My kiddo has asked me to post a question for him:
Would you consider Cal Engineering, specifically Mech-E, as hands-on? Or is it more theoretical in its approach? Are there maker opportunities? Opportunities to get your hands dirty?
(And perhaps I should make this a new thread)
Thanks!
You could make a new thread if you like, but this is what I hear from my son (who is not MechE, but is on a primarily MechE engineering team):
Finally one good thing about engineering at Cal is that students in COE can, and do, take classes in COE departments other than their own (including EECS and computer science) and in general there seems to be a high level of academic flexibility and interdisciplinary work. That did not seem to be the case at all engineering schools my son considered.
To add to what @tamagotchi said, ask your kid to check out the Jacobs maker space.
Yep! Jacobs sounds great. My son’s roommate group recently secured an off campus apartment for next year, and one of my son’s important wish list items for the apartment was “Located close to Jacobs” 
I was also impressed by the student accessible machine shop at Berkeley. This is leagues above what I had available as an undergrad.
Great visit yesterday at Cal. They started the admitted students tour with a look at the stadium. They really know how to sell the place. There was a lot of congratulations and we celebrate you which was a very nice touch. S24 loves a good salesman just like his mom. It was a beautiful day and the campus really sparkled in a way I hadn’t noticed before. All you Cal haters should really go visit. My S24 was really impressed by the architecture and extremely large and hulking buildings. Tons of trees and liked the vibe as the campus nestled up to the mountains beyond. Still can’t believe he got in. He said he felt like it was far enough away from SF that we wouldn’t be visiting all the time. As if we were going to do that. Lots of diversity which was good but not a lot of geographic diversity which is a negative for him. Still a few more weeks to decide.
What court ruling? I don’t think a court forced the UC system to do this, I think it was their own decision (a poor decision in my opinion). But I could be wrong, so please provide the citation to the court ruling.
Berkeley sent out a very nice packet this week.
BUT: scared us for a bit when the housing info said deadline to apply for freshman housing is May 2nd. It’s not. It’s May 16th.
I guess they just didn’t have time to update their printed material.
It’s possible that they may have printed it before the FAFSA issues.
Note that UCB is not one of those schools that gives students priority in the housing lottery if they apply for housing early. As long as a student applies by the deadline, they will have the same priority in the lottery as any other student.
(Of course that doesn’t mean you will get your first choice of housing. A lot of students put Blackwell double as their first choice, and end up being offered a triple in the units… which is not the end of the world, it’s much cheaper than a Blackwell double, and many students like the social atmosphere in the units.)
We are going to Cal Day next Saturday. Just downloaded the Cal Events app. Does anyone know the passphrase for the Cal Day guidebook?
Thanks
has anyone received their financial aid package from a UC
I was also looking for a passphrase last week but just opened app again and can access Cal Day info without any problems.
On the Cal Day app it has a list of attendees. My son registered for Cal Day but his name does not appear here. Do you need to log in on the app?
I believe it is optional to have your name appear on that list. When we attended 2 years ago, I don’t think we were on that list either. If your son registered and you have email confirmation, then you should be good.
Anyone can just show up to Cal Day. It is a huge, open event, so I would not worry about registration if you’re having trouble.
Definitely! However, if you want to go to the early morning “Chancellor’s Morning Welcome” at Memorial Stadium, I believe you do need to be registered in order to check in for it. I highly recommend making the effort to attend that event. It’s my #1 Cal Day suggestion! It’s magical and amazing and you won’t regret it!
Just remember to bring a hat. We went in 2022 and the audience is facing directly into the morning sun for the entire welcome ceremony. They may have changed the direction the audience is facing from 2 years ago but I’d bring a hat/visor just in case!
75% chance of rain…
