College Discussion - View Single Post - Getting into Cal and what to expect when you finally get there.

sakky · 02-11-2005, 11:27 PM

I agree with the vast majority of what andrewtdx has said.

However, there are a couple of things I would say. First, I am not sure that I can endorse the idea that everybody should apply as 'undeclared'. Let me be clear - I am not saying that you shouldn't have an open mind about what you are going to major in when you come to Berkeley. You should absolutely do that. What I am saying has only to do with how you choose to apply to Berkeley.

Let me explain. If you are a very strong applicant, you may be better off applying specifically as an EECS major, even if you don't intend to major in EECS. The reason for that is that in the College of Engineering, unlike every single other college that comprises Berkeley, you apply to a certain major, not just to the college itself. EECS applicants are judged against other EECS applicants. MechE applicants are judged against other MechE applicants. And EECS is the most difficult major to get admitted into. Furthermore, it is generally far more difficult to switch into EECS than it is to get admitted into EECS as a freshman. The competition for EECS 'switches' is extremely fierce, and it basically requires that you ace all the lower-division EECS requirements, which is no mean feat. Conversely, it is far easier to switch out of EECS to do something else, even if it's another engineering major. True, it's not that easy to switch from EECS to MechE, but it's even harder to switch from MechE to EECS.

The point is that the admitted EECS majors basically hold the pole position. It is far far easier to switch from EECS to a major in Letters & Science than vice versa. It is easier to switch from EECS to another engineering major than vice versa. Hence, an admitted EECS freshman, in effect, has more choice over what to study than other Berkeley students do. What will you do if you get into Berkeley as Undeclared, then come to Berkeley and discover that you want to major in EECS, only to have the EECS department deny your request to switch over? The fact is, every year, people at Berkeley try to switch over to EECS and are denied.

The caveat that I must give is, of course, by applying directly to EECS, you increase your chances of not getting into Berkeley at all. Some people who applied to Berkeley EECS and got rejected could have gotten admitted if they had applied to some other college in Berkeley. That's why I say that people who apply to Berkeley EECS ought to be very strong applicants.

02-11-2005, 11:27 PM	#26
sakky Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Threads: 21 Posts: 9,651	I agree with the vast majority of what andrewtdx has said. However, there are a couple of things I would say. First, I am not sure that I can endorse the idea that everybody should apply as 'undeclared'. Let me be clear - I am not saying that you shouldn't have an open mind about what you are going to major in when you come to Berkeley. You should absolutely do that. What I am saying has only to do with how you choose to apply to Berkeley. Let me explain. If you are a very strong applicant, you may be better off applying specifically as an EECS major, even if you don't intend to major in EECS. The reason for that is that in the College of Engineering, unlike every single other college that comprises Berkeley, you apply to a certain major, not just to the college itself. EECS applicants are judged against other EECS applicants. MechE applicants are judged against other MechE applicants. And EECS is the most difficult major to get admitted into. Furthermore, it is generally far more difficult to switch into EECS than it is to get admitted into EECS as a freshman. The competition for EECS 'switches' is extremely fierce, and it basically requires that you ace all the lower-division EECS requirements, which is no mean feat. Conversely, it is far easier to switch out of EECS to do something else, even if it's another engineering major. True, it's not that easy to switch from EECS to MechE, but it's even harder to switch from MechE to EECS. The point is that the admitted EECS majors basically hold the pole position. It is far far easier to switch from EECS to a major in Letters & Science than vice versa. It is easier to switch from EECS to another engineering major than vice versa. Hence, an admitted EECS freshman, in effect, has more choice over what to study than other Berkeley students do. What will you do if you get into Berkeley as Undeclared, then come to Berkeley and discover that you want to major in EECS, only to have the EECS department deny your request to switch over? The fact is, every year, people at Berkeley try to switch over to EECS and are denied. The caveat that I must give is, of course, by applying directly to EECS, you increase your chances of not getting into Berkeley at all. Some people who applied to Berkeley EECS and got rejected could have gotten admitted if they had applied to some other college in Berkeley. That's why I say that people who apply to Berkeley EECS ought to be very strong applicants.