<p>Hi all, </p>
<p>I’m a non-traditional student thinking of going to Berkeley as an option, and I am setting my eye on the political economy major (if I do go to Berkeley eventually) in the “IAS” academic program. So, I’ve got a few questions to ask. </p>
<p>Is it possible for me to start as a third-year student after completing a year of community college in California (I’ve checked out Santa Barbara City College and MiraCosta college) as well as redeeming all my AP credits (I will have 10 APs: US EUR history, micro/macro, stats, calculus AB BC, World history, gov/politics, Chinese, and psychology)</p>
<p>I saw that the pre-requisite for Cal’s political economy program is an AP WH of 5, micro/macro of 5, and stats of 3, plus a AP language of 5. I seem to have fulfilled this pre-req. </p>
<p>I am attempting to shorten my stay at Berkeley because I am not a California resident and find the $53,000 comprehensive fee a little too high. </p>
<p>I am thinking of going for a top MBA afterwards (probably Haas or Stanford) so a high GPA is a must. So, I really need to know if political economy is considered a relatively
‘easy’, or at least not hardcore, major. </p>
<p>My other option will be : attempting to apply to Ivies despite being older than the regular freshmen; trying Penn’s LPS program for non-traditional students. </p>
<p>Thanks for your time.</p>
<p>[Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) is your friend if you are considering starting at community college:</p>
<p>[ASSIST</a> Report](<a href=“Welcome to ASSIST”>Welcome to ASSIST)
[ASSIST</a> Report](<a href=“Welcome to ASSIST”>Welcome to ASSIST)</p>
<p>But it does look like your AP credit covers the lower division requirements, so you would only need to complete enough CC courses to reach 60 semester units and complete IGETC (see here: [Intersegmental</a> General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) | UC Admissions](<a href=“http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/requirements/additional-requirements/igetc/index.html]Intersegmental”>http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/requirements/additional-requirements/igetc/index.html) ) to apply as a junior-level transfer. After transfer, there are 9 required courses, which should be doable in two years (a typical course load includes about 16 courses in two years).</p>
<p>More information about the major here: [International</a> & Area Studies Academic Program | University of California, Berkeley](<a href=“http://iastp.berkeley.edu/pe]International”>http://iastp.berkeley.edu/pe)</p>
<p>MBA programs look for good work experience after your bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>If you are qualified to apply as a frosh, then you may also want to consider whether entering as a frosh but completing your degree in fewer than 8 semesters may be financially feasable.</p>
<p>However, there are likely many more financially sensible choices available to you. For example, if you are a resident of Washington (you mention in other posts living in the Pacific northwest), then the University of Washington is certainly worth a look.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input UCBALUMnus</p>
<p>But I’m not sure what this is supposed to mean - </p>
<p>“then you may also want to consider whether entering as a frosh but completing your degree in fewer than 8 semesters may be financially feasable.” </p>
<p>Oh I guess what you mean is entering as frosh stretches my stay at UCB so the financial picture is not therefore sanguine. </p>
<p>But my question is, is getting in as a freshman easier than getting in as a transfer? I honestly don’t know how much of a chance I’ll stand once I apply as a junior transfer, but I do know that I’ve got an around 2300 SAT and 780 770 760 SAT IIs (USH, math, physics). </p>
<p>I’ve posted this question on the UC transfer forum but I want to ask again. Can I do the following: </p>
<p>Apply as freshman this August (I think the UC schedule is a little different from the Ivy schedule?)
Enter community college this september to finish up two semesters by next May
Do additional 4 APs
admitted to UCB, then transfer my AP credits and CCC units
start UCB, junior year, political economy</p>
<hr>
<p>I live in Pacific Northwest, but in Vancouver, BC ! (so no Washington)
I noticed that international students may qualify for Regents scholarship as well - and it seems to serve me well if I do get it. How much of a chance do you think I’ll be at least nominated as a candidate? I qualify for…well…at least some financial aid because my parents don’t make that much money, so it’s better for me to shoot for ivies rather than going to a public school like UW or UBC or UCB (if without scholarship)</p>
<hr>
<p>In regards to the MBA - I don’t know how much of my work experience counts. As I said, I’m a non-traditional student who have run some businesses (and therefore some work exp). I’ve run a tutoring company (hired about 7 ppl), a scarf-selling business, and a little here and there. What I’m concerned about is that these small-business experiences don’t match the big consulting, BB experiences others have.</p>