Should I be nervous about competition at Berkeley?

<p>I was recently accepted as a transfer student to Berkeley from a CC. My stated major was Econ, although I have to apply to the major individually after enrolling. I am getting very close to submitting my SIR, (its due June 1st, but I can't sign up for Summer classes until its in, which puts pressure on me to get it in ASAP) but I still have reservations about whether Berkeley is truly the best choice for me. Among other things, I've heard some very intimidating stories about the competitive atmosphere at Berkeley. Should I be worried about how hard Berkeley's coursework is? For a frame of reference, I had a 4.0 in Community College, but I definitely have no delusions about this being anywhere near equivalent to a similar GPA at Berkeley...</p>

<p>Other college options I am considering are UCLA,UCI, UCSD, and UCD.</p>

<p>A friend of mine was in a similar situation. He had a 4.0 from a CC, and transfered to Cal as an econ major. His first semester here, his GPA was around a 2.8, but admittedly, he didn’t work as hard as he did at the CC.</p>

<p>It’s definitely a difficult program, and there is a very decent amount of competition, but if you’re willing to do what it takes to succeed, you’ll probably do well.</p>

<p>You will find the coursework extremely difficult. That’s not because of competition, it’s because the courses are taught at a high level with high standards. If I were you, I’d go to webcast.berkeley.edu and watch some Econ videos, they have 100A and 100B.</p>

<p>Difficult doesn’t mean impossible. It just means you’ll have to work hard and rise to a higher level.</p>