<p>Tomorrow evening (30-MAR-06), some of you will undoubtably be admitted to Berkeley as a Spring Admit. This was the case with my S in March 2004. For us it was great news, as CAL was a reach for him. For some of you, you may feel disappointed and/or confused. </p>
<p>My S did participate in the Fall Freshman Extension program and lived in the Dorms for his first year. He had a good year, and is thriving in his 2nd year at CAL. </p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the Spring Admit program and/or look at some of my earlier posts.</p>
<p>Yea it's nice that Cal has that option for those students who are very well-qualified but due to space, are not able to attend 1st semester. If you don't mind sharing, what were his stats?</p>
<p>I also participated in the Fall Program for Freshmen. It was an incredible experience in that it allowed many students to form very tight knit social groups because of the small program size. I had 2 friends who were in 3 of my 4 lectures AND sections.</p>
<p>My S is doing great at CAL. The FPF was a good way to start - the classes are small and as unlimitedx indicated, it is a good way to bond during that first semester. </p>
<p>The transition to 'regular' CAL was fine. He is doing well in his classes, and has not been threatened by the competition. He is a 2nd year, and this semester he is taking some upper-division courses. He is working hard, but enjoying it too.</p>
<p>My S is doing great at CAL. The FPF was a good way to start - the classes are small and as unlimitedx indicated, it is a good way to bond during that first semester. </p>
<p>The transition to 'regular' CAL was fine. He is doing well in his classes, and has not been threatened by the competition. He is a 2nd year, and this semester he is taking some upper-division courses. He is working hard, but enjoying it too.
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<p>sorry im being nosy... how's he doing gpa wise? i hate acting like this but i need to start facing reality and get with the game of admissions. (i want to go to med school so gpa will be very important)</p>
<p>Another point is that FPF has their sections led by the professor who teachers lecture, which is another positive aspect.</p>
<p>And historically, FPF students have had a higher GPA compared to fall admits when they graduate. Also FPF students are supposedly better looking (I didn't make this up).</p>
<p>Frankly I think the Extension program is better social-wise. I know a whole group of close-knit friends who are friends because they were all in Extension, saw each other on a daily basis, etc., etc.</p>
<p>My S did participate in the Fall Freshman Extension program and lived in the Dorms for his first year. He had a good year, and is thriving in his 2nd year at CAL. </p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the Spring Admit program and/or look at some of my earlier posts.</p>
<p>Good luck to all of you (and go Bears!)
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<p>Thank you for posting about this! I was just wondering... so the spring admits are basically those that are pretty qualified but they didn't have as exceptional stats as those who were automatically admitted?</p>
<p>I'd say some of my classmates in extension were much more "knowledgeable" than some of the fall admits I've met, and I'd say avoidingwork's son has better stats than a lot of students who applied. Some say it's all random, some say otherwise. But put it in perspective, this only affects one semester out of the 8 you will be here. However, I once was a fall extension student myself, so my opinions may be a bit partial.</p>
<p>P.S. If you are an engineering student you should decide carefully. Since engineering students have a long list of lower div technical courses to complete, participating in the FPF causes engineering students to have one less semester of time to spread out the rigorous tech. courses.</p>
<p>My S is doing a double major in applied math and classics. His current gpa is 3.87 or 3.78 (not sure which one off the top of his head). He says it is an A- gpa. He doesn't have plans to go to med school or law school, so he is not a grade wonk (never has been).</p>
<p>When he was in FPF, the grades did not count towards your GPA. That has possibly changed since that time. But if not, that can also be a benefit to the program. He also said that the coursework in FPF was just as difficult as the classes he has taken since.</p>
<p>During his first year, he lived in Foothill as he was in one of the Theme Houses. Applying for a theme house was a strategy to ensure that he had housing for the whole year. The experience at Foothill was so-so. There is more dorm housing now, so perhaps a better chance for Spring Admits to get a full year of housing. There is also Telegraph Commons as an option and the co-ops. This year he is living in one of the co-ops and is having a great time.</p>
<p>Supplemental post:
Grades do count now (Began last post)
All FPF students who applied for housing received a space last year (but usually triple)</p>
<p>Also avoidingwork, which co-op does your son live in? And are you okay with the normal occurence of drugs in the co-op where you son lives?</p>