Getting into Cal and what to expect when you finally get there. - Page 5

Westow · 04-01-2005, 07:36 PM

umm im not talking about not doing any work at all.... there is a difference between work hard during the day and play hard in the night, and work hard to the point where u dont do anything but study. i'm just asking is that what's true if i decide to go berkeley engineering. mayb im just superficial but i think life is too short so i need to enjoy my college years..

BigBrother · 04-01-2005, 07:40 PM

Well all the engineers I know do have fine social lives.

andrewtdx · 04-01-2005, 08:43 PM

I'm bumping this article for the benefit of the new Admits.

Westow · 04-01-2005, 09:09 PM

I'm just asking. some annecdote would be great, rather than just saying "all the engineers I know do have fine social lives." its just rumors i heard about competition to the point where ppl screw other ppl and stuff. if that stuff goes on in such a school, then ppl obviously are TOO concerned with their studies, and thus an indictation of "no lives."

mk13 · 04-01-2005, 09:22 PM

hey andrew,
do you know anything about the haas school? like how hard it is to get in or what percent of kids get admitted? if you know anything about haas i'd appreciate if you post the info. thanks

andrewtdx · 04-02-2005, 01:15 PM

Mk13: Ya know, I really don't think about Haas that much. It's not my business, but from what I heard -- it's rather difficult, about 20% get selected maybe? It's VERY difficult to get in, but once your in -- it gets easier.

undecided87 · 04-02-2005, 01:25 PM

i thought it was around 50%

andrewtdx · 04-02-2005, 01:27 PM

In addendum, you want to get As, A-s and B+s (AT MINIMUM) in the following classes:

Economics 1 or 2 - get an A or A- in this, without FAIL.

Your R1AB requirements (that's learning to write in college, ya know, MLA Format, how to do a research paper, etc. I didn't learn how to do that in my classes... but that was because my GSI was one of the legendary indoctrination GSIs)

UGBA 10 - This is your intro class. You absolutely MUST get an A in this. the class is so competitive that even one mistake lowers your grade to a B-/C+.

Math 1AB or 16AB, try to get at least a B in here. It's very competitive. I'd reccommend 16AB (it's way easier) if you are deadset on business, but if you wanna pursue a science, take 1AB.

A Stat class of some sort. Get an A in here, it's pretty easy.

Then you can pretty much take what you want. Work hard and get high grades, it's all you really can do until it is time to apply.

sakky · 04-02-2005, 01:40 PM

The admit rate is about 50% for intra-Berkeley transfers, about 20% for transfers from other schools (usually from CC's).

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergr...stransfer.html

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/statsucb.html

Grades are not the only thing that counts. A wide variety of factors are considered. Consider this quote.

"Question: How does the Admission Committee evaluate applications?
Answer: The application is broken down as follows: 50% Grades & Coursework, 35% Essays and 15% Resume/extra-curricular activities. In addition to reviewing applications for completion of minimum eligibility requirements and academic achievement and promise, the Admission Committee will review many factors, including performance in key prerequisites (business, math, economics, statistics), grade trends, course load, consistency of academic performance, leadership skills, interest in being an active member of the Haas community, knowledge of contemporary business issues, accomplishments as demonstrated by extra-curricular activities, as well as communication and analytical skills as demonstrated by responses to essay questions. "

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergr...ssionsfaq.html

However, I wouldn't be surprised if the 'defacto' admissions percentage for intra-Berkeley transfers to Haas was 20% or even lower. When I say 'defacto' admissions percentage, I mean the percentage of ALL those people in Berkeley who want to go to Haas who actually get into Haas. That 50% number mentioned above has to do with the percentage of applicants who get in. But the key word there is 'applicants'. Only a fraction of people who want to go to Haas will actually bother to apply. There are plenty of other Berkeley students who would like to go to Haas but know that they don't have a realistic chance of getting in (because of bad grades, bad EC's, or whatever), so they don't apply. An analogy would be my undying childhood dream to play for the Boston Red Sox, yet the reality is that I suck at baseball, so even if the Red Sox were to hold an open tryout, I'm not going to go because I know that I would never be picked and so I would just be wasting my time and embarrassing myself.

dmcwhiz123 · 04-02-2005, 03:32 PM

yo andrewtdx, we should let these prospective students grapple with berkeley life head on.........no need for pointers (scaring them)...we do it when its too late for them to turn back!!!

no i'm just kidding.....

andrewtdx · 04-03-2005, 03:24 PM

Haha DMC. I'm just doing this because I see so many people who hate Berkeley everyday of my life. I want to save as many people the trouble. If it requires scaring them off, so be it! But seriously, there really isn't anything to be scared of at Berkeley. Just be prepared to deal with some new situations, that can be rather stressful and difficult.

dmcwhiz123 · 04-03-2005, 03:42 PM

lol, i'm already in berkeley man, and yea i know what you're talking about. i know ppl who dont like it either........

nothing wrong with a lil bit of fun using the prospective students O_O

jp jp, i'm not evil like that

andrewtdx · 04-03-2005, 09:40 PM

Aaah, then you missed the point of Berkeley entirely. Isn't this the academy for evil geniuses? J/K

thebigbohr · 08-15-2006, 07:07 AM

bump for new admits

Matt30 · 08-15-2006, 01:21 PM

Wow lots of liberal bashing.

Quote:

This would usually end in people being loud and obnoxious, and showed the true side of "liberals." They got in my face about my political views at one point and I said simply, "Libertarian." And they were like," #^#%ing REPUBLICAN WANNABE *****! F#%! YOU! GO TO IRAQ! DIE FOR YOUR FUHRER!!!"

The only reason someone would get that riled up is if it was a shouting match before or if one (or both) parties were drunk. It has nothing to do with the "true-side" of liberals or any nonsnece Ann Coulter-esq psychology.

Quote:

Berkeley is not racially very diverse and that's a fact. All this claim of diversity is B.S. and unless you are really into the various Asian culture, it's hard to find substantial groups that do anything else that otherwise not limit your opps to meet people.

The word "asians" is not a one fits all racial classification. Considering that 60% of the world's population lives in Asia, it's a bit narrow-minded to say the difference between a person of Japanese ancestry and of Vietnamese or of Indian ancestry is irrelevant. If you can't find racial diversity at Cal, you're not looking hard enough.

Quote:

Whites, and Jews especially, tend to be somewhat reviled in some circles, so if you have an interest in Palestinian Liberation or what not, and are of the "Diametrically" (see Jewish heritage or right of very "liberal") opposed group? Don't bother.

I didn't know Whites and Jews were the exact opposite of people who support the PLO. Did you actually receive insults or slurs, racial or otherwise? Because I find it hard to believe anyone at Cal would do that only because of your politics.U sually, things of this sort happen because the person has a bad attitude in the first place.

The experience at Cal is what you make of it, if all you're looking for is "crazy liberals" who get high and drunk and call you names, that's all you'll see. If you go in miserable, you'll come out that way. Keep in mind the 25,000 undergrads are you're peers, they have lived through the same events, watched the same shows, performed well in similar high schools, at some level almost everyone should be able to relate to someone else.