Hi! Is it a terrible idea to take classes at adjoining times in different buildings? Will my grade suffer if I’m a few minutes late to lecture every day? I want to take one class 1:00-1:59 and 2:00-2:59, but I don’t want my grades or reputation to suffer unduly. Thanks!
@emmapie Berkeley classes start 10 minutes after the time listed, a practice known on campus as “Berkeley Time”.
How dead will I be if I take Math 1B and Stat 20 at the same time?
First semester of freshman year. I got 5 on Calc BC, took Calc 3 and Differential Equations, never took Statistics, also taking Chem 1A/L (also got 5 on AP), and History of Hollywood.
You don’t have to report the ACT Score to colleges, so you have a good chance at getting in. Hopefully you have a few extracurriculars.
@emmapie there’s actually a 10 minute gap between adjoining classes, so a 1-hour lecture is actually 50 mins long. E.g. your 2pm class actually starts at 2:10 - this is so that people can take classes back-to-back
I was accepted Bioengineering to the class of 2021 but am currently trying to switch to EECS. I understand that the GPA limit is competitive, but 1). will it be doable and 2). how easy or hard will it be?
I read online that financial aid will be disbursed no earlier than 10 days prior to the semester.But in order to be considered registered, we need to pay our fees by August 17. I have not received my financial aid yet. There is no way that I can pay the fees without my financial aid, so should I just wait?
Thanks in advance!!
Just a few questions about the undergrad engineering part of Berkeley. I heard the ChemE and EECS are the hardest majors to major in. I just want to make a few clarifications about those majors. In EECS is it more focused on programming, physics, or building (I’m just confused because I heard people talking about building stuff and got confused). In ChemE is it more focused on chemistry (like buffers and reactions), programming, or physics? Also what are the main differences between EECS and ME (like what subject is more emphasized in ME compared to EECS)? Thanks!
Is it recommended to wave off core courses at Cal with credits from AP tests or community college courses? Also, is it possible to be considered for a second major if you don’t get into your first choice major?
@yayseni0r Depends on your major. If you’re a premed, you won’t want to wave an intro bio class with AP credit. Why? Because it’ll be easy for you and you’ll get an easy A (which for premeds is paramount). Otherwise if you’re really confident in your understanding of whatever you’re waiving out of OR you don’t need to take subsequent classes (i.e. waiving out of History if you are a physics major since you’ll never have to take a history class again).
To answer your second question, of course. Many CS students who don’t get accepted as their major after declaring (since all Letters and Sciences students are accepted undeclared initially) often transfer to the Cognitive Science major since there is significant overlap.
@beegbeeegboi So I’m not so sure about the ChemE major, but you’re right in that EECS is hard to get into…but so are all the engineering majors. You are right in that EECS has a slightly lower acceptance rate but really that’s only because they have many more applicants for that major.
Anyways, to answer your question about emphasis in EECS. You can choose to emphasize in EE, CS, or really any other engineering as an EECS major. What I mean by this is you have a set of core classes that you must take (programming courses, physics, electrical engineering, etc) but you also have a required number of Engineering Units that can be fulfiled by any engineering class. So you can take many CS classes to fulful those units or ME or anything.
From what I see in ME, they do a lot of work on designing and CAD while EECS is typically focused on programming and electronic circuits and tools.
If a person applies to the school of engineering but doesn’t get in, could they still be admitted to the university as a whole?
As of now, I am really stuck on how I should declare my major on my UC Berkeley application. I really want to apply to Berkeley College of Engineering as an Industrial Engineering major. Unfortunately, I don’t have many engineering-related ECs, and I feel as if my AP scores in engineering courses aren’t that great (4’s). I fear that I would have a really low chance at getting into Berkeley if I apply for engineering as opposed to applying as a Operations Research and Management Science major at the College of Letters + Science (which I would gladly take if engineering isn’t an option for me.)
Do you guys know if I can apply to both the College of Engineering and College of L+S? I know the UC application only allows me to declare one major, but can I submit two separate apps and pay their respective fees? That way, if I get rejected from engineering, I would have L+S as a backup. I feel if UCs allowed me to do that it would relieve a lot of my anxiety about applying there.
UC Berkeley also has what it is called the MET program where it combines an engineering degree with a business degree. How competitive is that? Again, the UC app only allows me to select one major, so if I select MET and get rejected, I would have been better off if I simply selected engineering.
Another option I can take is get accepted to L+S (I feel that would be likely for me) and pursue Berkeley’s simultaneous degree program where I can have the L+S Operations Research degree AND an engineering degree. However, there is an application for this program, so it isn’t as if I can automatically pursue an engineering degree if I am admitted to L+S. Do you think that is a wiser option?
Thank you in advance!
MET is incredibly competitive. Even if you are admitted to the program your course load for the next 4 years will be immense. IMO book worms are suited for MET, however, if you want to enjoy college I would stick to just engineering.
I’ve never heard of an ORMS + Engineering dual major, usually students just stick to one. Honestly, if you’re considering pursuing business I would stick with just applying to L&S. Doing so will leave you the option of applying to Haas in sophomore year while letting you explore more quantitative majors (i.e CS, stats, applied math) in your freshman year.
btw, I’m a sophomore at Cal and know the campus like I know the back of my hand. This is good advice.
Would you recommend doing AP or IB? I am a current sophomore in high school and I am not sure which route is the better option for Berkeley.
@lenasharb I’m a freshman currently in the MET program, and I’d just like to clarify that if you get rejected from MET, you will be put in the pool to be considered for EECS, IEOR, or ME (depending on what you applied for in MET). MET is a very competitive program, and you will be doing a lot of work, but it is not as bad as it may initially seem. The program staff is excellent and the cohort-style makes your experience much more personalized and close-knit. Good luck!
Is it true that the college of natural resources is the easiest to get into for freshman applicants?
What if I drop AP Bio and take Physics 220 at my community college for the last semester of my senior year? Will it seem bad to UC Berkeley if I am applying for EECS?
Can freshmen get single rooms in the residential halls or is it strictly reserved for upperclassmen and people with accommodations?
does your major matter in the application