<p>I hear so many people say UCB is incredibly difficult/supercompetitive/harsh curves/hard to get into classes, etc. I already got accepted but I don't know if getting a low GPA at berkeley is even worth it if I'm planning on going on to grad school. I've also heard that it doesn't really matter where you go for your undergraduate degree. In this case, why would anyone choose to suffer in the classes at berkeley when one can do a lot better at a lower UC or other school?</p>
<p>check out this thread. i know it says premed but the advice people give applies to grad school too. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-berkeley/911500-warning-all-student-considering-premed-berkeley-please-read-first.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-berkeley/911500-warning-all-student-considering-premed-berkeley-please-read-first.html</a></p>
<p>
Because if you’re planning on going to a top flight graduate school, presumably in academic research, you should be able to handle Berkeley.</p>
<p>If you have your crap together Berkeley should be aite. Especially if you’re not pre-med, hard technical, or Haas.</p>
<p>@#2: Really tooting your own horn there.</p>
<p>indiscreetmath: all i was saying was that people posted some really good advice on my thread and i wanted to share it with him.</p>
<p>yeah well they’re probably going to end up reading the giant anti-berkeley disclaimer the thread originally referred to. not your intention, i know lol.</p>
<p>this forum sucks, we need a new stickied thread.</p>
<p>flutterfly: your right and thanks for converting me to Berkeley :)</p>
<p>OP: i originally thought Berkeley was a bad place due to gpa deflation but people like flutterfly convinced me otherwise. i just sent in my SIR. im going in as undeclared premed</p>
<p>I just find it so odd that after working your butt off in high school to get to a school like Cal, you all of a sudden get scared to push yourself. I wasn’t aware that hard work was something that was something to be feared (neither were you, until you came on college confidential to be honest).
Sorry if that comes across as harsh, but if you really want it easy, go to a CC or a state school, schlep around and party lots.
It’s simple. You study, you work hard, you play hardball when it comes to your grades, you get an A.</p>
<p>p.s. That thing about it not mattering where you get your undergrad? Complete and utter BS told by those who didn’t get into good schools. People don’t go to schools like HYSPM because it would be fun to work their asses off. They go there because graduating from schools like that puts them in that much of a better position after college.</p>
<p>its not to bad. you can do it.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies guys. I guess, like what JOJOMONKEY said, it’s true, I wasn’t scared until I read through these forums, which make classes seem impossible to get in and difficult to ace. </p>
<p>@futureENTsurgeon: what changed your mind about berkeley? i feel like i’m in the same boat at the moment :X</p>
<p>you should read my thread. </p>
<p>but to summarize what they said. It is not like Berkeley as a whole gives harsh curves just specific majors and some intro science courses. so basically pick an EASY major you are interested in. avoid hard majors such as EECS, Chemical Biology, MCB, etc.</p>
<p>Grad school does not pay monetarily. People who go to grad school do it because they have career ambitions in academia or they love learning. If you believe you match this description, you will not shy away from Berkeley or hard majors just because of grades.</p>
<p>FYI: For grad school, GPA is considered relative to the school and strength of major. So, picking an easy major doesn’t really help too much.</p>
<p>It is ok to get a lower GPA (3.5+) in Berkeley’s engineering dept. and still get into a tier 1 grad school. Your research is, arguably, more important. </p>
<p>However, should you do well at Berkeley undergrad (3.8+), you are a virtually a lock for MIT, Stanford, Berkeley engineering grad schools.</p>
<p>So, yes, for grad school it usually helps to go to the most prestigious undergrad, in that field.</p>
<p>I definitely think it is less about finding the school where you will do the best grade-wise, and finding the school that you will get the most out of, and succeed the most at.</p>
<p>Looking at Berkeley, specifically EECS, I’m extremely excited because I’ll be able to take incredible and difficult classes with renowned professors, and be able to do research and get internships that would be difficult to get at other colleges.</p>
<p>If your dream school is a specific grad school, than maybe you want to go a different path, but I wouldn’t go to a school that didn’t challenge me, especially if I was going to spend the next 4 years there.</p>
<p>"so basically pick an EASY major you are interested in. avoid hard majors such as EECS, Chemical Biology, MCB, etc. "</p>
<p>FutureENT, I hope that’s not all you got out from that thread. Plenty of people do these hard majors and come out just fine. Start out in the hard major and try your best but if you really can’t handle it, you can have an easier major as a backup. But if you’re planning on coming to Berkeley completely opposed to anything hard and only looking at easier, less substantial majors, you would be better off at a lower UC.</p>
<p>Flutterfly: “Doing fine” is not really good enough for med school. You need at least a 3.8+ to be competitive for a top med school. As you may know, a 3.8+ in a major like EECS is definitely possible, but also very difficult. Before you criticize futureENT for avoiding MCB and EECS, what is your major?</p>
<p>Don’t forget for med school you also need a lot of voleunteering, research, MCAT study, etc. I don’t think that people who are trying to go to med school are underachieving. If anything, I think they are ambitious. </p>
<p>Not many people get a 3.8+ in these kinds of majors, and these are also the people who are pre-grad and don’t need to waste time on med school ECs. Many people get into top grad schools without even taking the GRE.</p>
<p>^ I’m an MCB/Econ double major, my GPA is over 3.7, and I have a paid research position at LBNL. I think I’m allowed to give advice on this, don’t you?</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s a problem with majoring in IB or something in CNR but I don’t think entering freshmen should be completely writing off MCB/EECS as potential majors without ever taking a course here. Just because you don’t have to major in MCB to be premed does not mean you should not major in it. If you’re actually interested in molecular biology/biochemistry/immunology/neuro, you should most definitely be an MCB major. It is stupid to not even consider MCB just because you’re afraid it’s too hard for you.</p>
<p>Take the classes here yourself before you make your major decision. The classes are hard but doable. And as many people have said before, if you can’t do well in the basic science courses here, you don’t deserve to go to med or grad school.</p>
<p>flutterfly_28,</p>
<p>Since you’re doing a double major, I was wondering how difficult you think doing a double major in EECS and Haas would be? Also, would minoring in physics be of any use or would double majoring EECS and Physics be better.</p>
<p>I intend to take 7b this summer and Physics 7C my first semester of Freshman year. I intend to specialize in Quantum Computing in EECS (one of three areas I’ll focus on) so I’d like to take Quantum Mechanics Physics 137 A-B sophomore year (assuming it is best to take A in the fall). If I do the 110 series, (since the minor requirements only specify the A portions) I would only need one more elective to get a minor. If I do take 111 and 112 additionally, then I would have to only take another physics elective to get a double major. The L&S breadth requirements would be a pain, but I could take them over the summer.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to ask is that, is double majoring overly difficult, especially since I’d have to take so many extra breadth requirements? And if it wouldn’t be feasible to double EECS and physics, would a minor be of any use, besides the knowledge gained from the additional courses?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Edit:</p>
<p>Also if anyone knows anything about joint majors in the engineering department, how useful would a EECS and MSE or NE joint major be (especially focusing on Quantum Computing and Nanomaterials). Is there any other focus that would be more helpful for doing research in those sort of fields, or better to get into grad school. (I happen to be interested in every aspect of engineering, but want to go towards what I’m most interested in and what would be most beneficial to a career in engineering/research).</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>^You should double major in EECS and Physics. EECS and Haas would be difficult as they are separate colleges that have a lot of requirements that don’t overlap. Physics and EECS complement each other a lot better (same math/physics prereqs) and you can always get an MBA later if you want one. </p>
<p>You will be able to fit the EECS and Physics double major easily in 4 years. You would have to take the breadth requirements if you were doing Haas instead of L&S anyway and they’re pretty easy to satisfy. A physics major is worth a lot more than a physics minor, so you should definitely start off with the prereqs for both majors.</p>
<p>It seems that the breadth requirements for L&S are much greater than those of the COE. </p>
<p>The AC course would count for the Arts and literature requirements, I’d take a Physics or engineering course to satisfy the Biological Science. Physical Science is a given, and social would be covered by Economics. But, I’d have to take History, Philosophy, and foreign language.</p>
<p>It seems that having to take those 3 extra requirements plus 2 econ courses (Engineering wants 2 courses in same discipline, one being upper division), 2 English courses, and other electives would take away from a lot of the core EECS and physics courses.</p>
<p>I’d really like to go into Quantum Computing/Applied Physics/Electrical Engineering research, so this does seem like the best choice. I’m just concerned that with all of the requirements of doing a major in L&S I wouldn’t have time to do all of the EECS and Physics courses.</p>
<p>Hopefully I will be able to plan out a solid schedule for 4 years to accomplish this. If it is doable, I will definitely pursue it. </p>
<p>It is just a little frustrating as L&S has a unit limit, while Engineering has the semester limit, and they both have their own requirements.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help.</p>