Hi guys I kept hearing about this requirement for transfer students that we have to graduate within 4 semesters or else Berkeley is going to kick us out?
Yes. Cal is extremely strict about their limit. If a person is double majoring they get one extra semester and in some extremely special circumstances they might give you an extra semester but most of the time transfers are given 4 semesters to get in and get out. It’s supposed to be so that they can accept more students. The logic is that the longer a student is at Cal, the longer they occupy a spot that can be given to another person applying.
That said, four semesters plus summer sessions should be plenty to complete your major. It’s quite a long time and most people are able to do complete it in the time frame which is why the limit isn’t a big deal.
Look up the unit cap policy. It’s possible to stay a 5th semester if you don’t have too many units, even if you aren’t double-majoring. This is what I’m doing.
Thanks for the input guys, but it still scares me that they would just kick you out. Some part of me thinks that Berkeley is not very transfer student friendly hmm…
Wow I did not know about this at all. Does anyone know if UCLA does the same thing? If they don’t I might be leaning towards more to UCLA.
@bigvoot as far as I know UCLA doesn’t impose this rule, that’s why I feel like UCLA is more welcoming to transfer students.
@goldencub Is it hard to request a 5th semester? is a 6th semester even possible ?
If you are not on a scholarship, do they still limit you to four or five semesters?
This four semester rule is not entirely accurate. If you reach the four semesters and aren’t finished, you move into the unit ceiling rule. FYI, this is for Berkeley L&S:
And, as someone noted, summer courses don’t count in these calculations.
@Ohm888 Thank you for the info. and to those people who wanted the source here is the link https://ls.berkeley.edu/advising/planning/enrolling
UCLA does the same thing, but the 2-year rule has been somewhat misstated above.
The way the rules work for transfer students is that you have 2 years of guaranteed enrollment, and you must meet the minimum progress requirement. But if you’re a real go-getter you can take as many units as you want provided you finish them in 2 years. If you meet min progress (so you don’t get kicked out) but want to stay as a student past 2 years you are allowed to do so provided you don’t take more units than the cap allows. See the link @ssnewman gave, read the sections “minimum progress” and “unit ceilings”.
UCLA has the same policies. See http://cac.ucla.edu/academic-policies/expected-cumulative-progress/#toggle-id-1 and http://cac.ucla.edu/academic-policies/unit-maximum/
People stay more than 4 semesters as transfers for a lot of reasons. Things can dictate where you do part time, double majors can stay additional time, transfer students in STEM majors like mechanical engineering typically stay a 5th semester, etc.
Is there some specific reason you see yourself needing an additional year?
@briank82 I’m having a lot of health issues lately and the docs are running test to rule out lymphoma, I’m just little stressed about the possibility of medical issue interfering with my progress to graduate. I have better support network here as all the friends I know are around So-cal and I don’t know anyone up there in Cal, I’m really torn about which school to go to.
@ssnewman I don’t think they can legally deny you going slower if you have a legitimate health reason or disability. The rule is to get people in and out during 4 semesters, but there are various exceptions to this rule. Do some digging around online and you’ll probably find some clarification.
UCLA does not limit you by quarters or by year. They do limit the number of units can rack up after transferring. These unit caps aren’t problematic if you stay on track. Most people graduate just fine without issue. You just can’t approach it like some people do CCC where they stay for 3, 4, 5+ years just trying to figure out what they want and repeatedly changing direction.
You may also run into financial aid problems if you stay longer than 2 years (6 quarters).
Both Cal and UCLA have indirect limits. They have a minimum progress rule so it isn’t possible to take a low course load and stay in school as long as you want. And assuming you’re meeting that rule (so you don’t get kicked out) then the max cap will indirectly limit how long you can stay.