I tend to agree. UCLA reaches out to transfers more.
Does UCLA fly Northern California transfer students down for Bruin Day, and host them all weekend for free?
Why? Did berkeley do that?
Lindy,
Yes Berkeley did fly some socal students for the weekend. This was announced in the vice chancellors reception.
Were they part of a special program? That was nice.
@lindyk8 TBerkeley did for select minority students as part of their transfer weekend under their Bridges program and counselor recommended students as part of Fly to Berkeley program. UCLA has very similar programs though with STOMP, PILOT, AAP, SAAT, PYT, SEND, etc combined with their transfer Bruin Day. I initially got the offer to take the trip north to Berkeley but forfeited the free transportation portion to attend some UCLA events on Friday. Having the pleasure of attending the networking events at UCLA on Friday and then flying out on my own coin to Berkeley for their events from Friday night to Sunday, I think UCLA did it better and I was way more welcomed at their events than at Cal. That said, IMHO they are not a really good criteria for measuring “fit” and definitely would recommend trying to visit both campuses on a regular day.
@music1990 From my perspective, it was more the school itself rather than the students; there were definitely transfer friendly students when I visited. There were also some students that I met that had that air of elitism toward transfers, as in “It’s way easier to get in as transfer than as a freshman” arrogance, but I think those types are present at any elite school and if it’s not toward transfers it will be about major or GPA or dad’s bank account or shoe size or whatever isolated thing they can find.
My impression was more from a counselor I met who balked at the idea of prolonged stays as a transfer when discussing double majoring or study abroad options during the fall or spring and a financial aid personnel that did outline the increased difficulty of finding aid past the fourth semester as a transfer. Looking deeper into it, it just seems like the academic policies and procedures are more rigid relative to some other campuses. (Although Berkeley has the privilege to be rigid.) The RRC, transfer center, and other services are awesome, but it’s not like they don’t exist in similar capacities at the other UCs as well. For me, outside of one amazing guest speaker, Berkeley just didn’t seem like it wanted me. (Relatively I guess)
hey man, are you from EdCC?
I wonder how many CCC students UCB would have admitted if the California Education Master Plan did not require them to give CCC students first priority in admissions.
Good point. And realistically, @humbleteen how much would they rely on holistic across the board if they were not a public institution?
While I agree that Cal can do a better job at providing help for transfer students when they get there, Berkeley has historically been one of the campuses that has most ardently supported increasing the number of CC students admitted into the UC system. And for all the elitism that really does exist on campus, Berkeley prides itself being a public institution, and holistic review is a huge part of that.
Did anyone receive an email saying they’ve advanced to the final round for the leadership scholarship award? It says we would be notified today, May 11.
@ActuaryorBust I get what you’re saying. As far as the students, everyone I’ve told I’m a transfer has either been welcoming or is a transfer student themselves. For the school itself, I think the coldness you’re picking up on is kind of just the impression the school gives to everyone at first, not just transfers. But when you actually look for help, it starts to feel a lot more friendly. I don’t know which counselor you spoke to, but there are many counselors who are very warm and in fact encourage you to stay longer. If you are in L&S, there is a counselor named Torey who is one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve ever met and will encourage you to try classes from different majors and stay as long as you need. She can tell you everything you need to know about what you need to do to stay longer than two years (she herself was a student at Berkeley for an extended period of time).
I think counselors tend to discourage double majoring in general because many students spend an enormous amount of energy doing so, thinking it will improve their career prospects, when in fact it usually does not. That energy could be better spent getting an internship and getting experience in your field. Of course there are exceptions though, which the good counselors recognize. And from what I have heard, grad schools typically don’t care if you double major, they are much more interested in what you have done outside of school.
The elitism does of course exist, although I haven’t experienced it much in my major. But the majority of the students are down to earth and just happy to be here. I would not let a few students who you got a bad vibe from deter you from coming here.
Did not get the leadership award. Got an email saying so.
May 11, 2015
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for applying for The Leadership Award.
This year saw a highly competitive selections process; unfortunately, we are unable to offer you an award at this time.
If you will be enrolled at UC Berkeley for the 2016-17 academic year as an undergraduate student, we strongly encourage you to apply for The Leadership Award again. The online application to apply as a current student will go live in Spring 2016.
If you have any further questions, please email our office at scholarships@alumni.berkeley.edu.
Best regards,
CAA Alumni Scholarships
@mommamarmalade yep i got one today
Does anyone know where they’re living? Dorms or Apartments?
I’m leaning towards dorms… good idea/bad idea? Thoughts?
@h95130f I’m leaning towards the dorms, possibly unit 3 or Clark Kerr
@universalsnip got into STANFORD!
@music1990 Definitely. There will be people you don’t click with any university you go to and Cal is no different. I can also understand the administration’s rationale–especially considering how crowded the school is currently. For me, I was blown away by UCLA and had a slight lean to them prior to visiting Cal. I was hoping to be equally blown away by Cal to make my decision easier but it didn’t happen so I hope to visit Berkeley one more time to ensure I’m making an informed decision before I SIR to UCLA or Cal.
Regarding the semester cap, the counselor I talked to referred me to this article: http://blog.admissions.berkeley.edu/2012/06/triple-majoring-faqs/ and added that a fifth semester can be petitioned and is usually granted if your adding an early second major or a minor with a good ed plan but a sixth semester is usually reserved for extreme situations and is not very common. I also don’t want to take Summer courses as I am allocating those for REUs.The vibe I got was they are not-so-subtlety pushing you to get out at the conclusion of your supposed “final” semester, would this be an accurate assessment? Maybe through later registration times or decreased financial aid perhaps?
If anyone could answer this question: Since I am admitted into the College of Letters and Science, as long as I have the pre-reqs and the gpa requirements, I can apply for any major within L&S? For example, I applied as a Stats Major, but I also have the lower div Econ requirements done. So, if I meet the requirements to declare/apply for Econ, would I be allowed to do so?
(UCLA seems to prohibit this right? Since they admit by “pre-major”)
I visited the campus this Saturday and attended the Chancellor’s Reception. After listening to the guest speakers and walking around campus, I didn’t see anything or anyone on campus that advocates pursuing a career in the health field (I’m a psych major and plan to go to either medical school or PA school.) At the moment I’m deciding between Cal and UCLA… since UCLA has a medical school and the Ronald Reagan hospital they have more of an atmosphere that’s big on pursuing a career in the health field. I don’t want to steer away from attending Cal based on only visiting the campus for one day. Is anyone else pursuing a career in the health field and is planning to attend Cal or know if I can have the same opportunities and resources available at Cal as I would at UCLA?