Having all the recommended courses might make a difference though…engineering admission isn’t exactly a cake walk
agreed ^ let alone EECS admissions.
As far as admissions:
In a general sense I’d say that, yes, one year transfers have distinct disadvantages when it comes to the admissions evaluations:
There is no clear designation for one year transfers as we are in the same pile as everyone else so having less for the committee to review relative to our peers is a negative. One year transfers are usually spending most of their effort trying to meet minimum requirements while traditional applicants usually have no such issue and can spend their time fine tuning instead. With Berkeley and UCLA, who approach admissions much more holistically than the other campuses, we are especially prone to being short-shafted in this regard.
Also as a one year transfer your biggest question mark is a lack of a track record, so you need to spend extra effort to prove that you are not a one semester/year wonder. In this sense it’s impertinent that your application can help verify a sense of consistency. Some people overcome this by taking intersession and short session courses to establish a more coherent academic timeline. Others, like myself, began this process early and dual enrolled at a CC prior to graduating high school. A popular option is to use extracurriculars to justify consistency, but this seems to be less effective than the previous two unless you have a world class talent/skill.
Additionally, AP credits, a huge reason why most people consider a one year track, aren’t factored as “true” positives in transfer admissions so while the one year transfers who rely heavily on AP scores get “points” for their HS achievements, traditional transfers get even more “points” for good grades in CC classes in comparison. All else being equal, an applicant with A’s in CC classes will fare better than another applicant that has with AP credit in the same classes…a huge difference from high school admissions where AP credits are viewed as clear positives.
On a more personal note:
To me, the biggest negative as a transfer is that we only get to spend 4 or 5 semesters here. It wasn’t until I started attending Berkeley that I realized that I overlooked just how much the UCs have to offer. Take your time at CC and place yourself in the best position to maximize your learning during your short stay at your eventual UC.
@EECSProdigy, Specifically with Berkeley…it’s freaking Cal! Everyone is here is hella smart and motivated. What separates the average students from the great ones is not how they got in, but rather who placed themselves in the best position to learn once they got in. Bluntly speaking, you should be trying to get as much coding experience as possible before you are “Hilfingered” rather than worrying about how old you’ll be when you graduate.
How you guys are putting up with this line of questioning from EECSProdigy is beyond me lol.
“I want to make sure I graduate before I turn 21. It is a personal goal that I have. It’s not that hard to be honest…”
If it’s not that hard, why are you asking about fabricating a story about a disability to improve your chances of getting in?
I’ve seen you post so many questions about shortcuts, advantages, and playing the system that at this point it almost seems like this must be a joke.
If you dig through his post history he has a thread where he asks if doing 32 hours in one semester is do-able. I’m not entirely unconvinced that he isn’t just messing with us.
^^^ Is he the guy who asked that doozy? =))
Trust me my fellows… I would do ANYTHING it takes to get into EECS. I was waitlisted from the program during high school admissions. In addition to this, I have turned down many high ranking schools to make the cut for Berkeley EECS. I’m just trying to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible… About the 32 credits thing I wasn’t kidding… My ap scores have reduced that to about 22 units. During high school, I took 14 units of accounting and real estate classes over summer and received all A’s.Rest assured I’m not a t-r-o-l-l. Just a down to earth HOMIE who wants to do everything right… Which by definition means doing EVERYTHING possible in my hand to look good to admissions. Everyone has some shady stuff… Its all gucci lol. I’m only applying to Berkeley as a transfer so I’m focusing a lot on this thread. If I don’t make it, I plan to attend Michigan. I though I’d have to apply again as a transfer, but I can postpone admission for 1 year in their engineering program.
Does anyone know how Berkeley treats old grades (from 2010) whenever a CC doesn’t offer academic renewal? I have a 3.5 cumulative, but if we ignore everything I took before I came back to school I have around a 3.94. I realize I have to put all of the grades into my application I’m just curious how they will look at it.
@Evilcow867 all of your grades are considered. Some may not be UC transferable - those are not factored into your GPA or unit total. If you retake a class but the old grades are not removed, I think they’d take both grades and factor them into your GPA, but you’ll only get the units from one, naturally.
@EECSProdigy If you would do anything to get into EECS, it would probably make more sense to take a second year at CC. Even two years is a short amount of time for many Engineering majors. It also would make sense to apply to other schools (UCLA, etc.), but you’re free to do as you wish. I’ve never heard of a successful 1-year EECS transfer, although I’m sure it’s been done before.
@goldencub On one of their FAQ pages it says:
"Does the university accept academic renewal for transfer students? Is it a good idea to pursue academic renewal, or does it look bad on a UC application? How would UC calculate the student’s GPA?
The university does accept academic renewal for transfer students, a process which provides for the removal of previously recorded substandard grades that do not reflect the student’s abilities. If another college or university grants academic renewal and the corresponding grade is removed and no units awarded for the course, UC will calculate the GPA only on grades earned in all other UC-transferable courses. In other words, the AR grade is not included in the gpa or unit calculation for transfer admission to UC. The information provided on the UC application must appear exactly as it does on the transcript.
UC considers academic renewal to be a very good idea for students who have a viable reason for using it. On the application, UC expects the student to explain why academic renewal was needed and how the student overcame the difficulties that led to it."
I take that as they don’t take grades into effect if they were covered by academic renewal. So that means that those of us whose CC doesn’t offer, but would otherwise qualify for academic renewal are just out of luck? That really stinks. I mean I know my bad grades were my own fault it just really kills me that they still drag me down. I’ve retaken every single class that I failed in the past, but my first few semesters are littered with C’s that bring my GPA down so low.
Source for quoted text: http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/q-and-a/calculating-gpa/#2
@Evilcow867 Admittedly, I don’t really know of the logistics of academic renewal. I know that C’s will stay with you. UC’s like upward trends, anyway. Your failed grades will be replaced with the new grades if you retake them with academic renewal. At least, this is what I think, you should definitely get other opinions. I don’t really know your entire situation.
Can’t really answer this question: “So that means that those of us whose CC doesn’t offer, but would otherwise qualify for academic renewal are just out of luck?” - sorry. Someone else should clarify, it’s a good question.
By the way, I read a post of yours a while ago, and I think that you have a solid shot, despite having a lower-than-average GPA. Definitely apply to other UC’s as well, but your personal statement topics are really compelling, and your upward trend/EC’s will give you an edge. Still, EECS is hard to get into. Let me know if you would like me to glance over them.
@EvilCow867 Just because your school doesn’t offer academic renewal doesn’t mean you can’t do grade replacement. If you retake the courses in which you received Ds or Fs, the UCs will only factor the grades from the second attempts into your GPA.
@goldencub I’m applying pretty much anywhere and everywhere under the sun 
I’m OOS for UCB, so I don’t really have a whole lot of hope for getting in, but my tiny little CC here in southern Illinois has sent a student (singular!) to Berkeley before, so I figure if I don’t try I’ll never know for sure. My physics professor actually did his graduate stuff at Stanford, and he thinks the fact that I’m from a very rural region, non-feeder area will reflect well on me, but I’m not so sure about that. OOS statistics make me sick just looking at them haha. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to at least try to help 
@Music1990 Yeah, the retaken courses weren’t really what concerned me, I’ve retaken and replaced F’s, and D’s with A’s. From what I understand Academic Renewal knocks out entire semesters, not just D’s, and F’s. The grades aren’t factored into the GPA anymore and no credit is received for any classes that you did pass. My CC doesn’t do that unfortunately.
@Evilcow867 Oh yeah, only some colleges completely wipe out semesters. Many just take out the Ds or Fs. It’s a weird and sometimes unfair system, because Cs become almost worse than Ds and Fs. I think if you have a good upward trend and you explain how you have progressed as a student you will be alright though.
@Music1990 In my case I would definitely have preferred failing the classes. I don’t know that anyone would have cared about 5 year old F’s assuming I retook them and received A’s. The C’s definitely bring my GPA down though. Since they’re so old I’m hoping they won’t be looked at too hard.
Do you guys think it would be worth noting in my additional comments that for my first two semesters that I did so poorly in I was dealing with becoming a father at the age of 18? That’s the truth, but it feels like an excuse to me.
@Evilcow867 I think you should definitely mention that. It’s not an excuse when it’s something that big.
@EECSProdigy “Which by definition means doing EVERYTHING possible in my hand to look good to admissions. Everyone has some shady stuff…”
Yeah, because actually getting in on your own merits is sooooooo overrated.
You should totally take 32 units though. You seem like a smart guy, you can totally do it. Go for it!
Good luck everyone! Appreciate your input on my stats/story listed below…
Major: Philosophy
Transferrable GPA: 3.71-3.73 by end of Fall
Major GPA: 4.0
IGETC: will be done this spring
Major prep: 1/3 completed so far, the other 2 done by spring.
EC: I have written for newspaper at LACC, plan to volunteer at a veteran’s hospital and be active in Philosophy club this semester
Additional info: My story is somewhat complicated. I returned to school this year (LACC) at age 29 after dropping out of Temple University in Philadelphia eight years ago. I wasn’t mentally ready for college the first time around and had a couple of rough semesters at Temple before dropping out. Fortunately, I was able to apply for Academic Renewal there upon my return and should be approved for it before I submit my UCB application. After dropping out, I went on to have a successful career, working for five years as a union organizer for one of the country’s biggest labor unions (SEIU). My return to school was inspired by knowledge and interests I acquired through my work there and also the feeling that I still had unfinished business in academia. Since returning I’ve managed a 4.0 gpa but it’s being weighed down by other substandard grades I received (1 F and 1 C) from two other colleges in PA (one community college, one 4-year university I attended during a summer session in 2005). I am actually returning to that 4-year university this Fall to retake those 2 classes in hopes of boosting my gpa. Meanwhile, I’ll be taking a couple of online classes at LACC to stay on pace to meet my IGETC requirements. Then, I will physically return to LACC next Spring to wrap everything up. When all is said and done I will have completed 40 credits at LACC and 21 out-of-state. The UC guidelines require that you have 30 credits from a CCC and that your last semester before transfer is done at a CCC in order to be eligible for priority admission. After this semester, I estimate that my gpa will be just over 3.7, which I’m not sure is good enough. The lengths I’m going to in order to transfer to UCB are pretty absurd but I’m hoping the effort is seen as a positive by the folks reviewing my application. I also hope my status as a re-entry and experience as an organizer help my cause. What do you all think?
Also applying to: UCLA, DAVIS (TAG)
@goodmarks I’m not sure about average GPA’s at Cal, but UCLA publishes all of their average GPA’s for every major. For fall 2014 the average GPA for Philosophy was 3.57. I’ve heard you should just add a few points (to most majors) to estimate for Cal, so I think you’re in good shape on that front.
You can look at all of the transfer GPA’s here: https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_tr/Tr_Prof14.htm