UC Berkeley 2016 Transfer Thread

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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@lovelyyliz Here are the requirements for the Chicano Studies minor (http://ethnicstudies.berkeley.edu/programs/undergrad/major-requirements/chicano-latino-studies-major):

Minor Requirements

  • All courses taken for the Chicano Studies Minor must be taken for a letter grade
  • An overall GPA of 2.0 is required for all courses applied to the minor program
  • At least three of the courses must be completed at U.C. Berkeley
  • Only one course can be used to overlap between major(s) and minor requirements

Upper Division (5 Courses)
Five courses from: Chicano Studies 110, 130, 133, 135A, 135B, 135C, 141, 142, 143, 145, 148, 149, 150A, 150B, 159, 161, 172, 174, 176, 179, 180, 180AC (Note: Students may also use one approved course from EAP or another department)

So it’s only 5 courses, and they’re all upper-div. One could possibly overlap with PoliSci, but you’d have to talk to an adviser about that. A double major is probably unrealistic IMO, but a minor seems feasible.

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@lovelyyliz
Around 3.83.

1563

I’ve been looking more into the maximum unit ceilings for the UCs and I thought this might be helpful to those who are worried about slightly crossing the line in the future.

On the Letter of Science website, which was updated only last fall, it states.

"Students who enter Berkeley as freshmen and declare a single major may take an unlimited number of units if they finish their degree in eight semesters of college work; for those pursuing more than one major, nine semesters are allowed. Transfer students with single majors are allowed four semesters to finish the degree and five semesters for those pursuing more than one major. Note: “Semesters” are defined as fall and spring terms (quarters or semesters); summer terms are not counted.

Students who do not complete their degree WITHIN these semester limits are subject to the unit ceiling."

Source: http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/registration/unitceiling.html

This means that if you visit a counselor in the fall and are told that the reason why you’re double major application is denied is because you would require more than 136, despite the fact that the degree can be completed in 2-2.5 years, then I would speak to higher authorities because someone in their administration is terribly uninformed about their own guidelines. Of course, I would still sit down with a counselor before to ensure that you won’t find yourself missing one random course after you’ve spent your five semesters.

1564

I would interpret the above with a grain of salt as “can be completed” and “likely to be completed” are two very different things and a petition (or an appeal after a denied petition) will often find a similar conclusion.

Berkeley is very strict about their unit ceiling and it’s not uncommon for a graduating senior to have to wait for an open spot via UCB extension or hold out until the following summer just to get that class or two they need to complete their graduation requirements. The counselors & undergraduate advisers are not out to deny students from double majoring but rather they are protecting them from being placed in a position where the students are at risk of not graduating or (more commonly) having to wait to finish their degree(s).

@lovelyyliz: I second both @Cheolf and @goldencub. Additionally, it was previously mentioned by goldencub in this thread, but I highly recommend scheduling your Berkeley visit around the SLC Transfer Center help hours as they are a great source of information.

Additional info: http://slc.berkeley.edu/interdisciplinary-resources-transfer-students

1565

Transfers who are double majoring are allotted 5 semesters; 4 classes per semester at Berkeley is already somewhat crazy from what I hear, depending on the intensity of the classes.

PoliSci transfers must take 9 classes total after transferring for the major (possibly more) - PoliSci 3, and 8 upper divs, distributed in certain fields. OP would have to take 10+ classes for the Chicano Studies meajor. Squeezing 19 courses into 5 semesters is possible, but one may not get all of the courses they need. 4 semesters of 4 classes, and one with 3 - not including units from Decals or club involvement or anything like that. IMO it’s a bit excessive - summer classes could possibly offset that (perhaps 2 classes each summer for two years), making it 15 courses one would need to major in both, but it’s still a bit crammed, and the difference between majoring and minoring in Chicano Studies is, in my opinion, negligible, for pretty much all practical reasons. Also, taking on heavy course loads at Berkeley with no

Also, taken from the PoliSci assist page: “Upper-division political science courses are impacted, and restricted to
declared majors. Declaring the major as early as possible will better ensure that students can graduate on time.”

Not to beat a dead horse (I know that’s exactly what I’m doing, though), it can be difficult enough for transfers to complete everything within two years, and double majoring can put on added pressure that generally isn’t needed. We see stories all the time of people double majoring with a minor, or even triple majoring, in various interesting combinations of subjects. It’s possible, it has been done, but for many people, it’s just not really worth the time investment.

Apparently EECS & Chem or Bio Eng is a popular double major combination (I think it’s EECS and bio eng. - not sure), which seems pretty amazing IMO.

@TheVisionary Also, good to know. Honestly, I had little to no knowledge about the unit ceiling beforehand - just the maximum semesters allowed.

Also, I agree with @SDGoldenBear 's point about possibility of completion vs. likelihood completion.

(don’t mean to sound harsh/rude, if it sounds that way, @TheVisionary )

Additionally, I can’t recommend the transfer center enough. They’re all very kind and helpful.

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@SDGoldenBear

The above information was in reference to the issue that was posted in the previous discussion regarding the potential for a student to end up a couple of units over the 136 unit maximum. Not anything significant and certainly not anything to exceed 4-5 semesters.

My point was only that most B.A./B.A. degrees, such as those in the social science department, are completely doable within four to five semesters. Students fail to meet the requirements for even one degree at the end of every semester. Completing the requirements for two is an even greater challenge. That is precisely why I keep recommending that people check in with counselors after forming a plan regarding what they intend to study.

A student who has a flexible course plan to graduate in four semesters, with the potential to use the fifth in the case of error, should not be changing their degree plans simply in the name of the unit cap. Whether a student will be capable of completing the requirements in 2-2.5 years has everything to do with the individual, their desired degrees, and the amount of units that they are willing to take per semester. But the unit cap alone should not be a deterrent for those who are considering double majoring on principle.

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Random question, but is there another essay (supplement) that we need to complete for the January update?

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@goldencub

I must have been writing my post when you posted the above. But I agree that it absolutely varies based on the major(s) and student. For instance, I regularly pile on the units, but I do not need to have a part time job to support myself. Some majors also require more busy work on average than others. A schedule full of political science courses is a different monsters than a schedule full of English courses. English is often more time consuming. Social sciences are often put everything into performance on a small number of papers and exams. Whether a double major is wise will vary from person to person.

Side Note: I still don’t understand how January 8 is in less than 24 hours. We’re barely a week into 2016 and I can already tell that this year is going to fly by faster than the last.

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Oh, I dunno… I find some Political Science readings to be terribly dense, whereas English readings are generally a joy to read (imo), with some exceptions.

Philosophy readings are incredibly dense, too, if I offended anyone.

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@TheVisionary
I’m sorry, but what is the significance of January 8th? Is that when the TAU opens?

1571

Hey guys! I have been following this thread for some time and it has been very informative and helpful. I am an international student and am hoping to start at a CC coming August and then transfer to Berkeley after 2 years (it is my dream school ! I would have applied straight out of highschool but couldn’t afford 4 years at UC due to financial constraints). I dont know much of the CCC system and had some questions I was hoping you guys could answer for me:

(1) I am confused between De Anza College and Diablo Valley College. Both seem good, but DVC has more of the major pre-requisite courses for my major (Computer Science). Whereas De Anza has a Pathways program with Berkeley which allows De Anza students to take summer courses there (maybe I could take those pre-reqs there). Could somebody weigh in on which college is better for CS at Cal?
Any other suggestions are also appreciated.

(2) Is Computer Science at L&S a very competitive major and does being an international student put me at a disadvantage ?

(3) Considering the two schools I mentioned are feeder schools would it be hard getting classes there ?

Thanks !

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I’ll repeat my question, any of you got an email from Berkeley yet? I only got one from UCLA and other schools

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@forshevchenko I applied to Berkeley, UCLA, UCSB, UCI, and UCSD.

UC Berkeley is the only school that hasn’t sent me an email yet.

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thank you! same…

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@themightybicycle Depends on your major I think. Some majors definitely have a supplemental essay, I don’t know if all do though.

@csmajortom Yep, that’s when TAU opens up.

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@AceFocused I think I’ll be able to answer most of your questions since I live in the Bay Area and have gone through the gruesome task of completing EECS requirements in 2 years. I generally tell incoming cc students to take their time because I’ve witnessed too many students/friends come into cc and not complete what is needed in 2 years. Not saying this to scare you, but it’s just an observation. However, if you’re a strong student and have great work ethic then there shouldn’t be too much to worry about.

Before I answer your 3 questions, one thing I encourage you to do is to map out the courses you’re required to complete in 2 years. The summer prior to my enrollment at cc I planned roughly 6-10 alternative schedules for my 2 years to ensure that I can get some kind of schedule with major courses since incoming cc students have the lowest priority registration (assuming you’re not playing a sport for the college or are not in some program that’ll boost your priority registration). The preparations I’ve made ahead of time helped me immensely but I couldn’t account for all the possible sceanrios that’ll affect my schedule such as time conflicts between courses. As a result, I now have to commute to two other schools in the bay area to complete my final courses. Be ready and plan ahead of time.

  1. Both De Anza and DVC are great schools, so you can’t go wrong with either of them. In my opinion, I would choose DVC for the courses they offer since it’s the only school that has both a transferable 61B and 61C course to UCB. I wouldn’t worry about taking pre-reqs at Berkeley over the summer if you’re thinking that those completed courses will boost your chances of getting in (not sure if there’s any correlation). Plus, I’ve heard in the past that students who have taken summer coursework at UCB were unable to transfer the credits to other UC schools.

  2. CS at UCB is very very competitive. Being an international students does not put you at a disadvantage.

  3. Not sure what you mean by “feeder schools”, but it’s hard to say how difficult it is to enroll into a course at a specific cc. You can always look at past schedules (e.g spring 2015, fall 2014, etc) to determine how many students typically enroll into whatever class you’re looking for. I’d say DVC is probably the school you’re looking for since they offer a lot of CS courses. I’m not too sure about De Anza.

1577

I already did my TAU. Like 4 hours ago. Just logged on and did it. Wasn’t emailed, though.

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EDIT: Nevermind, the TAU is up.

1579

Does anyone know what I should put if I am unsure if I am going to be receiving an associates degree because I have gone to 2 different colleges before the college I’m at now and I have yet to receive what classes transfer to my new college and what course they transfer for. If everything goes right I should be getting an associates but I am not 100% sure. So would it be bad if I say I am going to get an associates and then don’t get one and could it possibly get my acceptance taken away?

1580

Just did my TAU, thank you!