Hello! My son was recently admitted to Georgia Tech as a Gold Scholar (in state tuition, priority course enrollment, etc.) for Computer Science and was also admitted to UC Berkeley as a Regent’s Scholar for Bioengineering (priority course enrollment, guaranteed housing, etc.). We are California residents.
He would like to pursue Computer Science in the future and is hoping to add EECS as a double major if he chooses to attend Berkeley. If anyone has any advice/tips for making a decision it would be greatly appreciated!
I can only speak to UC Berkeley rather than comparing the two. I am less familiar with Georgia Tech.
Under current COE policy (subject to change), since he was admitted directly to COE, he would theoretically have a possible path to switch to EECS or to double major in EECS, depending on the courses he takes in his first year and the grades he receives. Basically, he would need to make progress in both BioE and in EECS in both semesters, with grades above a certain level set by the department.
However, it’s important to note the requirements are subject to change (which is why I’m not quoting a specific required GPA above), and it is always possible that they MAY close the door to the EECS major. And of course the other uncertainty is getting the grades.
If he would not be happy to attend UC Berkeley without the possibility of adding the EECS major, I would recommend that he talk directly to someone in COE to see if they can verify the policies that would apply to him as a student entering in fall 2024.
Absolutely reach out to the CoE. I’d e-mail the Dean to see if they have 10 minutes to meet during Admitted Students Day, and put Regent’s Scholar in the Subject field.
Yes, and the current policy, as outlined by my son’s advisor, gives students a very good pathway to switch. If I were the student I’d just want to have solid confirmation of whether that policy will still apply to the next generation of students.
Come to Berkeley. Since your son will be in COE, he could switch to EECS or double relatively easily. And even if he doesn’t switch he can still access any of the EECS classes. All CS classes have reserved spots for non-EECS COE majors and given his Regents priority he should get first bite at the schedule.
Congrats on 2 great options.
My son switched to EECS at the end of freshman year and a lot of people switch COE majors pretty easily. To switch to EECS, there is a pretty tough GPA bar but its very much doable especially for someone who was able to score Regents.
It depends where he wants to work and what he wants out of college other than academics. GA Tech supposedly has a much tighter community and may be more fun. But UCB for jobs in California.
The requirements applying to students who entered in 2023 (my son) and who entered in 2022 (@ucscuuw’s son) are basically as I summarized above,
progress in both the existing major and in core courses in EECS for both semesters of freshman year
GPA overall, and in the EECS courses, meeting or exceed a specific level set by the department
However, a student entering in 2024 should check and confirm with the COE and/or the department, because sometimes these requirements change. We can hope the requirements are the same, but I wouldn’t want your son to have an unpleasant surprise.
So that’s why I’m not being super specific about every detail of the requirements – your son really should check
Of course, what the “specific level set by the department” is makes the difference in how difficult changing into the major is. Try to find out what that is for EECS (and perhaps other CoE majors of interest, such as engineering math and statistics that gives plenty of schedule space to take CS courses.
Or just go to GT with assurance into the CS major.
For current students, I believe it’s 3.3 for EECS and maybe some other more popular majors, vs. 3.0 for most of the COE majors, but don’t quote me on that. Students should always be sure to talk to an advisor or someone else who can confirm the policy for their own entry year and their own specific situation.
This would be an above-average GPA for lower division technical courses, many of which seem to have grading policies designed for an average grade slightly below B.
(also, for any other students who may wander over to this thread, please keep in mind these policies are specifically for students who were admitted directly to COE.)
I’d recommend connecting with an advisor. For switching to EECS, historically it required a 3.3 in “N” EECS courses and a 3.3 Technical GPA across all technicals to become eligible. Here N = number of semesters and should be at least 2.
Remember that in COE each student has to take 2 techs each semester. So assuming no overlap, they would need to take 4 current major tech + 2 EECS techs and get 3.3 at least in each of those buckets.
Let’s say you don’t get into the EECS courses needed and apply at the end of 3rd semester then you would require 6 current major techs and 3 EECS courses since N is 3.
Also bear in mind that these are historical and the requirements and thresholds can change anytime.
My son started with IEOR and switched after 2 semesters. He cleared the thresholds quite easily (had near 4.0) but he also knows others who tried and failed.
Also … my understanding is that “EECS techs” only count if they are in the core set of EECS courses (61abc, 16ab, and 70), but “current major tech” can be ANY tech that advances your current major (so it could be a math, physics, etc. not just engineering).
Correct. The exact list may include additional EECS/CS lower division courses like 61C. Definitely doable but not a walk in the park. Basically it requires the student to be better than the median COE student across a tough set of 6+ technicals.
The exact list of EECS core techs is definitely subject to change though. 16a already had some changes to its content this current semester, and apparently more changes to 16a/16b may be on the horizon, including potentially making them into differently-numbered intro EE classes that aren’t required for everyone. So, “talk to an advisor”
Who warned him about Cal? A bunch of high schoolers on the internet? If your son got SEED + Regents then he should have no problem with competition. Believe it or not even if he goes to a less competitive school the competition from Berkeley will follow him wherever applies for internships.
I would instead focus on opportunities. With Regents he gets prime access to courses and with SEEDS he gets to enjoy a small cohort research environment.
that.
