<p>I'm really happy about my Berkeley acceptance, and am seriously considering attending; however, compared to the other schools that I'm considering, I know very little about UCB, so I was hoping you guys could answer some of my questions. Thanks in advance for your help! :)</p>
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<li><p>How easy is it to double major? I want to study psych but my dad thinks it's an impractical major, so we've come to the compromise of me double majoring in psych + something 'practical' like business/econ etc. Relatedly, is it even possible to double major across schools (ie. psych at letters and sciences + business at haas)?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the learning atmosphere like? Berkeley is the only public university I'm considering, and by far the biggest. I've been told to expect classes with 1000 students, with most of them being lecture style - are most classes like that? Furthermore, is it easy for undergrads to get research opportunities or do most of those go to grad students? I have also been told that students are extremely competitive; is that true?</p></li>
<li><p>What is the social atmosphere like? I'm scared that with such a large school, there won't really be a sense of community, and that it'll be lonely being just another face amongst 25,000. </p></li>
<li><p>(Don't laugh at me) Do I have to take math?! I really really dislike math and, having endured 2 years of IB Math, want to be 100% done with math after high school. Is math a requirement, and if it is, is there any way I can 'cheat' this requirement with a science or maybe a less 'math-y' math like stats?</p></li>
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<p>I look forward to hearing from you guys, thanks again! :)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily easy to double-major, but I know quite a few people who are doing it. As long as you look at the major requirements for both the majors and plan out your four year accordingly (which you’ll have to do to submit a petition to declare either major/a double major anyways), you should be fine. As you’re planning it during your first couple semesters and taking the appropriate classes, you should be able to judge whether or not you can handle it.</p>
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<li>Yes, some classes can get quite large, mostly lower-division prereqs though. I would not expect 1000 people in ear lecture; I’d say most of my classes have been around 300-500 students? But that is only for the lecture portion of class. Most classes will have a discussion or lab section as well, which is usually comprised of around 25 students and one Graduate Student Instructor, so that you guys can go over material from lecture and have a smaller environment to ask questions in.</li>
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<p>There are research opportunities available to students, and you will probably hear more about that if you actually attend and decide what your field of study should be. But for now, you can rad up on one of the programs here: <a href=“Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP) – Undergraduate Research & Scholarships”>http://research.berkeley.edu/urap/</a>. I know a number of students who also just emailed professors they knew were working on research and asked for any opportunities available. It’s not exactly easy to get a research position, but that only means that it is not guaranteed. Students are competitive in the sense that almost everyone is qualified, so it depends on you and how you can sell yourself.</p>
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<li><p>It can definitely get lonely, especially your first few days, But I found that living in the dorms was really good for me, as well as joining clubs. In the first few weeks, there will probably be a slew of freshmen trying to make friends, so don’t be afraid to talk to people in class or on your floor. Everyone’s looking for company. After tha, it’s a matter of keeping up the friendships you want.</p></li>
<li><p>That will depend on your major. Most will need a year of college calculus though. I don’t believe Psych or Business need any of the “harder” math classes.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m not exactly sure what that means. I can only assume that, since Psychology is a capped major (meaning you need to have a certain GPA to declare), it just means you’re not really a Psych major yet. You’d have to apply after taking some of the required courses for your major, and would need to meet the GPA requirement for it.</p></li>
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<p>@cjeezus YunYun94 covered things pretty well. The only thing I can add is that my son loves that Cal is so big, there’s a lot of people to pick from for friends. You are bound to find people you get along with. Also, he likes that it’s easy to avoid people he doesn’t like. Coming from a medium-sized high school, I was a little worried about the transition to a big university, but he loves all the choices a big school offers. </p>
<p>Having two majors both in L&S is easier than if one of them is business, because business has a lot of requirements.</p>
<p>All L&S frosh enter as undeclared. Psychology is one of the capped majors that requires a higher GPA than 2.0 to declare (currently, psychology requires a 3.2 GPA in its prerequisites). Economics is also a capped major (requires a 3.0 GPA in its prerequisites). Business is a competitive admission major.</p>
<p>Psychology requires a semester of statistics (2, 20, or 21).</p>
<p>Business requires a semester of statistics (20 or 21). It also requires one of the following for math:
1A-1B
16A-16B
1A-16B
IB HL math score of 5+ and 1B
IB HL math score of 5+ and 16B
53
54</p>
<p>(AP calculus BC score of 5 and GCE A-level A/B/C are treated similarly as IB HL math by the business major.)</p>
<p>Economics has similar statistics and math prerequisites, but allows an IB HL math score of 5+ (or the AP or A-level scores listed above) to satisfy the entire math requirement (and AP calculus AB or BC score of 3+ is also allowed to substitute for 1A or 16A). However, students planning to go on to PhD study in economics are recommended to take much more math (53, 54, 110, 104).</p>