of your 2nd year right? The acceptance rate is 52%</p>
<p>Some of the haas classes have requirements (like sophomore standing), but if your units process and you meet the pre-req standards (though they’re kind of slow), then you can just sign up for them. You get put on the waitlist first, since classes are reserved for Haas students, but couple of weeks before the semester starts, they let in people from the waitlist. Take UGBA 102A (intro to financial accounting) first, since that will be a useful class. </p>
<p>Some classes have pre-requsites but they don’t check. It depends on the class though. For example, UGBA 103 (intro to finance) has a pre-req of some econ class, but you don’t really need that econ class to take it… however, if you wanted to take UGBA 120A (intermediate financial accounting), then obviously they wont let anyone in if they never took UGBA 102A (the pre-req for it). </p>
<p>Phase I it, you will end up on the waitlist, but when they process the waitlist, you will be one of the first ones to get in if there are empty spots. </p>
<p>@totalcaprice Appreciate the information!
Is it possible(or little chance?) to apply to Haas in my first Fall semester and get in? Anyone has done that? I will have 32 creits transferred in and a total of 60+ credits by the end of the first Spring semester and I can get econ prerequisites & Math 1A waived. It’s kinda important to me because if I wait until the second fall to apply, I will have trouble deciding on what courses (Haas courses or L&S econ courses) to take in my second year without knowing which school I will be attending. </p>
<p>No, you must take all pre-requisites for the Haas Business Undergraduate Program at Berkeley, </p>
<p><a href=“Application Process - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas”>Application Process - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas;
<p>@ccw2014 Nope, you have to apply sophomore year. Just choose a backup major to have in mind in case you get rejected. Econ is the most popular one since most of the pre-reqs overlap and I think Econ 100A/B counts for a requirement for the Haas major, so you really won’t have to worry. Plus, the econ major requirements are very little, so a lot of people actually double in both or graduate a year earlier. Just finish up your breadth requirements, take some biz/econ classes, do your R/C or A/C class </p>
<p>whoops just realized you’re the same guy that was wondering between UCB and Stern. It doesn’t really matter which college you choose, just focus on whether you will have to take out loans or not. Yeah, it sucks that Berkeley doesn’t let you into the business major right away, but it’s not a big deal. A lot of econ/non-biz majors take business classes, and many end up in the same type of jobs. I’m an Econ major and I got rejected from Haas, but I ended up getting the same job at the same company as most Haas majors…so lol really doesn’t matter </p>
<p>@totalcaprice Thanks. Exactly the kind of information I was looking for.
I think I am set to go. And just as you suggested, I was indeed planning to take a lot of breadth courses in year one with Econ as the backup major in mind. I won’t need to take econ 100A/B nor Math 1A (@Jweinst1, I think that page says one has to do the prerequisites at Cal once you are in Cal, You could still get credit by Exam etc. for work done prior to enrollment).</p>
<p>Almost everyone who comes into Cal as a freshman has an abnormal number of units (I had 90 before I started my first semester). Having 30 units will probably put you at an average to later registration time for the freshman class.</p>
<p>I have 60 units (12 APs with 40 units, and 20 college courses) entering freshman and Regent talebear priority. still have a hard time to get in Public health 116 (3) and ESPM 50AC (4) until the last days of deadline for my breadth requirement of first semester. For Haas, you can either take easy courses to maintain GPA> 3.8 or aggressively take upper division courses (Econ 100 A/B and Haas 196-1, 103, 102A or 105/107- average GPA is B+ = 3.3) while struggle to maintain GPA 3.7. You also need to consider to take extra 20 hrs per week for your internship or club leadership to make your Haas resume strong. </p>
<p>@ccw2014 @totalcaprice Actually, I looked into this a year or two ago and you CAN apply your freshman year if you want. Most kids don’t because you have to take Econ 1, Stat 20/21/25 and UGBA 10 at Cal. I guess you could take 1-2 courses over the summer and do your last prereqs in the fall. I didn’t think to ask if it had been done before, but Berkeley has some extraordinary people so it wouldn’t surprise me if someone had been admitted to Haas for the beginning of their sophomore year. There’s probably been more than one.</p>
<p>@mothergoldenbear oo didn’t know that, the only flaw i see with applying earlier is that he would not have his resume built up, and there would be a higher chance of rejection. He would be compared to sophomores who have already done internships during summer, have officer positions in clubs, and have participated in extracurricular activities. </p>
<p>Yes, that’s true. I wouldn’t recommend it, but it technically can be done. </p>
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<p>However, once you enter the business major, you have four semesters to graduate. So if you apply in your first year, you should be planning on completing everything in three years or six semesters.
<a href=“Degree Requirements - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas”>Degree Requirements - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas;
<a href=“http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/pdf/requirements_for_degree_F12.pdf”>http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/pdf/requirements_for_degree_F12.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here’s a video showing what the advisors told pre-Haas and pre-Econ students at CalSO. It’s from 2011, but mst of the info should still be the same: <a href=“http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15873079”>http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15873079</a>. There’s a lot of useful information about what classes to sign up for and how to spread out prereqs. </p>
<p>I just noticed on Haas admission page that one can apply to Haas only once, so I guess it’s probably not a good idea to apply in the first fall. I will need to take UGBA 10, R1B, STAT 21, and maybe Math 1B in the Fall to get Haas prerequisites covered. Breadth courses in the Spring. Is 15 units a typical load for an average student considering a 20 hr EC/intern activity?</p>
<p>What I am also curious about is that, since many Cal students have 30+ units transferred in, and assuming taking an average 15 units per semester, even without any summer courses, most people will have 120+ units by the end of 3rd year. Won’t they guaduate a year early or they purposely reduce the load for internship etc. and stay on for the forth year?</p>
<p>@ccw2014 How good is your math? I wouldn’t recommend math 1B since it is a weeder course and a lot harder than math 16B. Math 16B is a piece of cake if you have taken Calculus BC AP in high school (it fulfills haas/econ pre-req)…Stat 21 is also a difficult class, but if you have taken Stats AP in high school, it should be okay. However, if you do not have confidence in your stat abilities, i would recommend you take it sophomore year spring semester, so in case you do bad, the haas admissions will not see it. At Berkeley, stat classes are curved so that 50% of the students get a C. UGBA 10 is considered a “hard” class, but honestly it’s really not…people just like to complain about how hard it is…its overrated in difficulty. dont take ugba 10 and stat 21 together in your first semester…they’re not super difficult, but you need to get a feel for classes your first semester to know what you can handle and what you cannot handle. take ugba 10 fall semester (phase I it), and take econ 1 spring semester, and maybe stat 21 sophomore fall or spring semester. If you want a booster class (easy A class), take a language class. They are not “easy” in that you dont have to do work and you can get a A. “easy” means that as long as you put in the work and study, you can get a A. though, don’t do spanish…not easy. </p>
<p>Yes, most people have a lot of units coming in, so if your parents have to spend a lot of money, it would be easier on your family/you if you graduate in 3 years (this is possible, but i would recommend 4 years if you can to enjoy your college experience). Many people do graduate in 3.5 years as well.</p>
<p>15 units is a typical load for most students; if you can handle it, then you can take more later. However, start with 15 units because you don’t know your limits yet since you don’t know how berkeley classes are like. If you think they are easier and less time consuming then you expect, then take more. For the EC/intern thing, join a business club once you go into Berkeley, theres an event in the beginning of first week of school semester that has different clubs showcasing themselves to everyone. Choose 2 business clubs to apply for, and try to get onto a committee. It’s not like high school where you can apply for a committee and automatically get in. They actually reject people from joining the club committees…that’s why i recommend you try for two…and theres no point in being a general member because you don’t really do much</p>
<p>i am graduating this year and i currently have 170+ units. i have not reduced my course load or graduated a year early…it really depends on you. Some people find part time interships that actually require 15+ hours (thats not counting transportation time wasted), so they might take less than 12-units that semester, and submit paperwork (dont really know how this works, but thats my vague understanding). I did 18 units one semester and a 15 hour internship…was not fun to do, but many people do it (balancing internships, 15 units or more, and club activities)</p>
<p>P.S: apply for something that will come out in october called externship. it is for freshman/sophomores to shadow berkeley alumni professionals around for a couple of days or up to a week to see what it is like…good to put on your resume when you are a freshman and dont have much.
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/externships/externships.stm”>https://career.berkeley.edu/externships/externships.stm</a></p>
<p>@totalcaprice Thanks for the great information! That helps lot. I am okay with Math but I reall don’t like Stat, I will take your advice and take it the 2nd year (any altenative to Stat 21? 20 or 25?). Since Stat is a prereq for Haas admission, I wonder if taking it in the spring of 2nd year may dsqualify or weaken my application. </p>
<p>There’s no other options for Stat, but there’s one called Statistics W21, which is during summer. I heard its a lot easier but However, you would have to pay summer tuition which is a bit pricey since its by unit… It is important to note that the haas applications will be evaluated 50% grades and coursework, 35% essays, 15% resume, but a lot of haas applicants do the same for Haas, so I wouldn’t say it would make or break your application.</p>
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<p>In general, you can stay up to 8 semesters (4 semesters after junior transfer or entering the business major), even with much more than 120 units. Beyond 8 semesters, different divisions have different limitations. But note that L&S policy does not include AP units in the unit ceiling:
<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/registration/unitceiling.html”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/registration/unitceiling.html</a>
<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/registration/deductible.html”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/registration/deductible.html</a></p>
<p>However, with careful schedule planning, some students can graduate a semester or few early. But most do not, since AP credit is usually unfocused on specific major or breadth requirements, and its applicability to subject credit is more limited than for credit units.</p>