@blsUCtransfer Computer Engineering in my opinion. You’ll want to be subtle about it - and instead of mentioning EECS to appeal to Berkeley, try to emphasize the values that they adore in your PS (having overcome hardship, personal growth/maturity, extreme passion for the subject, and so on).
I’ll be applying with a 3.83 as a Mathematics major. I have a presidential service award for community service. Undergraduate research experience at UCSD. I started my own business. I have plans to present an abstract at UC Irvine and Stanford in the fall. I volunteered at a Mormon church, and then went on to volunteer at equality movements like GEM (gender) and GSA (queer). I have been working for the student paper for three years as the Lead Copy Editor and now as head of advertising. I was a VIP guest at an Oceanside business event. I am the secratary of GEM. I have been the VP of records and communication for the accounting & business club for two years. I have presented an abstract at the ASBMB: Expiremental Biology conference as well as the Scripps research institute. I was involved with peer counseling And K-12 outreach. I’m in the Honors program and have all the prerequisites done. What are my chances?
@Bobkarterpop Honestly, you have great EC’s and a good GPA. You have a very good shot, in my opinion. What are your reasons for transferring?
Is Econ easier to get in at ucb because I saw they have a 30% acceptance as compared to ucla where 3.88 is the avg gpa
How necessary are A’s in calculus for Econ/Bus transfers? Would > 3.9 GPA overall with B’s in calculus ruin your entire application?
@Pinkponylife Where are you getting the 3.88 avg? When I last looked, the UCLA avg admitted transfer GPA to bus econ or econ was around 3.93-5.
Look at regular Econ not buisness
Ahh I see @Pinkponylife
@Pinkponylife At UCB, you are admitted by division, not major. Econ is under the Social Sciences in L&S, I believe - so the 30% acceptance rate is that of all the social sciences, not Econ specifically.
That being said, this does not take capped majors into account. Econ, to my knowledge, is more capped than something like Anthropology. So, while they say that one is not technically admitted by major, I’m pretty sure that it’s more difficult to get admitted into Econ than Anthro/Soc.
Consequently, no, it’s not easier to get into UCB Econ than UCLA’s Econ. They’re about the same IMO. UCB may even be a bit more difficult to get in, as it generally is. I don’t know. I was under the impression that UCB’s Econ had around a 3.8-9 average for acceptance (these numbers aren’t explicitly given anywhere, it’s just what I observed).
Bottom line, no, it’s not easier, despite one technically being admitted by division.
@SterlingAesir Bs in calculus classes will not completely kill any chances of being accepted. Still, you should strive for As. Berkeley really prides itself on its holistic review; they will consider numerous facets of you when making the final decision.
I am applying to Haas and thought about switching to Econ since it would be “easier” to get in, but I did not like that you had to apply again to get into the major. I’d prefer to know on day 1.
@Wadadli Haas is much more difficult to get into than Econ.
What do you mean about applying again to get into the major? I’m pretty sure you don’t apply again? Once you’re admitted into Haas, you’re admitted into Haas. Similarly, for Econ, if you’re admitted, then you’re admitted into L&S, and it’s just a matter of declaring the major. But everybody has to go through that.
- you may be talking about actually declaring the major? I’m unsure. I don’t know if Haas people have to formally declare BusinessAdmin, or…
I’m lost, likely due to a strong desire to sleep. 8-X
Hi @goldencub! You’re right, I was referring to the paperwork L&S students have to submit during their 1st semester to declare their major. Not everyone who applies intending to study Econ gets in and I would like to avoid that pressure down the road, tbh.
Haas is absolutely more difficult to get into but, after comparing the coursework for my second and third choice programs (Enviro Econ and Econ), I decided I should just apply for the program I am actually interested in, even though I have some lingering doubts about Haas and Berkeley in general.
I have been up way too long staring at assist.org and should go to bed. Crossing fingers for Davis TAG tomorrow! 
Yeah, from what I have heard Econ at Berkeley is a bit harder to get into than UCLA (natch, it’s Berkeley), although they might be comparable. The admitted GPA is pretty high too, as I recall. I’m also thinking there is a required course you must take at Berkeley for Econ before you can declare the major. Not sure, though.
Either way, like @goldencub, I can’t help but assume Anthropology is the easier to access.
As long as you apply as an Econ major, if you follow these guidelines your first semester, then you are guaranteed a spot.
Have an average GPA of 3.0 in the prerequisite transfer courses, and an average GPA of 2.7 in prerequisite courses taken at Berkeley.
At least one math or stat prerequisite course must be taken at UC Berkeley. For most transfer students, this is typically the statistics course.
So you just need to pass that stat pre-req with a B- essentially and keep a 3.0 in your other classes.
You also need intermediate economics along with that stats course your first semester.
Source: https://www.econ.berkeley.edu/undergrad/prospective/transfer-students
From the POV of a current econ major, that “guarantee” gives a lot of people false hope. Depending on your class choices, it’s very easy to end up below that threshold and cause you to be essentially kicked out of the major. If you think about it, failing one test in your first semester can very well kill your econ career at Cal.
Also a lot of non-econ admits attempt to switch into econ causing a huge bottle neck in the classes. If you are transferring with the near minimum unit count and are not a pre-admit, it is near impossible to add the required courses.
ALL Econ hopefuls should really watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlcYm_Bpwu0
(A lot of hidden truths in there like expect a “C” in your stats class and how restricted the intermediate econ courses are.)
Are there only three prerequisites for the Econ major for transferring
This is confusing if Berkeley admits by division that technically means for the first admissions synth to and Econ have the same chance because they both are in the same
I understand that after admissions declaring an Econ major is harder than anthro but at the first transfer admission the transfer chances are same rifht
Now that TAG decisions are up for all UCs… at least I think? Are you guys going to check the TAG box if you were accepted in your UC app? And if you do, does that have any impact on admissions decision?
Exactly @sdgoldenbear, passing those Econ courses at certain levels your first semester at Berkeley can be tough. There’s one UC that tosses them out right and left. Is it UCSD?
I’m not sure what you were asking up there, @pinkponylife. Definitely those transfers slated for Econ will have first dibs, so I think getting in the course won’t be a problem.it’s the grade part.