BCC would be best if you get Blackwell or Unit 3, you’re literally a block away. Not sure about parking though, do they have a parking lot? Not much is going to beat the Claremont for niceness.
Hey everyone, I am currently a junior and I am interested in applying to UCB’s class of 2024. I had a question and I was hoping someone could answer it and give me some advice. I want to major in EECS but I heard that it is a very competitive field to apply to and applying to computer science @ L&S is easier. Should I just apply for EECS? Or should I apply for CS (increasing my chances of getting into UCB) and then try to switch majors into EECS?
It’s April and I still don’t have housing, which is not good. Felt like saying that.
Okay,
@slayerdang They only let people into EECS if there’s open spots, as in someone dropped out. So it’s the most annoying major to switch into, but I have civil engineering (?) friend who switched so it’s possible. How do they put it? Shoot your shot? If you have the stats to get in, might as well try. Apply to UCLA with an easier to get into major. Although we pretend we aren’t, we’re sort of the same school (but Berkeley’s better).
@slayerdang as of 2017 you can’t transfer into EECS from anywhere else. The only way you can get into EECS is directly from HS, or directly as a transfer, or if you are enrolled in a major within CoE.
Hi guys, I have a question similar to @slayerdang
I’m also a junior interested in applying to Cal next year, and hoping to study something chemistry or biology related, though I don’t think I want to go into biochem, and I’m leaning towards chemistry. But, I’ve heard that the College of Chemistry has a really low acceptance rate, and I’m worried my application won’t be impressive enough. If I do decide to major in chemistry, would it be better to apply to L&S and try to transfer into College of Chemistry, or risk it and apply directly to College of Chemistry?
@ucbalumnus and @ProfessorPlum168 thanks so much for all the links you shared. I’ve been bookmarking them.
I saw the thread about freshman math, which was extremely helpful. If possible, could you please share your advice on the Freshman Chemistry and Physics? My D will have 2 years of AP Chemistry, 2 years of AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, and AP Statistics completed when she finishes HS. Most likely will get mostly 5s and probably one or two 4s in the AP exams.
At Cal, she wants to take all the premed classes out of the way in her first or second year but she is majoring in Cog Science/Neuroscience . You mentioned that Premed does not accept credit from AP Calculus from HS. Is it the same for Chemistry and Physic? Does that mean she needs to take all the premed requirements from Cal? If so, knowing what I had above from her HS, what should she take for Math, Chemistry and Physic in the fall?
She really wants to take Math 54 (differential equation and linear algebra) first semester, but we weren’t aware that med school won’t take AP Calculus from HS (thanks to you now we know). She hopes to take Math 1B but not sure if she has to take Math 1A instead since med school requires it…
Thanks so much!
@Nhatrang Medical schools prefer that you take all of their classes at a college, and not a CC unless you’re a transfer. Take Math 10A, Chem 1A, and either Physics 8A or wait to take that. You already know the material so it shouldn’t be too bad.
Medical schools want 2 semesters of math. Math 10 mixes Calculus and Stats, so it’s like having one semester of each and it’s Math for Bio people. You might be able to take Math 54 and then Stat 20, but I’m not really sure if Math 54 is comparable to Calculus in Med school eyes.
I’m an Econ major too and I took Calc, Calc 3, and differential equations in high school. I ended up taking Math 1B and Stat 20.
Thanks @Walter924 - You said 2 semesters of math, so will it be 10A and 10B? Another alternative would be Matth 1B and Stat 20. Either option would satisfy math requirements for med school?
D also comes up with similar list for the fall: Math 1B (or Math 10A), Chem 1A, Physics 8A, Bio1A and English 1A
@Nhatrang My understanding from Med school postings is that very few accept any AP credit, so it might behoove your daughter to start from Math 1A. But I am far from an expert on this topic. Do note that Math 1B also has the reputation of being a major weeder.
@ProfessorPlum168 when you said “weeder” you mean the class is so difficult a lot of students will be flunked out? What weeder class mean anyway? I hear that word all the time but not sure the real implication of the word.
Not to brag but D isn’t worried about the difficulties at Berkeley, although she has no idea what the exams at Cal looks like yet, she might be in for a world of shock. As a HS senior but she has been doing online math tutoring for a few of NYU kids anywhere from Calculus to Stats, linear algebra and differential equations, and applied math. She knows the materials very well from reading on her own and learning online. When the NYU students got stuck on HW problems that they can’t find the answer through google, or that they can’t wait until they see their study group/TA, they would text D the problems and within a few mins she sends them back a video of how to solve the problems. Through words of mouth she sometimes get more problems than she had time within the short time they gave her (and usually late at night). She makes quite a bit of money doing that.
But at Cal, knowing the materials is one thing, being able to understand Cal exam questions is a whole other thing, so I hear you. I hope she isn’t too confident, but she has a bit of a head start compares with some, it seems.
@Nhatrang Math 1B will probably be really easy for her then, just don’t completely underestimating. Underestimating classes that you could test out of can mess you up. You can start from Math 1B and still be fine. I thought it looked slightly better than Math 1A and it probably fit my schedule better. Seems like a lot of units, but should be fine. A lot of class time. Scheduling will be hard. Only Bio has much homework and that’s if you read the textbook and math is math. And English. Lot of writing. You probably won’t go to math lecture, but always go to discussion. Both of her options are good. Either works.
@Nhatrang - traditionally, a weeder class is a class that is designed to “weed out” the non-performers for a given major. Nowadays, it generally means a class that is really hard to get a good grade.
Some stats pulled from Berkeleytime:
Math 1A -
Mean - 2.94 grade (so, a B )
Pct that get some sort of A - 36.1 percent
Math 1B -
Mean 2.91 (B)
Pct that gets some sort of A - 33.6 percent
Pct that gets A or B - 67.6 percent
33.6 percent is not too bad actually. I was expecting it to be under 30 percent.
3 classes with the reputation for being notorious “killer” weeders:
Chem 1A - 27.3% get some sort of A
Physics 7A - 27.5% get some sort of A
Biology 1A - 23.4% get some sort of A, 57.9% get A or B, which means over 40% get a C or lower. I believe this class is the class with the lowest percentage of people getting As, or is darn close if it isn’t the lowest.
Note that these percentages can be a bit misleading. The classes I have noted down are all “first” classes, meaning they are the first class (or second) class for a given major, and a lot of times, students are trying out classes trying to figure out where to go. But I guess that where the term “weeder” comes into play as well.
contrast this with a class like ESPM 6 (Environmental Biology 6) where almost 90% of the class get some sort of A.
Hi! Is anyone else having problems logging into the housing portal? Whenever I try to log in it says the page reloaded too many times and there’s an error. I originally thought that it was because I had just created my CalNet ID, but it’s been three days and I get the same notification.
Also other links on my portal aren’t working as well, like the parent information form or the financial aid verification. It’s not my computer since I’ve tried to load it on other computers but it had the same results. What should I do?
@Walter924 what are the math requirements for Econ major? That is what S is considering. He likes Stats, not crazy about Calc but can deal with it if required! How many credits did you take first semester? what Econ classes have you taken and liked so far?
Took 15 units my first and 16 second. 18 last semester. 19 this semester. Double majoring, graduating early, don’t like being bored and got stuck in UGBA 10.
@wolverinealum It’s not much. Stat 20 which is stats with a dab of calculus but is basically turning into halfways an R coding class. Math 1A and 1B that you can test out of if you took AP and did well. Calc A/B tests out 1A. 1B tests out B/C. If you want to go to graduate schools they recommend taking mathy classes which require Calc 3 (53) and differential equations/linear algebra (54), but no one checks the requirements so you could learn as you go if you’re up for it. 101a is just a lot of lagrangians and they sort of reteach it the first unit. But I am not having fun in 101A even though 50% get an A because Della Vigna decided not to teach it (he’s supposed to be good). Anyways, you can be unmotivated like most of us and probably me in the future and take the chill 100 series and the fun classes that you majored in econ for anyways like game theory, health econ, and financial econ.
How are UCB’s student athletes able to have enough time to study?
@kahuna77
50% of football players say they’re students first
50% say they’re athletes first
They have required tutoring for all of their classes.
They have a special secret dining hall/food place in Memorial Stadium with a lot of protein.
Hi! I’ve asked this question in other places, but I’ll ask it here too. I’m a homeschooled student, and I’ve confirmed my acceptance to Berkeley and denied my offers from other schools. I had planned to take 4 AP exams this year, none of which I am taking classes for, but the local schools had no room for me in their testing spaces. I’m going to send Berkeley an update about this. Could this jeopardize my admission? Thanks!
She should not need to repeat her AP calculus with Math 1A and 1B.
https://career.berkeley.edu/Medical/PrepPrereq suggests the following math courses as possible ways to cover the math requirement for medical schools: 1A, 1B, 10A, 10B, 16A, 16B, 53, 54. It also suggests taking a statistics course (or taking Math 10A and 10B to cover both calculus and statistics).
That web site includes other suggested courses to take for pre-med purposes.
You may want to ask more on the pre-med forum section.
Note that some medical schools prefer that pre-meds not repeat AP credit, but instead take more advanced courses in the subject area, but there may be other medical schools that do not allow this.
With physics and statistics, she may want to defer the decision about taking the courses if she does not need them for her major; if she later decides not to do pre-med, she will not have wasted any schedule space taking them.