<p>i was accepted into berkeley for the spring 2014 semester. my parents and i decided to not sign up for the FPF program, because it would cost $7,315 (tuition) + $1,000 (books etc) + $7,000 (one semester of on-campus housing). </p>
<p>i'm pre-haas and will be using my summer and fall to knock out all seven of my breadth requirements (which would cost $3,000 at most, because i'd be living at home). i want to really get my GPA up to bolster my chances for haas, and community college classes would be easier to handle. i'd also be working a part-time job. we live an hour away from berkeley, so i could go to football games on the weekends if i so chose. </p>
<p>however, i know that freshman fall is when a lot of friendships form and solidify. i'm extremely nervous about the state of my social life as a spring admit who isn't doing FPF. </p>
<p>i've heard so much about the camaraderie associated with the dorms (on-campus housing isn't guaranteed at all for me), fall rush (not all houses do rush in the spring), and generally the fall semester when everyone's still caught up in the herd mentality of finding a group. having moved schools so much throughout my life, i've completely missed that boat. </p>
<p>former spring admits/friends of spring admits who haven't done FPF, what advice could you give me about making friends?</p>
<p>(i would join many clubs--though really that hasn't helped me much socially throughout high school.)</p>
<p>thank you in advance!</p>
<p>I’ll be your friend! I’m a pre-Haas spring admit who isn’t doing FPF either!</p>
<p>Being in a similar situation, I can’t offer much help other than serving as a bump, so here ya go : )!</p>
<p>-On a side note, where are you planning on going to CC? I’ll probably move up to Sacramento (I live near LA) and stay at my grandparents’ house and go to a CC there.</p>
<p>^made my first internet friend; don’t worry everyone, i’ll be good for the next four years at cal!!1
(really though, will PM you about being spring 2014 once i hit 15 posts)</p>
<p>You do know about [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) to match up your community college courses to Berkeley courses, right?</p>
<p>UCBalumnus - yes! i’ve got summer/fall courses all mapped out (IGETC), discussed my schedule over with a counselor at my local junior college, and made some alternate class schedules in case my first options don’t pan out.</p>
<p>Based on the link below, IGETC is for transfer students who come in at the junior level.</p>
<p>[Office</a> of Undergraduate Advising: Summary of Degree Requirements](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/summary.html]Office”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/summary.html)</p>
<p>And the business major does not accept IGETC for breadth requirements:</p>
<p>[Haas</a> Breadth Guidelines, Undergraduate Programs, Berkeley-Haas](<a href=“Breadth Courses - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas”>Breadth Courses - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas)</p>
<p>Assuming IGETC is not applicable to you, you may have to use the course mappings on [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) to map the CC courses to courses satisfying the various requirements for L&S and/or business.</p>
<p>hm, then it looks like my counselor needn’t have signed me up for the natural history lab. my other choices fit for transferring into cal. thank you so much for the resources!</p>
<p>assist.org is fantastic. Only drawback it shows how few of the classes our local CC had. sigh.</p>
<p>Hi. I am a current Spring admit whjo didn’t do FPF.Social life was difficult for me at first. My floormates are really social people, so I was reluctant to speak to them. Now that the semester is about to end, I am beginning to make great friendships. I am sorry that my post is not too inspiring,. but the moral is that wheter you are a fall or spring admit; do not be an introvet. Berkeley students are friendly! Good luck.</p>
<p>Socially, I’d say that you may be at a little bit of a disadvantage, but that you’ll have plenty of opportunities to overcome it if you are proactive (i.e. through joining interesting clubs, rushing fraternities that rush in the spring, taking the time to get to know your dorm floor even if they already have friend groups). I think that, if anything, there’s “momentum” that aids people in the fall to meet others (since everyone is actively trying to do it); in the spring, that sense of momentum isn’t there but people will generally still be friendly and receptive, including in clubs and Greek life.</p>
<p>In terms of classes, I would see if you can take Haas pre-requisites in the fall. I would also see if Haas and Berkeley consider your GPA for the fall or just exempt you from the requirements that you fulfill. In either case, I’d fulfill those requirements (breadth, pre-reqs, or both) that you consider to be your weaknesses, but making sure that you don’t overdo it if they do consider your GPA. Also, I would see if there are any companies in the area that you’ll be that would be willing to hire you in a part-time (perhaps paid) internship that will allow you to play some sort of business role (marketing, basic accounting, etc.). I think that Haas will place more value in that on your app than a job, though a job will also add depth to your app.</p>