What GPA will they look at, and what are my chances at Cal so far?

nickthecoolest · 02-07-2008, 11:47 AM

Now looking back at the courses I've taken. . .a lot of them really don't transfer to the UC-system, I don't think.

I've taken an oral communication class, two P.E. courses, as well as a culinary arts class (it was for fun).

That's a total of 8 units that really have been wasted.

Ultimately, I have these courses for my 1st year at CC:

World History 1 & 2- A's at 3 units each

Introductory Psychology- B at 3 units

U.S. History 1 & 2- A's at 3 units each

Introductory Philosophy- A at 3 units

Ancient Civilizations- A at 3 units

P.E., Public Speaking, and Culinary: 7 units worth an A and 1 unit worth a B

Now, what GPA will be looked at and do I have a good shot at Cal as a history major?

I'm not sure if the communication or P.E. courses will be factored in or not. . .does anyone know?

And right now I'm taking Forensics as a course but more so as an EC (debate, speech, etc.) I'm sure I'll get an A in it. It's a communications course and it's worth 3 units also.

With ONLY the courses that I'm SURE will transfer, my GPA is 3.86.

And lastly, can I still take an AP exam to fulfill the language requirement or no? I left high school early with an equivalency but I'm completely fluent in Spanish. I'm suspecting I'll get a 5.

Thanks everyone, I know I wrote quite a bit.

awesomo · 02-07-2008, 12:14 PM

They look at any courses that are UC transferable. These classes can usually be identified by looking at your college catalogue.

Edward04 · 02-07-2008, 01:10 PM

It looks like you're lacking the "History of Asia, Africa, or Latin America" requirement for major prep.

<-- History major who applied to UCB

nickthecoolest · 02-07-2008, 03:54 PM

I think that's the course that falls under the Middle East History category that I'm taking next semester (I still have this one and two more to go).

Were you admitted or do you have any tips?

So any courses that are non-UC transferable are frankly irrelevant to the whole admissions process?

And what about the 70 unit limit? I read here today that Cal will only allow you to take 50 units thereafter. . .which would be horrible. I don't care if it doesn't count for graduation, but the fact that it's not permitted.

karabear1 · 02-07-2008, 10:19 PM

You will be guaranteed 4 semesters at Cal no matter what. The unit cap for additional semesters is 130 for single majors and 136 for double majors. As long as you finish your fourth semester under the unit cap, you can have a full extra semester. For example, if you finish your fourth semester at 129 units, you can still have a full load during your fifth semester.

I hope this isn't confusing-- but you really don't have to worry about running out of units.

Thedude44 · 02-08-2008, 02:22 AM

If you finish all your 130 units in the fall semester will they let you take courses the following spring semester?

karabear1 · 02-08-2008, 10:55 AM

Yes, that's right. I looked it up to be sure.

http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/collegepolicies/unit.html

nickthecoolest · 02-08-2008, 04:31 PM

Alright, let's do a hypothetical. . .

Since I took some communication courses and I'm also interested in taking a few that, although my CC offers credit for, is non-UC-transferable, are those included with the 130 unit cap?

For example, if I leave CC with 75 units but only 60 are UC-transferable, what counts towards that 130 unit cap?

Thedude44 · 02-08-2008, 06:37 PM

just the transferable units will count.