Hello @ccAndronicus and @blsUCtransfer… I tried to email CS advising at UCB last month and this is the reply that I received, I have emailed the CS L&S but have not got any reply so far. This data is only for transfer from CC so I guess that is why it is a bit different that what get published (9.6%?). Anyway this is the reply:
Thank you for your interest in UC Berkeley Computer Science programs.
Below is some recent community college transfer data about admitted students in EECS. The first number is the number of applicants, and the second is the number admitted. The final number is the acceptance rate.
Fall 2013: 768 75 10%
Fall 2014: 960 79 8%
Fall 2015: 1106 92 8%
For CS L&S is harder to get estimates how many prospective transfer CS students were admitted, since some students are intending other majors initially.
Typically at least 90% of intended transfer CS students are able to successfully declare CS major.
I have CCed cs-advising, the official alias of our Computer Science advisors.
Thanks @beth28 , wow those stats are so low. They supposedly haven’t increased their departments capacity in recent years despite increasing demand. Are you applying to EECS too?
Hey @Hardworker223, I’m also applying to Haas. Your GPA looks strong and if you can get As this semester they’ll see an upward trend.
I also got conflicting information when I asked how the GPA is calculated. I have one B in a non pre-req summer class and I am just assuming they will count it. I’m focusing on getting As this semester to pull my GPA into the high 3.9s.
As for the PS, across the board people keep telling me to just directly answer the prompt and leave the fancy writing for English class. I went to the personal statement workshop at the UCB Transfer Center last week and my reader was from Haas. She said to treat my PS as if it were a conversation or an interview and to write as plainly as possible. In terms of length, I think you’re fine. At least you got it down to 1000. I still have to chop 53 words out somehow.
^^^ having said that Haas does take writing style way more into consideration than the regular application process. Not flowery or convoluted prose, but they do assess vocabulary and structure on a higher level than a run of the mill applicant. So really go that extra mile. Don’t throw words in from a thesaurus (always bad form) but be cognizant of your communication skills. They are assessing how you communicate.
Writing as plainly as possible is open to a ton of interpretation. I would not go overboard on the plain. Maybe better wording is write as directly and engagingly as possible.
There’s simply no denying, if placed side by side with regular applicants, Haas essays have higher calibre execution.
@lindyk8 : I guess this means that from those that petition to CS major at L&S UCB about 90% are successful, but then those that petition to CS major must have met the required GPA (by the end of 1st or 2nd sem) otherwise they will not petition to that major (those that do not meet the GPA will change major). So the data does not say anything really. @blsUCtransfer my son is intending to apply to CS (maybe not EECS but CS under L&S). Ya the number is so low for EECS… so this is one of the major consideration for my son to choose CS even though he already prepares for both.
@pugzandhugz hey! I applied as a 3rd year (I checked that I was a junior transfer though, not a senior even though I probably had way too many units). I had a 3.81 GPA, in every honors society open to juniors, a tour guide, an orientation leader, and spent a year working in an organic synthesis lab. Let me know if I missed anything about my stats you were curious about!
So I just got back from my one on one advising with an advisor at Berkeley and I don’t know if this is shocking news for anyone, but you need 3 years of a foreign language at your high school OR have taken a 2nd level language at your college in order to get into L&S/Hass. This is shocking to me only because I had no idea and now my entire admission to Berkeley is in jeopardy! The advisor said that this was the requirement that usually lead to many transfer rejections… Great!..
Yep, you need 3 years in HS or 2 semesters in college.
It’s not shocking for me, but it sucked when I found out about it several months back. I did 2 years in high school so I had to decide if I wanted to try and pick up where I left off or start something new.
I started something new.
Where do you stand with languages? You did 2 years in HS of what language? You can always study up and test into the second semester of a college language in spring.
@pugzandhugz Oh, you’re coming from a CSU, aren’t you?
Most CC students (with the exception of those who apply to Haas and some other majors) get IGETC certified - this overrides the foreign language requirement.
Maybe you can take the language classes online on the quarter system? I don’t know if they’re offered, but then you could hypothetically get the requirement done? It may be 3 quarters, though, I’m not sure.
@uctransfer2016 Depends on your major. CS people generally don’t follow IGETC. I think two years of language in HS with a C/C- or higher satisfies the foreign language requirement for IGETC. Otherwise, it’s the second semester of a language.
Most people who apply to L&S follow IGETC. IGETC clears all of the requirements in L&S, so you won’t have to worry about the FL requirement at UCB if you successfully complete IGETC. There is a FL requirement to IGETC, but it is more lenient than the one at UCs.
Hi. This is my first time posting here. I am currently studying in a CCC and it’s just my first semester. Is it alright if I’d apply by Fall 2016? I would have finished just around 38 units by then and I am hoping that I’ll be able to finish the other required 30 units by Spring 2017. I’m also a bit scared because I’ll still lack 4 pre-reqs by then.
@ktimbarang as long as you have 60 done by the spring before you enroll then you’re golden. Having said that it also depends on what major you are pursuing and their required/recommended pre-reqs.
@uctransfer2016 my plan is to take chemical engineering. and the required pre-reqs that I need to finish are two math courses and two physics courses. will it affect my chances of getting in? a friend told me that these courses will be vital in their selection process. (thanks for replying btw )
@ktimbarang although I am not too familiar with engineering I do know that it is very competitive and if you don’t take the prereqs (just like in any major at UCB) it definitely affects your chances of admission. If I were you I would take one of each next semester and then have them done by the fall of next year. Also, look at the stats of the past threads of people did and did not get into the school of engineering and see what the pattern is so that you can better understand what it takes to get accepted! (Update) Looked up the chem engineering on assist and it says that those courses are the minimum requirement so yea, not taking those classes will mean you won’t get in.
The foreign language requirement was not a surprise to me but my high school took five months to send me my transcript. I enrolled in French this semester just in case and then saw I had taken three years of the same language.
Thing is, I got a 65 in one of the semesters, so I’m not sure whether or not it counts as a C- or not. It was a passing grade for my high school and my counselor thinks it’s fine but I’d prefer to hear it directly from someone at UCB. I’ll ask when I’m there Friday.
)