The only benefit of Regents’ scholarship is the money. And not all recipients receive the same amount of money.
Well… I think a bigger benefit is the priority registration and housing. But again, that’s only if you are awarded the scholarship. I guess there’s nothing if you just make it to the finalist standing.
Priority registration - somewhat helpful at times for lower division classes for getting more favorable discussion and lab times. From what I can tell though, if you do some decent planning and research and have some backup planning, you can usually get in all the lectures that you want even as the lowest-priority freshman. Discussion and lab sections may be more of an issue, but as long as you’re flexible you should be ok.
If you’re a non-CS major, getting into an upper division popular class like CS 189 is pretty much impossible, but that’s more the exception rather than the rule, and priority registration won’t help in this case since the class only allows CS majors to register until adjustment time.
Priority housing - probably only matters if you want a single in a dorm IMO. Most students move out by end of freshman year into off-campus housing.
Thank you @ProfessorPlum168 you’ve been very helpful with your info.
@ProfessorPlum168 I was trying to DM off of my computer (a Mac) - maybe that’s the problem? I don’t see where there is a button to DM once I click on the user. What am I missing? I’m curious to ask more about your son’s experience in CS at Cal. Specifically, is the environment cut throat and competitive if they are all trying to apply into the major? or does he feel it’s collaborative and supportive? Sounds like the weeder classes are quit challenging and you’ve got a bunch of stellar students all competing for the As and B+ to enter CS…
I have to ask. Why would a non-CS major want to take CS 189?
@lkg4answers CS 189 is the machine learning artificial intelligence class. It’s actually a key class for Data Science majors, though supposedly they will have their own version of the class out this Fall. Machine Learning is a hot area and that’s where a lot of the big salaried students coming out of school specialize in. Because of this popularity, other students from allied majors such as Cog Sci, Mechanical Engineering and Stats often take this class as well. So this class winds up getting this 700 person waiting list and it becomes a big prize to get off the waiting list at Adjustment time.
From what I’ve heard, the hotshot employers like Apple and Google will immediately want to make sure that interviewees have take this class and gotten a good grade.
@Jaderoses I will pose the collaborative versus competitive question to my kid and some of his HS friends who are also attending UCB, tonight. They’re all CS-intent majors except for one, who’s EECS. I’m having dinner with them in the next hour or so.
Hey guys, so I have a question regarding the ‘appeal forms’ that UC’s put out for applicants to appeal their decision before 4/15.
My friends been rejected and would like to get hold of this form, but cant find any Berkeley related forms for appeal online (only UCLA, UCSD, UCI and a few others).
Any credible links to give?
@TheGuy1: check MAP@Berkeley for information (online appeal, 500-word limit, no supplemental materials accepted)
@TheGuy1 - Appeals only work if you have new information to offer. Otherwise, they’ve reviewed the application & made their decision.
@Gumbymom Could you share a link? There’s one non-resident appeal pdf for UCB, but thats it. I’ll tell her this though, thanks.
@nontraditional Thats alright. I already knew that. My job is to find the appropriate resource with the pdf appeal file. and I’m asking y’all for help regarding that. Nothing else.
The UC system is super looped in not asking new info whatsoever other than the letter of recs (if at all, that too) after Nov 30 in the app cycle. There’s a good chance to develop/get/attain much more new and significant info IMO. Idk what my friend has in mind, but I just want to give pdf to her. Any links/sources that have it or tell where it is?
I mean she’s reached the registrar, regional officer, and admissions office recently, but they’ve yet to reply. I’m trying to be a good friend here.
I might need to miss a few days of Golden Bear Orientation for a family situation. Does anyone know what would happen if I needed to miss the weekend of the orientation?
@TheGuy1 I do not have access to MAP@Berkeley since you have to be an applicant so I cannot link.
@Gumbymom Alright thanks a lot for the help! I’ll tell my friend to dive deep there.
I’m still trying to make my decision and I really love Berkeley’s programs. I have a few qs –
- Is it possible to transfer into EECS if I've been admitted to the CoE?
- Is there anything I can do to prep for CS classes (especially the infamous 61A) since I have no prior programming experience?
- How scared should I be of weeder classes, and is there anything I can do to prepare myself? Which classes should I be looking out for as an Engineering Physics/possibly EECS student?
For 2) I would take Data 8 first, maybe even CS 10 if you never took AP CSP. You might also want to sign up for a beginner Java or Python class at your local CC over the summer.
- besides CS61A, Chem 1A is generally considered a huge weeder. If you got a 3+ on your AP Chem you can go onto Chem 1B. Math 1B, the second Calc course, is also a tricky weeder from what a lot of people say. Being in CoE and/or EECS, the pressure is off to get a high grade in CS61A.
Decision: Rejected
Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 34 (35 English, 35 Math, 33 Reading, 32 Science)
SAT II: Math 740 Physics 800
Capped Weighted UC GPA: 4.21 Unweighted GPA 3.88
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH 4, AP Lang 4, AP Physics 1 5, AP Physics 2 5
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Gov/Econ, AP Lit, Spanish 3, Computer Game Design,
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Acting in school plays as well as in various summer productions out side of school for all 4 years, Playing Piano for more than 10 years, various school clubs
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club junior and senior summer about 50 hours all together,
Part of a club that surfs with underprivileged kids, but only had about 10 hours
Joined Key Club senior year.
Volunteered to help my piano teacher teach younger kids.
Summer Activities:
As I mentioned, Boys and Girls Club volunteering
I did theater camps and acted in their productions
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’d say 8, but Idk for sure. I wrote one really good essay about how I grew up having Autism. I talked about how this made it hard to make friends and made me struggle in school. The other were decent but not great. I wrote one about how much I enjoyed acting and volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club.
Supplemental Review or LOR submission: No
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Pre-Economics
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $100,000-$150,000
ELC Eligibility: Top 9%, making me ELC eligible
First Generation: No
Reflection
Strengths: ACT for sure, Weighted GPA
Weaknesses: Unweighted GPA, rigor of classes (my school offers like 25 AP classes and I only took 8-9)
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Their average GPA is higher than mine, and they have like an 18% acceptance rate.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: SDSU, UC Riverside, CSU Chico, Santa Clara University, CU Boulder, University of Oregon, UCI, Boston University
Waitlisted: UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly SLO, UCSD, UC Davis
Rejected: UCSB, UCLA, UCB, Pitzer College, USC
General Comments: Cal was always a reach school for me, as their average GPA is higher than mine and their acceptance rate is like 18%. I’m not surprised I didn’t get in. I applied cause my average GPA wasn’t that much lower, and I thought maybe they would really like my personal statements or something. There were also no extra essays.
Thanks @ProfessorPlum168 
Another question – what happens if you do fail a weeder class? Many say that they are not repeatable for credit. If you fail, are you forced to drop the major?