Stuff I wish people told me

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<li><p>Berkeley student housing requires a deposit of $300 - which you have a week to pay once they email you room assignment.</p>

<ul>
<li>I wasn’t working at the time and got blind sided by this. The housing department was super rude and unhelpful.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><p>Berkeley bureaucracy sucks.</p>

<ul>
<li>Admissions lost my transcripts twice (once I even hand delivered), I have emailed my financial aid counselor 5 times in the past year and she has NEVER responded</li>
</ul></li>
<li><p>Your CC is factored into UC GPA for Grad School - it is not a new beginning like most people say.</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to go to Grad School straight from Undergrad you need to start thinking about your first semester you transfer.</p>

<ul>
<li>you apply the following fall, but you need GRE scores, writing samples, Letters of Rec, specific courses.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><p>Classes are similar to my CC, just tougher on grades.</p></li>
<li><p>UC’s use +/- system
A = 4.0, A- = 3.7, B+ = 3.3, B= 3.0, B- = 2.7</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I’ll post more when I think of stuff</p>

2

<p>just curious, what’s your major and what’s the usual route for transfers when they go to berkeley? grad school, work force?</p>

3

<p>Double Major English and History with minor in Education. I take an average of 16 units a semester. Most ppl take the minimum 13 units. I worked my first semester…it was doable, the worst part was most of my friends didn’t work so I never wanted to go to work. It was quite a shock when I transferred and everyone was already talking about Grad School.</p>

4

<p>Did you take any summer classes at Cal before the fall semester you transferred?</p>

<p>If not, how did you get yourself well prepared for you first semester at Cal?</p>

5

<p>No I didn’t take summer school. Summer school is a good option for new transfers, but it can also hinder your perspective of the school. In my experience and form others Summer School can be lonely for new students because they dont do too much and the school is way dead so it is hard to meet people unless you already know them (or meet them in class).</p>

<p>I emailed all of my professors and introduced myself and asked for tips to ease the transition and how to be successful in their classes. I read the majority of books before the semester started. The biggest difference is the reading and they seem to grade a lil tougher (not dramatic difference). Some days I have like 10pgs to read and I’m like ok and other days it will be read a 500pg novel in a week - add 3 other classes and it can be up to 2000pgs a week, but very rare. The biggest tip is don’t get too far behind. It is okay to slack in order to prepare for another class, but don’t let it get out of hand.</p>

6

<p>are you serious, our cc gpa counts for grad school? crap im so screwed…</p>

7

<p>how many classes is the norm? how many hours if you study at all do you spend? more for some, less for others</p>

8

<p>I thought the standard across most colleges in the U.S. was 12 semester units as a minimum to be considered a full time student?</p>

9

<p>Not Berkeley I know its really stupid because the average class is 4 units so in order to get 13 you need to take 3 classes plus a decal, independent study or PE. I usually take 4 classes which is why I have 16 units a semester.</p>

10

<p>"are you serious, our cc gpa counts for grad school? crap im so screwed… "</p>

<p>Yes. It’s actually worse than that, depending on the type of graduate school you’re looking to pursue. I believe medical and law schools do <em>not</em> honor academic renewal and grade replacements, so any D’s/F’s on your transcripts <em>will</em> be factored into your GPA for the purposes of evaluation.</p>

<p>And I agree with #5. The material and instruction here isn’t that much harder, but the competition (unsurprisingly) is. The approach is also slightly different from most CCs. It doesn’t take too long to adjust, though.</p>

11

<p>Studying…is all relative. I know ppl who study ALL day, I know people who I have never seen pick up a book. For one of my classes I read 2 of the 15 texts and got a B+, but I went to every lecture.</p>

<p>I spend an average of 6-7 hours a day on school which includes going to class, studying, and going to office hours. Fridays and Saturday’s I dont do any studying and Sunday I use the whole day to play catch up or get ahead on work.</p>

12

<p>CCCbound
Add Pass/No Pass classes too. I think a P is counted in as a C</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>It can also be better than that though. Engineering majors really only have their upper-div coursework weighed in admissions.</p>

14

<p>Can you elaborate on the competition aspect of the UC’s? I am afraid I do not understand why this would be a factor. Thanks in advance.</p>

15

<p>I thought most people already knew that all your college work is needed to be reviewed for grad school consideration.</p>

16

<p>"Add Pass/No Pass classes too. I think a P is counted in as a C "</p>

<p>Really? …that is lame… do you have a Link?</p>

17

<p>Cali Trumpet,
I take back my comment. I am not 100% sure. I was told by a counselor here that a P is counted as a C and it is a common misconception with the students. After doing some research the only thing I could find was that a NP is counted as an F. The last 3 years I have never taken a P/NP class because I was scared. At this point, let’s just say I am not sure.</p>

<p>[Career</a> Center - Law School - Academic Preparation](<a href=“http://career.berkeley.edu/Law/LawAcad.stm]Career”>http://career.berkeley.edu/Law/LawAcad.stm)</p>

18

<p>A Pass used to be counted as a C by law schools but they no longer do that. Taking P/NP classes is fine in moderation.</p>

19

<p>I am considering taking a class P/NP at a my UC… I have 5 more days to decide. It is a class that takes an incredible amount of studying and the topic is completely new for me.</p>

<p>The class doesn’t complete a GE or a pre req, I am just taking it for my own knowledge… would taking it pass fail look bad when I transfer?</p>

20

<p>^ive always been under the impression/been told that a few C/NC is not a problem at all. i have one and not worried about it all all.</p>