The admit rates are probably going to be different than last year since UCB has made L&S CS a High Demand major and changed the admission policy for this year’s in-coming Freshman Class. Only time will tell. Best of luck to your student.
Many more may apply to BA CS in LS since it’s probably easier curriculum too compared to the BA CS curriculum which is in engineering.
I think last year was special since UCB prepared for the transition from undeclared LS admission to LS CS admission. The number of 166 admitted headcount was way lower than a typical year.
I think the L&S CS admission rate this year should be around 6% to 9%.
- 2 college courses + 1 UC course (all As)
1 Like
Do they seriously consider alternate major option? Or not? What if you applied for engineering as first and L&S for alternate, would they really only give a serious read to the first one?
According to UCB and the Counselor conference notes they will only guarantee a review of the primary major while alternative majors will only be used if space is available. This is the policy for the majority of the UC’s and why many suggest a less competitive alternate major.
Isn’t this the first year that Berkeley allowed alternate majors? It will be interesting to see, in March, how many admitted students are admitted to an alternate major.
1 Like
Yes, it is the first year alternate majors are an option so it should be interesting how they are utilized in the admission process.
1 Like
BA CS in L&S and BS EECS in COE have the same exact courses with slight differences in LD and UD requirements. For instance, EECS 16B is not required for BA CS but required for BS EECS. I wouldn’t call BA CS an easier curriculum.
Since L&S CS is now declared starting from this year when students get accepted, does that mean that the requirement to maintain a 3.4 GPA to declare CS as your major is no longer there? Because I’m aware in previous years all students admitted into L&S were undeclared and those who maintained a GPA of over 3.4 could then declare CS as their major. But I’m aware that the old requirement is no longer there anymore?
Possibly but the CS from EECS will probably receive the engineering type of thinking - thought process in solving problems. We looked into other public schools with both options and professors and deans have highly suggested the BS CS and switch out if it’s too hard.
They are the exact courses taught by the same professors, with the same exams, homework etc. BA and BS students take the classes together.
1 Like
For High demand majors: The student will be guaranteed a spot in that major, subject to completing the prerequisites, maintaining good academic standing in the College, and filing a declaration form. The GPA requirement is “Good academic Standing” so a 2.0 Cumulative GPA.
For students who don’t already know that they want a high-demand major when they apply as first-years, the process for declaring a high-demand major will be through a comprehensive review conducted in your sophomore year. Students will have one opportunity to apply for a high-demand major during their sophomore year, and are required to have a back-up plan to declare a non-high- demand major. L&S students must declare a major no later than the beginning of their junior year.
Just curious -how many APs should one take to get a 5.0 (> 16?)
2 Likes
You would have to take pretty much all AP classes to achieve that.
So the GPA requirement is now 2.0 instead of 3.4?
1 Like
There is no GPA requirement other than passing the pre-req classes, maintaining good academic standing which is a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 and submitting the appropriate major declaration paperwork if admitted into the High demand major.
Before the policy change, the student required a specific GPA in the pre-req courses to declare the major. That GPA is no longer required.
All schools require a minimum GPA for good academic standing regardless of major.
1 Like
I have to admit this question makes me sad, but I’m assuming you just ask out of curiosity.
IMHO, a kid should take as many AP’s as they can safely carry - meaning, not overloading themselves with so much stress and work that they are no longer able to be an overall happy and healthy teenager.
It’s a tough balance to be sure, and some kids can handle more than others, but no college, even UC Berkeley, is worth sacrificing one’s physical, emotional, and mental health.
That said, I have no idea how many AP’s it takes to achieve a 5.0.
2 Likes
I agree with much of what you state, in that the health and happiness of the student is first and foremost. Having said that, with competitive schools such as UC Berkeley and UCLA, a significant amount of the applicant pool is going to have very high weighted GPA’s that are only discernable by the number of AP or Honors courses, with mostly A’s, taken in 10th-11th grade, used to calculate the uncapped UC Weighted GPA. To answer your question about number of APs required for a 5.0, the answer is ALL A-G courses taken in 10th-11th grade must be AP or Honors AND all of those grades must be an A, in order to get the bonus point and a score of 5 for every class, which would result in a 5.0. (Physical Education is not an A-G course and would not be included in GPA calculation). But there is no specific number of AP courses required to get a 5.0. All of that being said, remember that UC’s use a holistic review of each application, that includes PIQs, ECs etc. Even students with a 4.8-5.0 GPA in the applicant pool for the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley only had a 20.7% acceptance rate in 2022. The holistic approach and non-GPA factors actually matter.
1 Like
You can compare the EECS and L&S CS majors at EECS/CS Program Comparison Chart - EECS at Berkeley and the following linked pages:
2 Likes