UC Berkeley 2017 Transfer Thread

@mangobby Did they talk about housing opportunities? I don’t think UCB actually has transfer dorms, so I’ve been curious about the housing situation.

There are dorm/residential complexes specifically for transfers, although other upperclassmen and some really lucky freshman live there as well. I actually toured two of them: Martinez Commons and Channing Bowditch. Both offer dorm style and apartment housing and I really liked them. Buildings are new and modern looking, plus I also thought they were in a good location being close to dining halls and the campus. There are also a lot of communal sitting and studying areas and there was a small gym on the first floor. Martinez apartments were loft style. You share an apartment with 3 to 4 other people but you get your own single room, and there’s an upstairs/downstairs.

Guides did stress how it is a lottery system: you can end up in your top choice but you may not. You may even room with a freshman. Priority does go to transfer students for specific complexes, like apartment-style ones, but you can really live anywhere.

Here is a link to Cal’s housing site. If you use the click-down bar, it’ll list all the possible spots transfers can live in.

https://housing.berkeley.edu/undergraduate-students

@plsacceptmeUCs above comment

Major: Electrical Engineering
GPA: 3.44
Major Requirements: Fulfilled
IGETC: Incomplete
EC: Tutoring, Volunteering, Honor Society
Applied: UCSD, UCB, UCD, UCLA, UCI, UCR, Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona, SJSU, SF State, Cal State Long Beach
Accepted: UCSD, UCD, UCI, UCR, Cal Poly Pomona, SJSU, SF State, Cal State Long Beach
Declined: None (yet)
Waitlisted: Cal Poly SLO
Awaiting: UCB, UCLA

I know my GPA isn’t great, hoping for a long shot in that my essays will carry me enough to be considered.

Wow thank you everyone! @Orangered123 Sorry I couldn’t get back to you, I am in a rural area in Yosemite for the weekend and wifi/data is limited. Thank you for being so helpful. I was mainly interested in attending the transfer student panel.

kinda want to sleep in for the next couple of days till friday lol :))

Two questions: Are there any prospective media studies majors? And does anyone plan on taking summer courses at Cal if they are admitted?

@mangobby prospective media studies major right here

could someone chance me? i haven’t been chanced for cal yet…
Overall GPA: 3.86
Major: Media Studies
IGETC: Complete
TAP: yes, but did not list an alternate major.
Pre-Reqs: All complete with A’s, except for one not offered at the two CC’s closest to me.
EC’s:
radio host and radio station volunteer
congressional internship
magazine/ PR internship
radio volunteer at another station and host for this second station as well
Awards:
award at second radio station i volunteer at
congressional recognition award
finalist for art contest sponsored by sprint
Work Experience:
behavioral interventionist, YMCA associate teacher, 3 retail jobs
Volunteer Work:
tutor to low income/ under served communities in my city, volunteer at animal shelter, volunteer at a summer camp for low income students, non-profit work, and volunteer at a consulate
Essays:
I’d say between 7.5-10. I talked about radio being my greatest skill for one prompt, organizing a protest for another prompt, and discussed how my father’s sudden passing and development of a series of chronic illnesses all at once caused me to leave UCSB (where i attended straight out of high school for only 2 quarters) and how after leaving ucsb i focused on recovering emotionally and then managed to gain control over my illnesses and now feel much stronger, capable, etc than before (even though i am still sick)

So I’m slightly non traditional in that sense ^. I know my GPA is not a 3.9 or 4.0 but I explained how I was very distressed and depressed while at ucsb since my father passed away two weeks before the quarter started and I was going through a deep transitional period that prevented me from focusing on my grades as much as I would have liked to.

Applied to: UCI, UCSD, UCLA, UCB
Accepted: UCI, UCSD
Waiting for UCLA (communication studies) and UCB (media studies)

@lsierra77 if you’re accepted, do you plan on taking summer session in order to complete media studies 10? unless you’re cc offered it and you’re all set

@lsierra77 I would also say you have a pretty good chance of being admitted! My GPA is identical. I have a 3.86, transferrable 3.94 gpa. According to UC’s website, admit gpa’s were between a 3.55 and a 3.87.

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major

@mangobby that’s funny our GPAs are the same! Are you applying to ucla’s communications major? Do you think I stand a chance at ucla?
And my school offered the media studies 10 equivalent. I also finished all my pre reqs for Berkeley so I won’t need to be there this summer.

@lsierra77 i applied as a psychology major, which apparently is more impacted so we’ll see what happens. i only live about an hour away from cal, so if i am accepted, i most likely will take summer classes. just media studies 10. I wish my school offered it, oh well

@mangobby I feel like you’ll get into cal. I hope you get into ucla as well.
I live an hour away from ucla and it’s my dream school. I wish Wednesday would come sooner

Some people are saying that cal take transfer students by ‘school’ not by major. You will be in the whole L&S pool if you apply under psychology or something like that. is it true? Why don’t they accept by major?

@makuc yes and no.i talked to an admissions rep about this. it is true that you’re accepted to the college, not major; however, the admissions counselors admit you based on whether or not they think you stand a chance at actually being admitted to the major. from there, if all your requirements are complete, all you need to do is fill out the necessary paperwork to officially join the major.

this is why majors like ethnic studies or african american studies have lower overall gpa admits than say, economics or engineering majors (although engineering is a separate college at cal). they’re just less impacted.

@lsierra77 i think we all stand a pretty good chance. now we just wait. i had my hear set on ucla all semester long, but i just went to cal day on saturday and loved it. i also hear ucsb is an amazing atmosphere. if i get into cal and ucla, it’s gonna be a tough decision

Hello people! I’ve been lurking on this thread for a while. I’m currently applying to UCB as a transfer for Computer Science from UW-Madison.
I’m an international student. I have finished 50 credits and have 15 credits in progress this semester.
My GPA is 3.95.
The classes I have taken are:
Physics 1 & 2 (AB, A)
Chem 1 & 2 (A, A)
Calc 1, 2, 3 (A, A, A)
CS 1, 2, 3 ( A, A, A)
Discrete Math (In progress but expecting an A)
Linear Algebra and Diff Eqns (In progress but expecting an A)
Stats for Engineers (A)

I have taken certain other Gen Eds too and received As in them.

My essays were pretty good but those things are subjective right?

My ECs:

  1. Undergraduate Research Scholar where I developed a mobile app to keep track of user data for customizing user interface.
  2. I’m currently researching in the Machine Learning domain for figuring out how to detect Alzheimer’s in its early stages.
  3. I designed a cost effective bicycle anti theft kit to solve the problem of bicycle theft on the UW campus. Still try to make it commercially feasible but the project reached the semi finals of Microsoft Imagine Cup.
  4. Been to a bunch of hackathons.
  5. Represented UW-Madison at various college level MUN conferences.
  6. Interned during summer at an MNC to develop a talent management mobile application for them.
  7. Working remotely with a non profit for a year and providing them IT support.

Can anyone chance me on these particulars? I’m kinda really worried if I have a chance or not? (Don’t wanna get my hopes up unnecessarily).

And you guys have been a great help for the admission stuff!

@BoredEngineer the class that’s difficult for me right now is biology, and I have a quiz for that class every week so all of this stress with Berkeley has definitely not been helping. You still have a good grade in that class though! I’m sure you will pass it.

@jonathaanv Seriously! and then we’re going to be stressing over housing when we decide what school we will ultimately be attending, it never ends…