What I gather is that holistic admissions comes more into play with capped majors (at least pertaining to L&S.) Psych, Public Health, MCB, IEOR, and Econ all seem to have applicants that are substantially more well rounded whereas uncapped majors seem to have more admits based on GPA. I don’t have any factual evidence to support this other than my observations from transfers I’ve met, but logically it would make sense that the shear numbers and merit of applicants for some majors is so high that Berkeley can afford to be extremely selective with them whereas they are looking to increase the selectivity of less popular majors.
@Iwillbeahaashole I don’t know if I can give a good gauge for Haas as I wouldn’t have got in myself. From what I’ve seen, it’s more about not giving them a reason to deny you admission rather than finding a way in. In that sense not having a final grade for Calc II is a legitimate worry, but on the other side if there is nothing you can do about it, then why worry? Your golden if you switch to Econ with all the other “Haas rejects” though.
@jonuni94 Exactly that. GPA/EC wise, you seem to be in good shape. 100A with 20 and IAS45 / DS10 is pretty much the go to schedule for most econ transfers (which is why 100A is super hard to get into) but I definitely recommend 101A instead. Econ 136 and 140/141 are significantly easier with a 101 background versus a 100 background.
What I would work on is preventing yourself from being in the very real scenario where you have to rely on crashing your intermediate econ course (100A/B) which leaves you vulnerable of not even being able to get into Econ in the first place. Having a math 53/54 equivalent helps with that because you open yourself up to taking 101A/B as well which effectively doubles your chances of getting the classes you need to become an Econ major. For added incentive, Prof. Card is scheduled to teach 101A next fall as well! Stats 20/21 is easier to get in comparison, but as the undergrad advisers will warn you when you get here: most will get C’s or lower in that course and with the GPA cutoff it is a common pitfall for Econ hopefuls.
Does anyone know the effect of applying under Political Economy versus regular Economics. I know PE isn’t capped, and has a higher acceptance rate than Econ, but would I be completely restricted from staying in PE if I was accepted through that? They are both in L&S and I’ve had interest in both majors, I just found out PE wasn’t capped. I’ve completed all major pre reqs for both majors besides the foreign language for PE, but what do you guys think?
PE has new requirements that essentially make it very close to a capped major and it’s traditionally the fallback for Econ hopefuls who don’t make it to the Econ major. However since the requirement change was only implemented last year, the residual boost in applicant merits should take place this year or next year so it’s hard to gauge. I expect the average stats for PE to be very close to traditional Econ within the next two years.
Since in L&S you aren’t admitted into a major yet, the only real difference between Econ and PE admits are the class codes you’d be eligible for. Econ students traditionally are reserved 100A / 101A codes while PE are reserved 100B / IAS 45 codes. The rational for this is the upper division electives for PE all branch from 100B while traditional Econ branches more from 100A / 101A. You can technically apply as a PE and declare for traditional Econ (and the opposite as well) but the risk is you’ll have very limited choices as far as major electives the following semesters relative to the traditional admit of each respective major while you “catch up.” Generally though it’s not that bad and you are able to get any course you want if your willing to take summer courses or stay a fifth semester.
That said, it’s a great program and essentially deals primarily with macroeconomics whereas traditional economonics at Cal expands more on microeconomics. The professors are arguably just as good and the opportunities are very similar. If you found macroeconomics to be more interesting or prefer the policy studies over mathematical analysis, then PE would probably be a better fit than traditional Econ. It’s also worth mentioning that the PE program has a nicely established pipeline to the public affairs sector so it’s a great choice if your looking to go into policy development, urban planning, or public sector analysis.
@SDGoldenBear I had more interest studying macro than micro when taking the two courses. Do you know the different sets of pre reqs I will need to complete in order to transfer there? There seems to only be 3 major courses on assist. For some reason it didn’t include calculus courses in the major requirement…
Also, will I have to take a foreign language in order to even be eligible for transfer?
PE forgoes the math for more of a top-down historical view on Econ so I don’t think there is really much need for Calc outside of the 100A & 100B courses. You also have the choice of taking IAS 106 / 107 instead of 100A/B if you really want to avoid the heavier math altogether.
I don’t know if the four semesters of foreign language are required to be completed for CC transfers but freshmen admits can declare the PE major without finishing them. In fact, the department only cares about the fourth semester course and most lower division students at Cal take the first three courses as P/NP. It’s also fairly typical to use EAP / study abroad to meet a portion of the foreign language requirement since a lot of the major concentration courses are offered abroad and you can take up to three of them outside of Berkeley. I do think having all four of them done prior at the time of transfer will significantly increase your admission chances though.
Ideally you want to finish the prerequisites for both majors if you can in order to keep your options open. It’s always better to keep your options open when considering anything at Cal.
@SDGoldenBear I know it’s up to me to choose my major and follow what I want, but what major do you think I should apply under for a better chance? I can see myself majoring in either, and I could always switch if I really want to. But what do you think?
@pugzandhugz Rather than cherry picking the admission statistics, I would pick the one that suits your strengths and increases the probability of getting the higher grades. In this case it would come down to two calculus classes (and differential equations really) versus four foreign language classes. The former are known weeder courses and the later path has a relatively large workload so each have their own pros and cons.
Hi I’m planning on transferring into Berkeley for fall 2016.
This summer (I just graduated high school in May) I took computer science, anthropology, political science and psychology( B+,A+,A,B). My GPA is about a 3.67. I am part of the honors program and I also have four jobs. One is at a science camp, another is at a martial arts place, third one is teaching calculus to kids from low income families, and the last one is a Marketing Coordinator for a nonprofit organization called HackingEDU.
From AP credit I have 56 quarter units. After this semester I will have 95 quarter units.
I’m hoping to raise my GPA by then too since I’m going as a Computer Science Major! I also have made an android app and am working on a iOS app.
Berkeley is my dream school, but I’m pretty sure it wont happen with my gpa, but here’s to hoping…
Major: Astrophysics
Gpa: 3.52, UC transfer gpa says 3.61
Estimated Gpa after Fall: 3.63
Pre-Reqs: Missing physics 3
IGETC: Finished after fall 2015
ECs: student government senator and vice president, ssccc, swim, waterpolo, honors program, phi theta kappa, a few clubs
While I’m reading all the posts in this thread, I kept thinking that I won’t even make the cut to go to Berkeley. Here are my stats:
Major: Cognitive Science
GPA: 3.54
ECs: Working part time ~12 hours per week, volunteer at a blood center for 2-3 hours per week. I am also planning to go for another volunteer job at a nearby VA hospital, student government, and will probably be in a work-study this year.
Other: I am transferring after a year since I got into a dual-enrollment when I was in high school, gaining 20 units, graduating early in march then continued CCC, taking full load classes per quarter. I currently now have 45 UC transferrable quarter units, and will have 105 by the end of spring.
Will finish IGETC by the end of spring as well.
Immigrant/First Generation who will go to College
2 sisters have transferred to and graduated at Berkeley. (not sure if this will matter at all)
Essay: the major prompt – mostly about my awakening at a high school summer program where I got a scholarship; the other prompt – still have no idea
I’m applying for EECS
Major: EECS
Overall GPA: 3.94 after summer 2015 (one B in English that doesn’t transfer) -
Major GPA: 4.0
IGETC: None
Units (Expected): 87.50 by the spring
Pre-reqs: Will be able to complete Physics series, chemistry series, and Math by the spring.
Personal statements/essay: 7/10
EC’s/work: Worked thirty five hours a week at Albertsons, eBay seller, Physic club at high school.
Award/ Honor: many provincial Physics Awards in my country.
Weakness: Don’t have many EC’s, I am an immigrant so English is not my strongest point (moved to the US 3 years ago)
***Since I studied my high school in my country, do I need to take any foreign language to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English?
Any chances for me?
Good luck everyone!!
I’m applying to L&S for my Computer Science BA, and I’m doing the 7 course breadth rather than IGETC. I haven’t taken a foreign language nor do I have the possibility to. If I teach myself spanish, is there a way I could be exempt from the foreign language requirement?