<p>
[quote]
"Well the FACT still stands that you cannot easily switch majors between different colleges in Berekely"</p>
<p>Er, no. It really depends on what your switching to. Comp sci to art history would be easy
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Well, actually, that depends. L&S CS to art history is easy, I agree. But EECS to art history? Not so much. Such a switch would mean switching colleges, from the CoE to L&S. Such a switch is not guaranteed. L&S generally only approves people who have a 3.0+ GPA. Believe me, there are * plenty * of Berkeley engineering students who have nowhere near a 3.0
GPA.</p>
<p>"Please note: Grade Point Average is also a significant consideration for admission to the College. Students who meet all other criteria and have a 3.0 or higher GPA are more likely to be approved."</p>
<p>The result is the infamous Berkeley "engineering major trap" in which if you're doing poorly in one engineering major, you can't get out because nobody wants to take you. The other colleges don't want to take you. The other engineering majors also don't want to take you. So you're stuck in a major that you don't like and are not doing well in. I've known people who were caught in this trap, and they eventually flunked out. Contrast that with Stanford where if you're an engineering student who is doing poorly and wants to switch out, you just do it. Nobody is going to stop you.</p>
<p>Personally, I think this is one of the easiest problems for Berkeley to fix. You have some students in L&S who are trying to switch into engineering and who are doing decently (i.e. passing their engineering prereqs), but can't get into engineering. On the other hand, you also have some engineering students who are doing poorly and desperately want to switch to L&S, but L&S won't take them. Why can't Berkeley just let those people swap places? Why is that such a problem? By letting them swap, both students are better off. With the current situation, both students lose, as both of them are stuck in majors that they don't really want.</p>