I was going to do Summer Bridge and then take regular courses during the fall, however I was recently notified that I am not allowed to work if I enroll into Summer Bridge. FPF is said to help students by offering smaller classes and basically introducing a student to Berkeley and its resources. Freshman Edge also says something similar.
What are the benefits of choosing one over the other, or should I just wait until the fall and enroll in normal courses?
Fall Program for Freshmen is generally for students offered admission starting in the spring. Were you admitted to start in the fall or spring?
Summer Bridge and Freshman Edge are both pre-frosh summer programs.
http://slc.berkeley.edu/academic-coursework
http://summer.berkeley.edu/special-programs/freshman-edge
Summer Bridge appears to be mainly for students from weaker high schools who are more likely to need additional assistance transitioning to college work. Students who have not passed the Entry Level Writing Requirement (see http://www.ucop.edu/elwr/ ), whose precalculus math knowledge is insufficient to take calculus (see https://math.berkeley.edu/courses/choosing/placement-exam ) and/or who need to take chemistry for their major but have not had a decent high school chemistry course are the ones most likely to benefit from it.
Freshman Edge appears to be for students who just want to get a head start on their college courses in the summer.
Please make sure you read all the fine print (under policies section) for each program. Fall Freshman Program does not allow you to withdraw/cancel without cancelling your Berkeley SIR once you opt into the Program. You are restricted to the courses offered at FP campus (Berkeley or San Francisco). No lab courses (Chem 1A/AL tec.) are offered under FPF program. The class sizes are small and majority of the courses take place in the fall freshman campus next to Unit 2 in Berkeley or SFO Campus.