<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>I'm currently a freshman at USC and I'm really enjoying my time here; however, Berkeley has always been my dream school and it's very close to home. In addition, the tuition I'm paying at USC is through the roof. I'm doing CS here at USC and I'm interested in the L&S CS program at Berkeley (applied to EECS out of high school and was rejected). I know Berkeley takes quite a few transfers from community college and some from the UC system, so I was wondering if transferring from a private school is even possible.</p>
<p>If so, would I apply in the fall of my sophomore year?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Generally, there is a smaller number of transfer spots for students transferring from a private to a public university like Berkeley, but I am not sure if this is true.</p>
<p>What you need to know is, Berkeley and the USC campus are POLAR OPPOSITE. Berkeley is a liberal town, where almost all of the students are involved in clubs or groups that promote change in society or change for the better in general. There are many homeless, mentally ill people who walk the streets and beg you for money to buy their next hit of crack or heroin. Lots of the apartments in the area surrounding campus are very old and not luxurious like the USC dorms. Again, Berkeley is an amazing school, but it has lots of negative aspects of it, yet many positive ones.</p>
<p>I remember the USC campus as a very high class, up scale architecture, students and people all around. It’s very, very different than Berkeley.</p>
<p>Also the CS major in L&S is capped, so you have to apply for the major specifically.</p>
<p>Sorry, I probably should have been a little more clear. I absolutely know the differences between the two universities. My dad went to Berkeley and I grew up an hour away from it. I guess my question is more geared towards can and when should I apply for a transfer if it’s even possible?</p>
<p>You definitely can apply, but keep in mind almost all of the transfer spots are reserved for those coming from community colleges.</p>
<p>Also, I’m sure you know this but since I live in the LA area and have spent a summer at USC I’d like to point out the areas are really not that different. Both are liberal cities with plenty of crime and I’d never describe either place as luxurious.</p>
<p>Dina,</p>
<p>If you take the USC campus and the Berkeley Campus, Berkeley hardly has money to have it’s bathrooms cleaned and they don’t have money to wash the side walk.</p>
<p>USC on the other hand has beautiful buildings, adorned with marble floors and fully functioning air conditioning. There are employees who smile at you and wash the floors and side walk. I have also heard the dorms have room service and have them cleaned by maids too, but not sure if that’s true.</p>
<p>Right, well obviously USC is a private school=more money, I was talking about the surrounding cities which are both, in my opinion, pretty gross.</p>
<p>oh yea in terms of cities its the same, this is true.</p>
<p>It is possible to transfer from a private school. Source=I did.</p>
<p>However, it is a laborious process. You need 60 credits, as Berkeley only accepts Junior Transfers. Additionally, you’ll need to satisfy as many prereqs for your major as you possibly can and satisfy as much of the breadth (geneds) as possible. There’s no direct equivalency between Berkeley and SC’s courses like there are for CC and UC transfers, so you’ll have to do a bit of guesswork.</p>
<p>I suggest scouring the L&S website that lists all the breadth courses that can be taken and find ones that are similar at SC. Do the same for your CS prereqs. Keep your GPA high. It doesn’t necessarily have to be through the roof (I transferred with a 3.55 from a private school), but it has to be good. Get involved on campus, I feel like Berkeley really likes people who go out and DO stuff. If you really want to transfer, it’s definitely possible, but it isn’t at all easy. It was totally worth it for me, though.</p>
<p>I transferred from a CSU to Berkeley back in the late '90s. </p>
<p>I think essays are critical. It did help that my CSU did not offer my intended major as Berkeley did…but that won’t help in your case since both 'SC and Berkeley offer computer science degrees.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, for those who transferred, did you apply in the fall of your sophomore year? If so, is that even enough time to accumulate leadership positions and strong E.C.'s?</p>
<p>I don’t personally know anyone who’s transferred from a private school but those I know who’ve transferred from cc’s applied during sophomore year so surely if they had enough ECs you can too.</p>