UC Berkeley Class of 2027 Official Thread

what are your thoughts on that? My bear thinks its important the grade is reflected and thats why she wants to take it at Cal but so expensive!

If it’s general ed I don’t think it matters at all. If it’s an important class for the major, it’s probably better to take it through Cal. However, if price is a factor and it’s a requirement she wants to get out of the way cheaply and easily, then it’s fine. It will neither help nor hurt her GPA. It will just check the box for the requirement.

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Hard to know now given no instructor has been assigned. Thumb rule for Math 53 - avoid Sethian if you value your grade.

it says THOMAS SCANLON ? that would be the instructor?

Scanlon is good in the context of grade leniency. His section GPA is far higher than the average course GPA.

where can you see that info?

You can find a ton of info on berkeleytime.com

You go to the course, then grades, then you can sort by instructor to show the grades of a specific instructor compared to the overall average across all instructors.

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If the class is a prereq class for her major, she probably needs to take it at CAL unless the major states prereq’s can be taken outside of CAL.

If it is a GE, take it at a CC. One or 3 classes really won’t change a student’s GPA much over the course of 4 years at CAL. IF she is plans to pursue grad school, law school or med school, all her grades will be shown anyways when all transcripts are sent. They will do their own calculations anyways, just like they do for undergraduates. Just don’t take it for P/NP as most post secondary programs do not like p/np grades (especially law schools).

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May I ask what math course she took and at which CC? My S22 needs to fulfill the math requirement this summer. He’s pretty weak in maths (he’s currently majoring in a humanities field in L&S) so needs the easiest class he can take that qualifies for the UCB requirement.

Sure! I don’t know who taught it, but it was a Calculus course at the College of Marin. If your son has an advisor for his major / department, they can probably help him determine which courses would satisfy the requirement at Berkeley. https://assist.org/ might also help, though I’d definitely try to connect with a department advisor if possible to make sure everything will line up appropriately. (I’d also recommend, if he finds several CC courses that will satisfy the Berkeley requirement, to check RateMyProfessors and see how the various instructors compare.) Finally, if it’s a subject area he struggles with, I’d also highly recommend he take advantage of the professor’s office hours (in-person if possible).

Thank you for that information! We will take a look at the assist site and reference the RateMyProfessors. He will need someone who can explain math thoroughly and well! :smiley:

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Dont take Canic for Math 53. My son is struggling with her teaching style and mostly doing self-study at this time.

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Is there someone on this thread than knows how a student can request to see their UC application w AO Comments? I don’t remember what this type of request is called. There was a UCSB student who had done it a few years back, but I can’t find that thread.

You can email admissions and request to see your admissions file. Mention FERPA.

FERPA, thank you!

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I’ll just add that it might be underwhelming. From reports on reddit from students who did this, the readers rate applicants in several categories, but don’t add lots of actual comments. Hope you learn something interesting, though! :slight_smile:

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Does anyone have any insight on plus one masters degrees at Cal? My bear had all of his breadth requirements covered by dual credit and he’d prefer not to graduate in 2.5 years, lol. He’s majoring in physics, but is toying with the idea of doing a plus one in some type of engineering or double majoring in engineering if that’s not possible. Before he was accepted to Cal, he was considering Davis and they had a plus one masters in electrical engineering that could be added onto the physics degree.

Is he currently in L&S physics, or engineering physics?
Which engineering majors or specialties is he interested in?

He is currently a freshman in letters and sciences physics, though on paper he’s a senior. Had he chosen to go to Davis I think he would have done the physics bachelors with the electrical engineering plus one masters, since that program already existed, but I think his interest lies more in mechanical engineering.