<p>I can't find it on Cal's website but since I have only a couple more semesters here, is it possible for a **transfer **to graduate summa or magna cum laude?</p>
<p>anyone on here gunning for a greek honor?</p>
<p>Yep. I just got a 4.0+ my first semester after transferring. We can get it, its based on upper-div GPA.</p>
<p>There are no Greek honors at Cal but they have a somewhat equivalent system, still with three levels of honors. It’s based on your overall GPA across all classes you’ve taken - this is the GPA that is listed on your BearFacts transcript.</p>
<p>The exact numbers are at [Honors</a> by College 2008-2009 - Office Of The Registrar](<a href=“http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Records/honors.html]Honors”>http://registrar.berkeley.edu/Records/honors.html)
As you can see, there isn’t a lot of variance between colleges.</p>
<p>summa cum laude and magna cum laude are not Greek they are a Latin.</p>
<p>I wonder, if a double major get highest honors in both of their majors, are they referred to as “summis cum laudibus” (that is the plural of “summa cum laude” for those who don’t know Latin)</p>
<p>I really think the College of Engineering should have lower thresholds for honors, given the fact that the average GPA in engineering is much, much lower than that of any other college. It’s also the same reason why I think the 3.96 GPA cutoff for the University Medal is just plain stupid.</p>
<p>No, the average GPA in engineering is not lower when you look at the better students. Those cutoffs for honors in the link I posted are based on the top 3%, 10% and 20% of students who have a major in that college. Many people come into Cal believing it is harder than other schools, and maybe it is harder to get a B, but if you’re looking at As I don’t think Cal is more difficult than other institutions of the same caliber. People just like to think that their GPA is better than it actually is.</p>
<p>On the topic of the Medal, they need to filter out candidates somehow. Again, the link I posted shows that for all colleges except Environmental Design, a 3.93 GPA is around the cutoff for the top 3%. I’m guessing that 3.96 brings that down to the top 1% or so. I imagine that the selection process is pretty rigorous and with over 5,000 students in the graduating class, even paring that number down to the top 50 students still requires a lot of work to go through carefully. Regardless, 3.96 still permits for mistakes – more often than not, the medalist was not a 4.0 student…</p>
<p>you get anything with semester honors?</p>
<p>deans list…but it’s nothing special.</p>
<p>for making it to the dean’s list in spring 2009 student needed a gpa of 4.00? that means the top 4 percent all had perfect gpa?</p>
<p>[Dean’s</a> Honor List-Introduction](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/honorlist/intro.html]Dean’s”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/honorlist/intro.html)</p>
<p>3.96 brings it down below 1%.</p>
<p>When I went to the University Medalist reception last year, there were around 40 students there. Assuming the graduating class consists of 5500 students, which is reasonable considering official records indicate that there are 25k undergrads (with more upper classmen due to CCC transfers), the 3.96 GPA requirement filters out >99% of the graduating class.</p>
<p>I was talking about the dean’s list for the SEMESTER - not the overall GPA during college. </p>
<p>And is the University Medal awarded only to the top 1% ? Where can i find more info about this?</p>
<p>btw… congrats on the medal!</p>
<p>nvm… i found it - [UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid Office: Undergraduates Apply for Aid](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/umedalhonor.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/umedalhonor.htm)</p>
<p>CCnewbie, I was just adding on to what bsd had said. The University Medal is only awarded to one graduating senior every year and surely I didn’t win last year-- I didn’t even apply. I got invited to the reception, but only went for the free food.</p>
<p>Some majors require that you do something extra, like write an honors thesis, to graduate with honors. Geography is one of those majors. Also, to be on the Dean’s List, you have to carry a certain number of graded units. A semester 4.0 on 13 units with 1-2 P/NP won’t get you on the Dean’s List, but you’ll still be listed as “Honors through…” in BearFacts.</p>
<p>thatgirltoo, you are incorrect. For L&S, you must meet the following criteria to be on the Dean’s Honors List (taken verbatim from the L&S website):</p>
<p>-13 or more units completed on a letter-graded basis for the semester
-GPA for semester must be in top 4% of L&S undergraduates (GPA normally about 3.85)
-No I, NR, or NP grades, or courses for which no grades have yet been submitted for the semester</p>
<p>So, a semester 4.0 on 13 units and 1-2 P/NP (given that you passed these units) <em>would</em> get you on the Dean’s List for L&S.</p>
<p>tastybeef, that’s really surprising that only 40 people were at the University Medal reception. Given the slew of easy majors in L&S, you would think more people (out of a pool of 5500) would earn a GPA above 3.96.</p>
<p>It’s not that surprising. Easy majors attract students who aren’t too keen on doing school work and that in itself is causative to being excluded from the award.</p>
<p>Def890: I earned 4.0 for Fall 2008 and was really excited to think I’d be on the Dean’s List, but I’m not. I really think it is because I took 13 units, with 2 of those units P/NP. The only other possible explanation is that the faculty adviser for the Decal that I took incorrectly entered my grade as NP, and it was changed in early January to P.</p>
<p>Aha, I found the wording I was looking for:</p>
<p>“They had a minimum of 13 letter-graded units…”</p>
<p>So, I took 14 units in Fall 2008, but only 12 were letter graded. Therefore, even with a 4.0 that semester, I’m not on the Dean’s List. (I thought I only took 13 total units, but actually took 14.)</p>
<p>Why is being on the Dean’s list so exciting?</p>