<p>My friend, who is a junior in high school, claims that he has a "better than 50% chance" of getting into UC Berkeley by applying directly to the College of Natural Resources for a major in Environmental Science. He claims that their admissions criteria is significantly less demanding than that of say the College Of Letters and Sciences. He currently has an apx. 3.5 weighted GPA and is yet to take the SATs (its not like he's going get a perfect score or anything). This has led to impassioned arguments between the two of us, where I claim as a senior well aquainted with the UC admissions process that if getting into Berkeley was made so easy by applying in such a fashion than numerous other applicants would also have taken advantage of this wonderful opportunity...
Maybe he's a genius and I'm bitter that I didn't take advantage of this golden opportunity before I submitted my UC Apps.
Or maybe he's an idiot (like I suspect he is) and is living in a dream world.
Either way, an answer will be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>tell him to wake up. He's probably in "i-have-more-than-50%-chance-for-UCB-for-sure dream." plus, i would be angry towards him if i were you.</p>
<p>hmm. i don't know about Cal, but i know kids who have done the same for other UC's and gotten in with below average stats. picking obscure majors isn't a sure way in, but it does set your application apart.</p>
<p>Does Cal admit students based on major? I thought major doesnt have much of an impact on admission...</p>
<p>Don't listen to your friend. Everyone knows juniors are stupid. Next time he comes up with this kind of bs, just say, "Seniority rules."</p>
<p>Because it does.</p>
<p>actually this can happen... my friend applied to UCSD relgious studies and was accepted</p>
<p>stats:</p>
<p>GPA: 3.33 WGPA: 3.67
SAT I (New): 1550
SAT II: Bio-420 U.S. Hist-500 Math 2c- 620</p>
<p>Well at Cal, you are accepted to a major (you have to choose when you apply). If he wanted to get into EECS or something (their most competitive major) after he was admitted to Env. Sci. or whatever, it would be nearly impossible. So the moral of the story: maybe the acceptance rate is higher, but you could get stuck somewhere you don't want to be.</p>
<p>Also, the applicant pools for more obscure majors may be more self-selective. That is, the only people that apply to Environmental Policy or Religious Studies are the people that are passionate (really passionate) in those fields, as opposed to like biology which has tons of premed wannabes applying.</p>
<p>Natural resources is the easiest to get into in UCB.</p>
<p>Over 50% chance for sure? I don't know about that, but natural resources is realllly easy to get into compared to the rest of UCB.</p>
<p>i know for L&S all majors are considered the same in difficulty..right?</p>
<p>It may be true that it's easier to get into Natural Resources, but at Berkeley or any UC, it's extremely hard to switch into other colleges, like Letters and Science.</p>
<p>Hey, I've actually known several people who have applied to Berk under Natural Resources and got in. They're stats weren't horrible, but they definitely were not berk worthy. A few of them are now business majors.</p>
<p>Even still, I doubt most people would actually go with this method because for one, it messes up your app in the sense it might look strange if you have all these ECs, work experience, or any passion shown through your app for a business major, and applied for NR. And plus, it's still not a sure bet you'll get in.</p>
<p>And overall, there's not much pride in picking a phony major to sneak your way into your college of choice. Stick to your true major, the passion will shine through and you'll get where you want to. If not, sick chuck norris on your friend.</p>
<p>
[quote]
it's extremely hard to switch into other colleges
[/quote]
... especially true when it comes to switching to a business or biological sciences major. Because so many people have signed up for these majors and often do not change, it is hard for other accepted students to get in.</p>
<p>yep... I know sumone who applied to some college he hated but was easy to get into then after the first year, they didnt let him switch anticipating his cheap tactics...</p>
<p>Different colleges have different difficulties. I know that for a fact. But it's a risk, b/c you never know if you can change colleges. It's just like the Nursing School in UPenn, do you call that a loophole??
BTW, it's easier than dreaming for any CA people to get into UC Berkeley...Just being in CA gives you enough advantage!!</p>
<p>Your friend is right that it is easier to get into Berkeley by applying to the College of Natural Resources than the College of Letters and Sciences.</p>
<p>The problem is that you would then be in the College of Natural Resources that doesn't offer the major that you really want and that it would be very difficult to transfer to the college that does offer your major. Probably impossible if you want to be an engineer.</p>
<p>This is not a new idea. It is basically a bait-and-switch. It is more commonly proposed that you can apply to UPenn in one major and try to transfer into Wharton later (which you probably can't do). It isn't a question of your major so much as a question of what college you are applying to within the university.</p>
<p>it is indeed possible that it is SLIGHTLY less competitive if applying CNR, but, the resume better back up the interest (lotsa of enviro stuff). Note, however, unlike Engineering and Chemistry, who may review individual apps, CNR does not review any apps, so they are processed with every other L&S applicant.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, with a 3.5 UC-gpa, I think your friend is wasting his money to even apply to Cal.</p>