<p>I was admitted into L&S CS and I'm a little scared and kind of surprised... I'm surprised that I got in because I got a 630 on Math (Writing: 780 and Reading: 800) and I'm scared I won't be able to keep up with UCB's ridiculous academics. I have little to no programming experience and I don't want to fail due to this disadvantage. Right now I'm considering UCI and UCSD... just because they're closer to home. I love Berkeley's atmosphere but I need to be realistic... any words of advice/ encouragement... the SIR deadline is only a few days away :/</p>
<p>why are you looking to do computer science if you don’t have experience with it?</p>
<p>UCB has a reputation as a pressure cooker, but the vast majority survive it. just do your best and do what you can to keep your options open</p>
<p>read this <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/why-science-majors-change-their-mind-its-just-so-darn-hard.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/why-science-majors-change-their-mind-its-just-so-darn-hard.html</a></p>
<p>Computer Science and Engineering is hard at ANY college. But especially so, in a top tier college where the pool of candidates are so much stronger.</p>
<p>And I agree with the above poster - why do you want to do CS? Most who get into CS has done programming in high school and/or summer.</p>
<p>How strong are you at Math? What are your favorite subjects?</p>
<p>You can preview CS 61A here:
[CS</a> 61A Home Page](<a href=“http://www-inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61a/sp12/]CS”>CS 61A Home Page)
[CS61A</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www-inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61a/archives.html]CS61A”>CS61A Home Page)</p>
<p>Books and computer language interpreters are free, so you can do examples and exercises on your own computer.</p>
<p>someone with an 800 in reading and 780 in writing… going into cs… </p>
<p>now i’ve seen it all.</p>
<p>^ LOL</p>
<p>it’s pretty common to break under pressure in berkeley, esp. if you try to dive straight into CS with no prior programming experience…</p>
<p>Grad2012 here’s a department link with more info about L&S CS that may help you [Undergraduate</a> L&S CS Students | EECS at UC Berkeley](<a href=“http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/csugrad/]Undergraduate”>CS Major Information | EECS at UC Berkeley) . You should take CS61A in your first semester here and see how you like it. If you do stick with it, a Berkeley CS degree will open more doors for you than one from UCI or UCSD, especially if you want to work in the Bay Area/Silicon Valley. Any idea of what other majors you may be interested in?</p>
<p>wow…surprised n one has said the obvious solution yet lol</p>
<p>while you put down L&S CS on your app, u are free to change to anything else in L&S you feel like…u can major in underwater basket weaving at this pont and its still not too late…</p>
<p>since all LS peeps are undeclared upon entry anyhow (you cant declare CS till youve finished the lower divs anyhow…) </p>
<p>and like others said, start with an easy class like CS 3S (though i sucked even at that) if you think you might want to test waters first…while others might say to jump into 61a, i wouldnt do that unless you want to hate frosh year/fail/die trying (not trying to scare you, btw just dont want you to make the same mistake so many others have before you)</p>
<p>:) welcome to Cal, kiddie.</p>
<p>Do yourself a favor and do not take CS61A. Take CS10 to try out CS and get your basic covered. People may say the class is useless, but trust me, don’t take CS61A without any background b/c the class will most likely have 1-3yrs+ experience. Don’t expect the class will be slowed down for you.</p>
<p>Well you’ve given me a lot to think about… By all means I’m not scared by the work load that comes along with CS… just the competitive nature of Berkeley… I’m just wondering how much I should trust their decision to admit me… For those wondering why I chose CS: I have had some prior exposure and the subject itself seems interesting… at least more than other subjects I’ve studied…
@ crowslayer91 Why do you say that? 
Just curious…
@Waiting4College My thoughts exactly! That’s why I chose L&S in the first place Although my parents won’t be too trilled hehe…</p>
<p>At the end of the day you guys have reiterated that UCB is hard but hey college is for *** whoopin anyway right? I think I’m convinced that a fear of failing is rational but not enough for me to pass up such a great educational opportunity</p>
<p>There is a significant proportion of students who had no programming experience going into CS61A (like me) and still manage to do well in the class. There’s quite a lot of hand-holding for beginners in that class and if you put in the time you’ll be more than fine.</p>
<p>@grad2012</p>
<p>Berkeley didn’t admit you into CS; they admitted you into L&S. Since many students end up changing their majors after they arrive, what you actually list as your major doesn’t matter (your college, on the other hand, does). </p>
<p>Even though Berkeley has a reputation for being very demanding and difficult, there are still many many people who come out with 4.0s, or close to it, every semester (look on the L&S Dean’s List, for example). It’s a given that classes will be hard, but what’s not a given is that you won’t be able to perform well in them. The most important thing (in my experience, both personal and from friends) is that you do what you love/are most interested in. If you have that, then you have the motivation to do well, no matter how hard the course is. </p>
<p>I’ve had friends agonize and nearly “die” from some of their major requirements (myself included), but since they loved the subject so much, they were willing (and happy!) to put in the work and effort to make it happen, and they’ve all pulled off good grades. On the other hand, I have a friend who’s a math major because she’s good at math, but she doesn’t like it at all. She’s barely passing her classes, and her GPA isn’t high enough for just about any grad school. Not cool. (Don’t ask me why she hasn’t switched… I’ve tried talking her out of it, but to no avail)</p>
<p>I came to Berkeley scared witless that I was among super-smart geniuses and that I would fail miserably and probably be kicked out. Three years later, I’m still here and my GPA isn’t too shabby either So, I say go for it (and welcome to Cal if you do!) and you may surprise yourself!</p>
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<p>What you list as your major does not matter for L&S freshmen; you enter undeclared. It does matter for non-L&S freshmen (e.g. those in the College of Engineering or College of Chemistry).</p>
<p>I haven’t read the other posts, but you will only break under pressure if you CHOOSE to break under pressure. Have confidence in your abilities. You didn’t get accepted for no reason. Just be responsible with your study habits. Remember the only thing to fear is fear itself -FDR</p>
<p>Grad, spread your wings and come to Cal! Berkeley offers much more in a college experience than UCI or UCSD. Congrats! You’ll do fine.</p>
<p>in the upper div classes, most of the pressure seems to come from keeping up with the material and doing the required coursework. not really worrying about the competitiveness of those around you as much because if you keep up + have good study habits dats all u need to do well, i think</p>
<p>Thank you everybody for your comments Here’s my present dilemma, I’m sure I’m a fantastic match for a L&S student (meaning humanities)… but I don’t plan on going that route… I’m really worried that UCB didn’t consider the fact that I was an intended comp sci major… especially since it would require a different skill set than a humanity… Anyway does anyone know how hard it is to actually declare? Is it a simple choice that I make after my second year or are there requirements like GPA… (other than pre-requisite classes of course)… like do I have to actually apply… Here’s where I stand now… It’s between UCI and Berkeley…( I took UCSD out of the picture because at this point I don’t think UCSD would give me a better educational opportunity than UCI (meaning the courses in general…comment if you disagree), plus if I went to UCI I could stay home and have a larger support system). My hearts set on Berkeley but again I need my brain to agree as well. I love Berkeley’s atmosphere and I know that their Comp Sci major is highly regarded… On the other hand, I know that adjusting to living on my own and studying for rigorous exams can be a hard transition… plus one of my parents doesn’t fancy the idea of me living far away. If I had full support, I would be more than happy to take on Berkeley… but all this indecisiveness is making it hard for me to pick one (seeing as though I will most likely go against at least one of my parents)</p>
<p>To declare L&S CS you would need a 2.0 overall GPA and a 2.0 in the prerequisite courses at the time of declaration. If you are worried about living far from home know that almost 50% of your fellow undergrads are also from SoCal! Remember that you are making a college choice for the next four years for yourself and your future career, not for your parents.</p>
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<p>L&S includes humanities, social studies, and science (including math, physics, and biology). After all, the S in L&S is for “Science”.</p>
<p>L&S CS is not a capped major, so you just need a 2.0 overall and technical GPA as described above to declare.</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> L&S CS Students | EECS at UC Berkeley](<a href=“http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/csugrad/#petitioning]Undergraduate”>http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/csugrad/#petitioning)</p>
<p>From the NY Times article:
But if you take two students who have the same high school grade-point average and SAT scores, and you put one in a highly selective school like Berkeley and the other in a school with lower average scores like Cal State, that Berkeley student is at least 13 percent less likely than the one at Cal State to finish a STEM degree. </p>
<p>How likely is it for this to actually happen? Two students with the same HS GPAs and SAT scores and one goes to UC Berkeley and the other to a Cal State? There are reasons why some students are at Berkeley and others are at Cal States even if they are comparable in intelligence. </p>
<p>My two sons are a good case in point. the older one had SAT scores comparable to accepted students at UCSD and the younger one had SAT scores that exceeded those of accepted students at UC Berkeley but they were both hopeless slackers in high school with each having a GPA of 3.1. As a result, they are both at CSU Sacramento as a Geology and a Physics major respectively. If they had HS GPAs typical of Berkeley students they would be at Berkeley. I can not believe that the average STEM major at Berkeley is less likely to graduate than a STEM major at Sacramento State. They use the same textbooks such as Stewart for Calculus and Griffiths for E&M and cover the same material. However the average UG GPA for a Cal student is 3.27 while it is only 2.8 for Sac State students. Only 42% of Sac State students graduate in six years while it is close to 90% for Cal students.</p>
<p>My sons have shaped up some and are doing much better in college than they did in high school, but even though they may have the intellectual aptitude, neither still has the work ethic to excell in STEM majors at UC Berkeley. </p>
<p>The difference in outcomes is no surprise when you look at the disparity in HS GPAs and SAT scores between incoming UCB and CSUS freshmen. The author of this article is trying to make a sensationalist point using scenarios that are extremely rare, if the happen at all.</p>