IGETC/Berkeley L&S confusion

CCC88' · 01-09-2008, 03:18 AM

I'm confused as to what the requirements are for transfer students for quantitative reasoning and foreign language. On their site, they say that you need the equivalent of 3 years of a foreign language in high school and according to this thread (Berkeley: 2 Semesters of Calc)

two semesters of college level calculus are required.

Now, on the L&S website, it says:
" Note for transfer students: These requirements may be met by Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or UC Reciprocity."

The IGETC paper my JC provides says that only 1 semester of college math(not necessarily calculus) and 2 years of high school foreign language are required to satisfy it. Now does this mean that one could transfer to UCB by satisfying the IGETC(which requires less math and language work)?

I just completed my first semester at my JC and because I had no clue what I wanted to do(major wise) last semester, I am forced to play catch up for all my pre-reqs. I want to double major in Psychology and Sociology and because I flaked out in jr. and sr. year of high school, I'm set to take remedial math courses. I also only have 2 years of Spanish completed from high school.

I'm already going to have to overload myself with math and science to complete my pre-reqs next year. Having to take a semester of pre-calc and calc along with a foreign language would be hell.

KGZotU · 01-09-2008, 10:27 AM

CCC88',

The wording you quote is confusing. IGETC isn't strictly a way to meet the L&S breadth requirements, it's an _alternative_ to them. You need only complete one or the other.

Hope this helps,
Joe

CCC88' · 01-09-2008, 11:24 AM

So, would this mean that I already fulfilled the FL requirement with my 2 years of Spanish in high school? Does it mean that the only college level math I need to take is stats(a pre-req) to transfer? That seems a little too good to be true.

KGZotU · 01-09-2008, 11:42 AM

Good, but not too good. Lemme quote from the myBerkeley application:

Quote:

There are three ways to fulfill the breadth requirements necessary for admission to the College of Letters & Science (L & S): IGETC certification(for transfers from California community colleges only); or UC Reciprocity* (for transfers from another UC campus only); or completion of L & S Requirements (applicable to all transfers). You can refer to Welcome to ASSIST to identify IGETC or L & S Requirements courses.

So, the answer is yes. You'll want to check with a counselor to make sure there's no hiccups, but you can use your 2 years of Spanish and stats against the FL and quantitative requirements of IGETC, and as long as you complete IGETC _in full_ you will not have to complete the L&S breadth requirements.

--Joe

CCC88' · 01-09-2008, 11:52 AM

Whew! What a relief!

I am not a math person AT ALL and it would have been very difficult to maintain a high GPA with several more math classes(UCB Psych is EXTREMELY competitive from what I've read). I'm also pretty(scratch that, very) rusty in the Spanish department, seeing how it's been three years since Span2.

Thanks a lot.