3.9+ in EECS + Haas Double Major

sakky
Sat, 25 Sep 2010 22:41:32 +0000

Some of the places that Berkeley graduates go to are Apple, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Boeing, Accenture, Intel, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and much more.



The career center also lists Berkeley grads who end up being waitresses, file clerks, Starbucks baristas, and lumber pullers (whatever that is) - jobs that, frankly, you could have garnered right out of high school.



As for the Haas School of Business, it is actually the second best undergraduate business school after having tied with MIT Sloan.



Of course that doesn’t help if you can’t get into the Haas program. Nearly half of all Berkeley students who apply to the program are not accepted, and that obviously doesn’t even count those who don’t even apply. {Let’s be frank - if you have a 2.5 GPA, you’re just wasting your time by applying.}

[Class Profile, Undergraduate Program - Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley](Class Profile - Undergraduate Program - Berkeley Haas)



EECS students, needless to say, are extremeley lucky to be at Berkeley as their degrees open paths to many doors. In fact, Berkeley’s engineering program overall is 2nd best tied with Stanford University.



A Berkeley engineering degree can open many doors…provided you actually get that degree, and without a middling GPA. The sad fact of the matter is that many Berkeley engineering students can’t even finish the degrees at all because they can’t (or won’t) pass the courses. Even those that do manage to pass often times are tagged with mediocre, barely passing grades that greatly constrain your ability to find a good engineering job. Let’s face it: engineering companies aren’t exactly keen on hiring a graduate with a 2.5 (or less) GPA, even if it came from Berkeley. Yet, sadly, there are a lot of engineering students with those kinds of grades.

Don’t get me wrong, for I completely agree with your message that Berkeley students who do well have ample future opportunities. I am simply pointing out that not everybody does well, and in particular, will receive nowhere near the 3.9+ GPA in Haas/EECS as posited by the OP.