<p>Bay Area > LA. I chose UCB spring over UCLA fall and do not regret it at all :-)</p>
<p>i was a spring admit and i took classes at CC during the fall in LA before heading up to berk in the spring. i don’t regret my decision.</p>
<p>what is FPF?</p>
<p>FPF = [UC</a> Berkeley Extension Fall Program for Freshmen](<a href=“http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/fpf/]UC”>http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/fpf/)</p>
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only when they realize there is more to be had ;)</p>
<p>The most qualified applicants are put into Spring. Admissions doesn’t want this cohort taking up all the As in the Fall semester intro classes. The people I know who got an 800 on one of their SAT sections have all been Spring admits. One of them bummed around Australia for four months and didn’t do FPF or community college at all, and used about 8 AP courses to graduate at the same time the Fall admits graduated.</p>
<p>Hey guys. I’m a CalSO counselor and was a spring admit who did FPF this year. My biggest piece of advice for you guys in the spring admit boat: Don’t be so hasty in your decision. </p>
<p>I was in the same position this time last year and was about to go to another school because I thought being a spring admit meant that I was a 2nd class student or something - it’s just not true. Take a leap of faith, give FPF a chance: you won’t regret it. You get to experience the same thing as the Fall admits (joining clubs on campus, the dorm experience, Greek, etc).</p>
<p>Any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.</p>
<p>Given the course list of FPF (no chemistry or physics courses, and no math courses beyond Math 1B), it may not be as desirable as the community college option for someone intending to study engineering or another major requiring those courses, or who has a 5 on AP Calculus BC and wants to take more math.</p>
<p>However, for the community college option, it would be best to select a community college on the semester system, because taking a course from a community college on the quarter system would likely leave you having completed 2/3 of a course in terms of Berkeley equivalents.</p>
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</p>
<p>Which is like 99.9% of the time.</p>
<p>“However, for the community college option, it would be best to select a community college on the semester system, because taking a course from a community college on the quarter system would likely leave you having completed 2/3 of a course in terms of Berkeley equivalents.”</p>
<p>Quite the opposite, in my opinion and experience. I was able to complete semester-long breadth requirements in only a quarter. So I got all 7 breadth requirements in 2 quarters of ridiculously easy online CC classes. Basically an extended summer vacation, but I got a years worth of Berkeley requirements out of the way.</p>
<p>Yes, that may be advantageous for non-sequenced breadth courses.</p>
<p>However, if you are taking sequenced courses like math, chemistry, physics, etc. for your major, quarter versus semester system may leave you with partial credit that you may have to repeat, unless you take the entire sequence.</p>
<p>@jdawwg</p>
<p>Are the extension courses offered on campus or is extension located off campus? If they aren’t offered on or close to campus it would seem wierd to live on campus.</p>
<p>Did you have any trouble getting housing on campus? It doesn’t seem to be guaranteed for FPF yet would be important positive in going that route IMO.</p>
<p>Thanks for your sharing your opinion and experience.</p>
<p>Hey, if you originally had your eyes set on Berkeley and are a spring admit, don’t discount it. Truth is, it’s a large campus, and once you’re actually in, you really do completely blend into the campus community like any other student. The fact that you’re a spring admit is less relevant than the color of your hair (the latter might affect your dating prospects).</p>
<p>From what I see, the idea is that spring admits are chosen because the admissions office things that they will be more successful as spring admits. Compared to fall admits, they are usually much more well-rounded but have borderline status. If you lump them with the fall admits and have them go through the ultra-competitive lower division classes like everyone else, there is a good chance that some of them will collapse under the pressure and drop out. Meanwhile, by easing them in with a spring admission, they now have the ability to apply their (likely higher) social skills to form support groups that involve fall admits. After a bit, both fall and spring admits are pretty much equal.</p>
<p>From my perspective, the idea is that the two groups differ based on what will make them successful. Fall admits generally succeed based on their ability to take advantage of opportunities and survive intense competition. Spring admits succeed based on their ability to work with others to ensure everyone’s success.</p>
<p>Does anyone have a course selection list for FPF?</p>
<p>Have any spring admits done something like half a gap year? with community service and travel in the first half of the year and then just graduating after the fall quarter on the other end? How did this effect you socially/ academically?</p>
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</p>
<p>Here it is:
[Course</a> Schedule — Fall Program for Freshmen — UC Berkeley Extension](<a href=“http://extension.berkeley.edu/fpf/coursesched.html]Course”>http://extension.berkeley.edu/fpf/coursesched.html)</p>
<p>@Thunderhorse: No one really live “on campus.” All the housing is AROUND campus (i.e. unit 1,2,3, and 4) </p>
<p>FPF not far from campus. If you live around unit 2/3, it should be about a 5-8 minute walk.</p>
<p>@ helloall:</p>
<p>Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>@ Thunderhorse:</p>
<p>[University</a> of California Berkeley Financial Aid Office to 2515 Hillegass Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704 - Google Maps](<a href=“http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Sproul+Hall,+Berkeley,+CA&daddr=2515+Hillegass+Avenue,+Berkeley,+CA&hl=en&geocode=Ff3XQQIdnnq2-CFJuZwG1vlhWQ%3BFUrFQQId2oO2-ClB49rRLXyFgDGBHsvD2E12IQ&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.630055,113.818359&ie=UTF8&z=17]University”>http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Sproul+Hall,+Berkeley,+CA&daddr=2515+Hillegass+Avenue,+Berkeley,+CA&hl=en&geocode=Ff3XQQIdnnq2-CFJuZwG1vlhWQ%3BFUrFQQId2oO2-ClB49rRLXyFgDGBHsvD2E12IQ&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.630055,113.818359&ie=UTF8&z=17)</p>
<p>^ The distance from the campus to the FPF building. Not even a mile. It’s ridiculously easy to go onto campus whenever you want to go check out whatever is going on, club meetings, etc - something that you can and should take advantage of!</p>
<p>Also, most of the FPF students that end up requesting Unit 1/2 ended up getting it this year, which was super nice. I can’t tell you how great it was to wake up at 7:55 am, leave the dorm by 7:58 am from Unit 2, and make it at 8:00 am sharp to the FPF building for math class! That’s how close it is haha.</p>
<p>Most of the classes that you take in FPF will be in that FPF building; the one exception is English R1A and R1B courses, which are actually taken in Tolman Hall (on campus).</p>
<p>As for your second question, I had no trouble getting housing on campus. It was said last year that housing for FPF students was not guaranteed but that there would be a good chance; every FPF student that wanted university housing ended up getting it. They’re saying the same thing this year; I’m confident that it’ll be the same again.</p>
<p>Good luck with making your decision!</p>
<p>You’ll miss the 5 minute walk to class once fall semester is over =P</p>