avoidingwork

Here's the link to theme housing
http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livi...eprograms.html

It is a part of the regular dorm housing

vicissitudes

I think you can, and I would imagine you sign up the same way the fall admits do. Personal opinion though: I don't think it's worth it. You stay overnight at orientation anyway. The only advantage might be if you're still pondering over which college to go to, but even then I think Cal Day is enough for you to get a feel for the campus.

Theme housing is in the dorms and it's pretty much like regular housing except it has a theme (for example, the Asian one has...all Asians on the floor), and you have to take a 2-unit class on it or something (not sure if this applies to all theme housing). So for some people who don't get housing they apply for theme housing because it's almost the exact same thing.

I think you mean...you need a 2.0 GPA in FPF to enroll at Berkeley in the spring semester. There's really no need to worry. For the most part the classes at FPF are pretty easy and I'd be surprised if someone actually got below a 2.0 (unless they tried to? I dunno why?).

It's really not like gambling at all because let's say you get below a 2.0 but Berkeley still lets you enroll in the spring. Well if you can't get a 2.0 in FPF you probably can't get a 2.0 at Berkeley which means you'll be put on academic probation and then flunk out anyway. Same scenario applies to other schools. Let's say you decide to attend UCSD instead. Well if you get below a 2.0 there you'll also flunk out. So this policy is really no different from any other college policy.

But anyway, I really think it's next to impossible to get below a 2.0 in FPF so don't worry about it.

Well, many weeder classes and impacted classes actually are general requirement classes on campus. But in FPF, with only several hundred students and classes no more than ~50, you don't any get weeder/impacted classes. Lucky you.

Nope, many classes are actually graded on a straight scale. The grading in FPF tends to be pretty lenient so if a class has a curve it's not one of those killer curves that fails 30% of the students.

I really think the classes at FPF are noticibly easier than the ones on-campus. Some people say differently. If you're one of those pre-med/pre-Haas/engineering/other-hard-major people then obviously the classes you'll be taking on-campus will be harder. If you're going to major in an easy major then perhaps the classes you'll take on-campus might not be harder. One notable class is Math 1B. That's an infamous weeder on-campus that many students need to take, but it's not a weeder in FPF at all. So if you need to take Math 1B I recommend taking it in FPF.

As for Haas, you could fulfill the calculus requirement, or the breadth requirements. I think that's it. There's no Undergraduate Business Administration 10, Statistics 21, Economics 1/2, or CS classes. But the breadth requirements for Haas is a pain so it's good to get those out of the way.

collegekid2007

when does the spring semester starts (what month?)
january?

Phoenix_Rising

I'm almost sure that I want to go to Berkeley, and if I do go, I definitely want to be in FPF. I'm still not positive though (I still need to visit UCSD, my other choice) so I don't want to officially enroll. How can I just reserve a spot? The acceptance website doesn't say, and keeps insisting that I have to pay a SIR to enroll. Do I have to pay the SIR to reserve a spot in FPF? And can the reserving a spot be done online?

killernago

So how does everything in general work for spring admits going for FPF? Are the orientations at the same time as fall admits? How much housing and for which semesters is it guaranteed? What classes would an engineer typically take for FPF? I also don't really understand housing for FPF students. If I don't get a dorm, do I have to find an apartment or something on my own outside of Cal if I don't do themed housing?

IceShard

As a Spring Admit, is there any chance that, when some fall admit people decide not to attend UCB, that there will be room for us in the fall semester? The whole Spring thing is making my decision very difficult since I got in for Chancellors at UCSD for bio.
I noticed on the website for FRF that there's a $4050 charge, but I'm confused. Does that mean for the overall freshman year I will pay about $24,000 plus the extra $4050? And, is it possible to take Math1B before Math1A?

vicissitudes

Yup spring semester starts after winter break in mid-January.

No, you don't have to pay a SIR to enroll. You just need to send in a $100 deposit to FPF to reserve your spot, along with an enrollment form. You have to mail them in though; can't do it online. Here's details on how:

http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/fpf/enroll_checklist.html

Notice that you only have to do steps 1 and 2 to reserve a spot.

The orientation for incoming Berkeley students is called CalSO (Cal Student Orientation) and for fall admits there are several from early June to mid July. There is a CalSO just for FPF students and that's after all the fall admit CalSOs. You can find the dates on the website below(click on Fall 2007 admit for FPF CalSO date):

http://services.housing.berkeley.edu...t/Welcome.html

Housing was already mentioned in this thread but I'll reiterate: Fall admits are guaranteed two-year housing. For FPF students your first semester is not guaranteed. However, I believe unlimitedx mentioned in another thread that housing for spring semester is guaranteed. Your second year should also be guaranteed. As for how likely it is for you to get housing in the fall, it's hard to say. Last year 250 spots were initially offered for 650 FPF students, and I think more got housing offers later after being on the waitlist. The years before that almost all FPF students got housing. If you don't get dorm housing, you could do theme housing (which is almost the same), Tau House (it's like a mini-dorm close to campus), nearby apartment (Telegraph Commons, etc. they're pretty close and have other Berkeley students living in them), or maybe co-ops. There are a lot of options. Also, you could transfer into a dorm in the spring semester.

I think chances are very slim that any spring admit will be given enrollment in the fall due to underenrollment. The $4050 charge is the tuition. The tuition for a semester at Berkeley is about $3700, so it's a little more for FPF. The $24000 is a total cost that's made up of: $6400 tuition (for 2 semesters), $12000 housing and meal plan (for 1 year, based on a double), living costs, book fees, transportation fees, etc. As for math, you can skip Math 1A and go to Math 1B, but you can't take Math 1B and then go back and take Math 1A.

killernago

Thanks for the CalSO site vicissitudes. It seems as though I won't be able to make it, since I'm going to be gone the whole July. Do you choose classes when you attend the FPF CalSO? If so, how would someone like me choose classes?

I've also taken a look at the classes offered for FPF, and it seems that if I go to Cal, I will be behind 1 semester in Computer Science and Physics for engineering. Is that a major problem in any way?

vicissitudes

That's too bad, CalSO's a good place to meet some people. Anyway, you actually don't need to attend CalSO to sign up for classes, unlike all the fall admits. The way you sign up for classes is by filling out a form that you print from the FPF website and sending it in through mail. Lucky you.

As for classes, I'm not sure what your major is. I think engineering majors either require Physics 7A,7B or Physics 7A, 7B, 7C. In either case you can finish those in 3 semesters. As for CS...there's the CS61 series which is CS61A, 61B, 61C. Mostly engineering majors don't need to take all three (EECS might, too lazy to look up now). Anyway, very doable and many engineers don't even bother taking any physics/CS classes until spring semester anyway. I think I mentioned in my first post that if you're an engineer you might get behind a little but what that really means is just you won't be able to get some classes out of the way early. Hey, there's always summer school if you really need it.

killernago

Haha, I got admitted for EECS so I guess it's all 3 Comp sci classes for me. After looking at the catalogue for FPF classes, it literally seems like there is nothing I can take that's even related to engineering. The only one was Math 1B, but I looked around and AP credit can get me out of it. Any suggestions on classes to take?

vicissitudes

You could always take English R1A or R1B if you haven't APed out of those. If you can AP out of Math 1B I think you can petition to take Math 53 on-campus. There's also the AC requirement that you'll have to take sooner or later so get that out of the way. Or, just take a class in a subject that seems interesting to you. Not every class you take has to go towards something.

LeftistHominid

My AB calculus score from last year will clear me from math 16 which i need for my Integ Bio major. My AP biology score will also clear me from bio 1a/1b which I need for my major. If it weren't for the fact that I want to do double major in South and Southeast Asian Studies and a Geology minor I would go back and do them

IceShard

I will need to pass the AP Lit&Comp. with a 5 to bypass English R1B. I don't know if I can get a 5 this May when I take the exam though... so I assume I will just pick English R1B as a class and then perhaps try to drop it if I do indeed get a 5 on the AP Lit&Comp.

Looking at possible classes that I can take is starting to confuse me. I'm not used to the timetables for lectures/discussions. When they say Discussion 1, Discussion 2, etc for Math 1A are those on different days/weeks? Maybe this is simple and I'm just not thinking straight. Any help would be appreciated.

http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/fpf/coursesched.html

mofmog

I got a 710 on the math section of my SAT I. That means I pass the QR req right? Also, I've taken 3+ years of a foreign language (of course, with more than a C-), so I pass the foreign language req. So bascially, all I have to do is fulfill my RC and breadth requirements right? I also got an 800 on the writing section of the SAT I's so that means I'm going to at the least be taking College Writing/Rhetoric 1A.

So far I have 4 credits to do at FPF. That apparently leaves eight more credits? So I should take one RC fulfilling course and two breadth req classes? Also, I'm going to major in Classics/Linguistics, so I could potentially never take another math class in my whole life if I'm looking at this right...

the66afghans

What about those who might not think they're quite ready to take on the vastness of Berkeley and instead opt for Spring semester? Is it possible to switch from fall to spring semester and take transferrable GEs to Berkeley?