<p>Ok so I was reading a wiki-bio on this singer and it said that he was the valedictorian of UC Berkeley. My question is are the valedictorians the smarty of their college, major or whole school (doubt it). Holy $hit just think of how smart the normal Berkeley student is, wow if I was ever worthy of talking to one of these valedictorians of UC Berkeley I would just get on my knees, kiss his feet and call him God.</p>
<p>I think you might be referring to the University Medal. The award is granted to the top graduating senior every year. A 3.96 GPA is required to earn the medal, so it's obviously an extremely high distinction...</p>
<p>It's campus-wide. The valedictorian is awarded the University Medal, the highest honor for a graduating senior.</p>
<p>Here is this year's University Medal winner: 05.08.2008</a> - Top graduating senior an infectious disease detective</p>
<p>Whooooa mama.</p>
<p>It's really impressive to get the University Medal, though I wish they wouldn't have that GPA restriction. I imagine a lot of bright, hard-working students that have very impressive resumes and extra-curricular work can't even apply because their major required them to take some very difficult courses, and as a result their GPA is less than 3.96. You can see the majors of previous recipients here: University</a> medal winners</p>
<p>why do some of them say declined?</p>
<p>I totally agree with you Azure326. They should lower the GPA requirements for majors that are known to require tougher courses (i.e. anything in the engineering department). There's definitely no shortage of brilliant scholars at Berkeley, and I think lowering the GPA requirements for some certain majors will allow for a more eclectic group of winners.</p>
<p>And Sambago, I'm <em>assuming</em> that declined means the winner declined to accept the award.</p>
<p>One of my professors (who is on the University Medal selection committee) is very vocal about the ridiculousness of the GPA requirement. She says it encourages too many people to "stay safe" and go for classes they know they can ace rather than branching out and trying things that might interest them but be challenging at the same time.</p>
<p>She is also very upset that so few humanities majors apply. So let me soap box it up for her here: if you or anyone you know might be eligible, APPLY! You'd be surprised at the competition. GPA is one thing, but the rest of the competition relies on your ability to present yourself and what you do well.</p>
<p><em>steps off soap box</em></p>
<p>The people who declined must have been awarded the medal before qualifications were revamped. Now you have to APPLY for it, write essays and have interviews, and I can't imagine someone who receives it turning it down.</p>
<p>No business administration majors. o_O.</p>
<p>That's a really great point undecided. It's really a shame because there are so many great classes here that <em>may</em> be a little bit more challenging but are some of the greatest classes at Berkeley. If you ask me, I think the whole eligibility process is conspicuously flawed and needs to be changed in the upcoming years.</p>
<p>Didn't this year winner major in MCB, which is arguably harder than engineering?</p>
<p>...nope. I think you would find it an almost unanimous opinion that engineering is more difficult than MCB. The average GPA in MCB is something like 3.3-3.4; the average GPA in the college of engineering is around a 2.7 (based on what my friends in CoE tell me).</p>
<p>For Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, the typical GPA is 2.7 for lower division courses and 2.9 for upper division. So, I guess roughly 2.8.</p>
<p>Grading</a> Guidelines for Undergraduate Courses | EECS at UC Berkeley</p>
<p>I've personally never heard anyone say MCB is harder than Engineering majors.</p>
<p>Stephan Jenkins of 3EB?</p>
<p>Don't bow to him; 4 years since the last record? There's no excuse for that. I've talked to him a little and shook his hand when I was 14...a profound experience that made me want to attend Berkeley.</p>
<p>There's no way MCB is more difficult than any engineering major.</p>
<p>Before thecampusbuddy went into a permanent coma, I thought I saw MCB upper division gpas averaged to about 2.8 based on 20,000+ reported grades while engineering averaged to over 3.0. Also, the high concentration of highly competitive premed students in MCB should make things harder.
My apology to all you bruised and battered engineering majors if this is not true.</p>
<p>Idly, the history of the University Medal says that it was initially offered to the person scoring the highest on an optional senior class examination. It was then shortly passed on to a series of Academic Senate committees, eventually landing with the current Committee on Prizes. </p>
<p>1881 (the Medal was offered beginning 1869) saw the first of many attempts to do away with the award in favor of a more inclusive "certificate of eminent scholarship" (which could be awarded to multiple recipients). (Curious aside: the first female was awarded the Medal in 1880. Coincidental timing? Hmm....) In 1955, the University President created the title "Distinguished Graduate" to selected candidates considered for the Medal (I assume the runners-up who make it past the interview stage but are passed up for the final award). "Certificates of Distinction" (not sure on the criteria) were created in 1976. </p>
<p>For those of you who rebel against the GPA-centric nature of the Medal, I also offer that there are other venues of distinction -- namely, things like Departmental Citations, wherein a department chooses a single undergraduate with at least a 3.5 (yeah, GPA still matters) to honor with recognition that they have achieved excellence in their department during their time at Cal. It's traditionally awarded to seniors, though it isn't necessary to be one in order to receive this.</p>
<p>A while back, some guy who was a double major in EECS and BA got it. Don't remember who or when but def within the last 15 years.</p>
<p>Also, just this year, an EECS graduate was a finalist so engineers are not under-represented.</p>
<p>Now, Chemists, on the other hand...</p>
<p>@jscg</p>
<p>
[quote]
Ankur Luthra</p>
<p>Ankur Luthra is a double major in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and Business Administration. Ankur was named U.C. Berkeley's first Rhodes Scholars in fourteen years. In addition to winning the Rhodes, he has also won the perstigious Goldwater Scholarship, a Bechtel Corporation Scholarship, an Accenture Scholarship, among many others. Ankur is also founding president of a non-profit computer literacy organization and editor of a Berkeley electrical engineering research journal. He has also done research in artificial intelligence, started a dot.com company and is active with Promise America. At Oxford, Ankur will pursue the M.Sc. in computer science.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm guessing it's him.</p>