Community College Transfer to Berkeley, Preparation for Math Major?

Colleges & Universities University of California - Berkeley
1

Hello, guys.

I’ve been admitted to the College of Letters and Sciences, and I plan to appeal for a Math Major. I’m asking this question because I feel incredibly insecure, to put it lightly, about my ability to succeed at Berkeley at this moment. I am aware that the formulaic, algorithmic mathematics I’ve learned from basic algebra to differential equations and linear algebra (although, at my college, there was a fair amount of proof construction) may not prepare me to succeed at the university level – especially at Berkeley.
I’m planning to reintroduce myself to proofs and mathematical logic throughout the summer; I’ll be working my butt off.
My SAT I score for math – which I earned during high school – was 620, and my AP Calc BC (with AB factored in) was a 3.
What do you suggest I study to prepare myself? Do you have any recommendations, advice?

2

Oh, and most of my grades for Calc 1 to Linear and Differential Eqs were As and Bs. I had one C for Calc IV.

3

Math is not a restricted major; see https://math.berkeley.edu/programs/undergraduate/majoring-mathematics for the requirements to declare.

Having done proofs in prior math courses is a good thing.

You can try the old final exams for the UCB courses on the material that you have covered (1A, 1B, 53, 54, and the honors versions of those courses) to check your knowledge.

4

Thank you for your response!
In your opinion…
do you think students with my grades and test scores rarely or never succeed at Berkeley?
I’m comfortable with directness. :slight_smile:

5

Berkeley has plenty of students who earned A and B (and even C) grades in college.