Several questions about academic and social life at Cal

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

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>My son was admitted to Cal two weeks ago, and after carefully considering, he will be joining the class of 2016 this August. As excited as I am for him, I have a few questions regarding the academic and social life at Cal:</p>

<p>1) He was admitted to the College of Letters and Science as Undeclared, and hopefully will be able to major in Computer Science. In addition to CS, he also has an interest in economics and math. Now, I know that a triple major is very, very hard, so I only recommend him of choosing two out of those three to major in, or only one considering the challenging academic and tough competition at Cal. This leads me to the first question:</p>

<p>He has already completed the equivalence of Math 53 and 54 at a local community college down here in San Diego (we already checked assist.org). Also, he was able to have both AP Macro and Micro, the former with a 4 and the latter with a 5. Therefore, in his first semester at Cal, he wants to choose a schedule like this:</p>

<ul>
<li>Math 110</li>
<li>Econ 100A/101A</li>
<li>CS 61A</li>
<li>He was thinking of doing EE42, but I think that would be very tough considering the transition from high school to college, so we decided to go with an American Culture, or a breadth course, for this 4th slot</li>
</ul>

<p>What do you think of this schedule overall for a newly admitted freshmen? I understand it would be tough for him to tackle two upper division courses in his first semester, but on the other hand, I feel like doing this schedule will clear the path for him to see which one, or two of the three majors he wants to major in in subsequent semesters.</p>

<p>2) Still consider the above schedule, would it be easier for him to replace Math 110 with CS 70, the only prerequisite he's lacking in order to declare a math major? Also, for Econ 100A/101A, I understand that the latter is more math-oriented and for students who want to go to graduate school in economics. However, from what my son hears from his friend and from checking online professor ratings site, the professor teaching 101A in the fall, David Card, is very awesome, and one of the best professor to take an economics class with. This combines with the fact that Econ 101A has only 80 students also means more personal attention and class interaction. Therefore, would it be wiser to take 101A instead of 100A, or will the community college math 53 & 54 background be not enough to prepare him for such a math-demanding course?</p>

<p>3) We are considering visiting Cal in the near future, and currently have two options. Our Option A is to visit Cal during Cal Day, which happens to be next Saturday. The B Option is to visit Cal on a normal school day to see how classes are conducted. We are currently leaning toward option B for the fact that it would be really hard to find a parking place in Berkeley during the event (no?), and my son also wants to get a feeling of being on campus in a typical day. That said, he plans to "sneak in" one class and attends lecture. The class he wants to do so in is CS 61A, currently taught by Professor Hilfinger with an enrollment of over 300. Hence, my third question is, is it possible to sneak into a class that large without being noticed? On the other hand, are there any programs that allow one to "officially" sits in a class?</p>

<p>4) The fourth question is about summer session. My son wants to participate in the Freshmen Edge Program, and also takes one class during the summer to get accustomed to the academic pace at Cal. The class he wants to take is, once again, CS 61A (if it's possible, and assuming he passes then we will change the schedule above to CS 61B or any equivalence tech prerequisite). However, as I check the online schedule of class, the class seems to be full already with a waitlist of thirty or so people. Does that mean it's impossible to take the class in the summer as a newly admitted freshmen? Will they allow new students to register for summer classes at CalSO?</p>

<p>5) My last question is about housing. He wants to choose Unit 4 (Foothill to be exact) as his dorm for his first year because of its proximity to the CS department. If any of you has lived in this dorm before, would you be kind enough to share your experience about this dorm? From what I gather by reading previous threads, it seems like people describe Foothill as a less-social dorm compared to the other units. Is that true most of the time? My son doesn't party, but he occasionally hangs out with his friend and plays tennis in his free time. Which dorm, in your opinion, would be most suitable for him?</p>

<p>I apologize for my paranoiac and this long list of questions, but this worrisome dad is so anxious about sending his son to a place 9-hour away from home. I and his mother know that he will have a great time at an awesome university like Cal, but we just want to ask for some more information to help him have a better and easier transition to college. Thank you all for your time, and if you can answer any of those questions, I would really appreciate it.</p>

2

<p>3) I’m currently in CS 61A and I can tell you with absolute confidence that he won’t have any trouble at all sitting in on a lecture without being noticed or calling attention to himself. And he won’t have a hard time finding a seat either seeing as a sizable percentage of the class doesn’t even bother attending lecture, relying instead on the webcasts that are put up the next day. As far as “official programs” go, I know the Overnight Stay Program (and possibly the Overnight Hospitality Program as well) allow prospective students to sit in on certain lectures (usually for large introductory courses, and I think they contact the professors beforehand) to get a feel for the Berkeley experience. But as I said before, your son won’t have any problems just sneaking into the CS 61A lecture on his own (or, for that matter, any of the other larger lectures; i.e. over 100 students).</p>

3

<p>@SanDiegoD</p>

<p>If we completed college courses like Math54 and 55, do we only get the credit or do we also get the GPA?</p>

<p>for example, if I took MA54 and 55 for college credit this year and got a A+, will that be on my berkeley transcript?</p>

4

<p>First of all, congratulations for your son!
I want to say it is very good that he is thinking about triple majoring and is willing to take classes in all of those areas. It would be ideal if he manages to continue study in all 3 areas, but he would learn which one he likes more as he studies.</p>

<p>His schedule is fine too. It’s not the most common schedule for a freshman, but keeping in mind he took the prereq courses, I think it is the right choice. I think taking Math 55 would be the best since it is a necessary course to declare a math major and it can replace CS 70. On the other hand, I have to warn you it is very hard to get into Econ 101A even for older classmen since it is such a popular course with only 90 spots. Make sure he sign up for the earliest CalSO so he can sign up for classes. (sign up for Econ 101A and the AC course - the most likely ones that will get filled up fast) The strategy I’ve been using for a while is to sign up for 6~8 courses and attend all of them in the first 2 weeks and drop the ones that you know you have no chance of getting in or the class is surprisingly worse/harder than you expected. (i.e. go to both Math 55 and 110 lectures) I find this “shopping” very important to find the best classes for me each semester.</p>

<p>Do NOT MISS OUT on Cal Day! I was also the person to choose Option B to come on a regular school day, but I regret this! Every department is preparing for Cal Day and asking students to bring their research to show it to prospective students. You’ll also get a department-specific tour. I think this is much more worthwhile than coming on a regular school day and sit in a class where he’ll be sitting anyway for the next 4 years. </p>

<p>As for the summer session, hopefully this link will answer your concern. [|</a> Berkeley Summer Sessions](<a href=“http://summer.berkeley.edu/pre-collegiate]|”>Pre-Collegiate Program | Berkeley Summer Sessions)
You do NOT sign up for summer classes via CalSO.</p>

<p>For the housing, you can find that discussion all over the forum if you search for ‘dorm’ or ‘foothill’. I think it makes no difference as long as he has the will to socialize and study. Each unit has its style and you can’t go wrong unless you have terrible roommates.</p>

5

<p>Also, let me share 3 very helpful links that will facilitate the scheduling of classes. It is very fun and easy to use.</p>

<p>[Ninja</a> Courses](<a href=“http://ninjacourses.com/]Ninja”>http://ninjacourses.com/)
A very useful website to read reviews for classes and professors and coming up with a schedule with several combinations.</p>

<p><a href=“https://schedulebuilder.berkeley.edu/[/url]”>https://schedulebuilder.berkeley.edu/&lt;/a&gt;
Same interface as ninjacourses, but it is owned by UC Berkeley and it shows the official grade distribution which is very helpful. </p>

<p>[Telebears</a> Oracle](<a href=“http://telebearsoracle.com/]Telebears”>http://telebearsoracle.com/)
Since there are so many classes that are enrolled quickly, this website shows you the record how quickly it filled up. It only shows classes for Spring 2012 for now.</p>

<p>Utilize all 3 websites and you can’t really go wrong picking the optimal schedule.</p>

6

<p>Thank you all for your kind responses.</p>

<p>Re: caprizep
Thank you for the information about CS 61A. We are thinking of attending Cal Day (after seeing UpMagic’s post), and perhaps staying at or around the Berkeley/SF area for a couple of days, so my son at least gets the chance to sit in one 61A’s lecture on Monday.</p>

<p>Re: dragoon998
I’m not entirely sure about your questions, but I think you will only get college credit for completing the equivalence of Math 54 & 55 at a local community college. From what I know, you start out with a “blank” GPA at any UC whether you are a freshmen taking a few classes at a CC or a transfer student. Please correct me if I’m wrong.</p>

<p>And I don’t think your A+'s will show up on your transcript, though you will need to send the scores from the CC you take those classes to Berkeley so they can evaluate the courses and clear the prerequisites for you so you can declare your major and take further advanced courses.</p>

<p>Re: UpMagic
Thank you for those helpful websites, I will make sure to show them to my son as soon as possible. The “shopping” advice seems to be really wise, and I will take note of it. However, I would like to ask if you register for many courses all at once, do you have to pay for all of them, and then later drop and ask for a refund? </p>

<p>The summer session site is very helpful, and after careful consideration, we will take part in Cal Day. Hopefully, my son will have a solid experience of what awaits him for the next four years. Thank you for all your help.</p>

<p>I also have a few new questions:</p>

<p>1) After reading the summer session website, it seems like summer courses are offered in a first-come, first-serve basis. From the look of the current enrollment and waitlist in both CS 61A and CS 70, it is very unlikely for my son to get into any of those classes. Therefore, I will ask him to choose an AC/breadth course of his interest and enroll in that course as an alternative in case he won’t be enrolled in CS 61A. Having said that, my question is that, will the professors for summer classes give out add codes? And how often does people on the waitlist be moved into the class?</p>

<p>2) Also for summer session, he is considering the option of living in the International House. If any of you has chosen this summer housing option before, would you be kindly enough to share you experience? How close is it to the main campus? And would it be better to live off-campus (with a few of his high school friend), or would it be better to live on-campus to get a feeling of the community and social life in Cal</p>

7

<p>A couple of points</p>

<p>1) Math 55 will not substitute for CS 70 if you’re majoring in EECS or CS. (I learned this unfortunate fact after I signed up for the community college equivalent… oh well.)</p>

<p>2) Berkeley has a [website</a> (click here)](<a href=“Webcast and Legacy Course Capture | Research, Teaching, and Learning”>http://webcast.berkeley.edu/) where they post audio and video recordings of lectures (which are hosted on the iTunes store and on YouTube). In particular, this semester’s CS 61A videos are online, so your son can sit in on not just one lecture, but all of this semester’s lectures. You might want to consider sitting in on a lecture that won’t be posted on this website.</p>

8

<p>Re: energize
Thank you for those information, especially the website. Do you know if CS 70 can replace Math 55 in terms of the requirements for the math major?</p>

9

<p>For some reason UC Berkeley doesn’t charge if you take more courses. No matter how many classes he signs up for, the tuition fee stays constant. There is a drop deadline without any penalty (for the first week, I believe) and after that you have to pay $10 for each class you drop, but it is something that you can’t really avoid this until he finds the courses that he’s interested in.</p>

<p>For the summer session, there are no adviser codes. Having 32 students on the waitlist out of 174 isn’t bad at all for CS 61A. In fact, CS 61A is pretty well-known for admitting all students every semester who signed up for it by increasing the class size with a combination of several people dropping out after realizing how difficult it is.</p>

10

<p>Your son may want to consider taking Econ 100B/101B before Econ 100A/101A. From my understanding, there is virtually no necessary material from the 100A/101A classes needed for 100B/101B, but the “B” series, especially at the 100 level, is less math-intensive than the “A” series (again, especially at the 100 level) and will help him get accustomed to university-level economics without needing to apply Math 53 concepts at the same time. I would most strongly consider the 101 series over the 100 series if your son is considering graduate school or if doing so gives him an advantage for his other majors (i.e. the 101 series counts in some way as electives toward those majors). Otherwise, he may just be better off in the 100 series, since those classes are considered to be easier and my help his GPA, especially given his pretty advanced schedule. Also, you may want to check with the economics department to make sure he can enroll in the 100/101 series in his first semester; there may be some type of restriction against it. Also, he may want to prioritize which pre-requisite classes to take sooner rather than later based on which majors he wants to declare (to declare them as soon as possible) and in what order. Then again, that may be based on his academic preferences, which he will learn more about, of course, once he’s taken classes across those disciplines.</p>

11

<p>Re: UpMagic
Thank you for sharing the good news, perhaps it would be great for a newly admitted freshmen like my son to shopping for courses his first semester</p>

<p>Re: basketballkid124
Thank you for your advice. We will consider doing the B series first. From UpMagic’s post, it seems like the 101 series is quite popular, so hopefully by the earliest CalSO day, it will still be possible for him to enroll in either 101A/101B. And I will make sure to contact the economics department beforehand. Thanks</p>

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<p>A couple of responses to some of your questions:</p>

<p>My son had to miss Cal Day weekend due to a family wedding. He had been admitted as a computer science major but wanted to check out some of the CS classes before committing to Cal. He got online, wrote down the complete schedule of CS classes for two days, and then showed up on campus on a Monday morning with his little rolling suitcase, going from class to class, about 6 of them altogether. Nobody even blinked. And that’s Berkeley for you! He knew a friend of a friend and arranged to stay in the dorms for two days and gave himself his own tour. Cal is the perfect place for somebody who is good at making things happen. They won’t stand in your way.</p>

<p>As far as scheduling goes, I wouldn’t get your heart set on any specific classes - my son has had crappy telebears times for two years and almost never gets the classes he sets out to get. That being said, he makes the best of it and has learned to be flexible. And not sweat the waitlists.</p>

<p>He loved Foothill. IMade friends with lots of like-minded engineering students who also were not interested in drinking. </p>

<p>One more thing. Part of the appeal of Berkeley is the opportunity it gives students to grow up fast and learn to figure things out on their own. It’s never too early to stand back a little bit and see how much your son can do… because when he gets to Cal he
will have to be very proactive in order to thrive.</p>

<p>Good luck and go Bears.</p>

13

<p>Very interesting mom483, and thank you for your detailed response.</p>

<p>I understand I’m a little bit too worried about my son, but then again, I believe he will be able to do fine, and make a lot of friends.</p>

<p>Since his heart is set on Cal, and the fact that you mention your son was able to sit in all of his chosen classes, I may arrange a 3 or 4 days trip for my son, just to explore SF and look around Berkeley, sitting in some of the courses he wants to take his first semester.</p>

<p>Again, thank you. I appreciate all the comments in this thread, and I will take note of all of them when I discuss with my son about Cal.</p>