Berkeley Spring Admit Condition of Admission Question - HELP!

nick_scheu
Sun, 11 Sep 2011 17:35:29 +0000

Spring admits (I’m one of 'em) start the following spring, rather than fall. You can’t apply to be a spring admit–it’s basically overflow from the fall applicants. Cal knows that some people won’t be attending in spring that were in fall (study abroad, early or late graduates, drop outs, etc). So, knowing they’ll have some extra space, they decide to offer some students the option to attend in spring.

While officially Cal doesn’t give any reason why spring admits weren’t offered fall admission, anecdotally it’s the more borderline students who are admitted in spring.

I suspect that the total number of units completed may play a role as well. I have 86 semester units completed, for instance–I’m nearly a senior. Since I was admitted to spring, there’s a decent chance I’ll only need to pay for three semesters at Cal. If I had been a fall admit, I probably would have done 4, so that my last semester would be a spring semester, and I could graduate in May. This way works out better for Cal and for me–they get me in and out quicker, and I save money.

No other UCs offer spring admission as overflow, though Merced accepts applications to the spring term. I’m not sure why they don’t. Cal is, IMHO, the most unique of the UCs. It seems to enjoy doing things a bit differently.