Thank you!
this is the most underrated part of the Berkeley EECS programs. also why i would always chuckle whenever people bring out their “the cs classes are so large…” takes.
1 Like
Thanks both of you - that is super useful information.
I had one more question around research opportunities:
At a place like Berkeley, it sounds like research (especially in CS/EE) is quite competitive and often requires upper-division coursework or prior experience.
Would you say that not getting research early (freshman/sophomore year) is a disadvantage compared to going to a slightly less competitive school (still high ranked for CS ) where students might access research sooner for recruiting? How does the average Cal EECS student get a recruiting advantage compared to other schools if they aren’t coming in with upper-division equivalent knowledge from high school?
My son is an EECS major (hardware focus) in his junior year. He is part of a research lab. There are students of all years in his lab including at least one high school student, so I can say that it isn’t necessary to be an upperclassman. That said, I don’t think research matters very much for recruiting. My son has also been on an engineering team (not one of those CS consulting clubs) since freshman year, and that is clearly more interesting to recruiters than his research lab. I do believe that it is important for an engineer to be involved in some kind of projects outside of just classes… but it absolutely doesn’t have to be a highly rejective consulting club!
In engineering at Cal, there is also a thing called Blue & Gold certification that is intended to help clubs/teams be more inclusive. There are lots of clubs/teams certified as Blue & Gold: Teams and organizations - Berkeley Engineering
1 Like
I think I should clarify my statement of upper division course and equivalent knowledge for research. This is primarily for the labs doing cutting edge ML research which requires CS 189 or equivalent knowledge.
On your other question, S22 goes to a less competitive UC and all he had to do was talk to the professor after his lecture to be added to the research lab. So it is completely up to the student to pick the UC that fits their goals better.
1 Like
Recruiting and research are often orthogonal to each other. Most firms value academic rigor and prior work experience relevant to the job over research. Occasionally there are good synergies between research and recruiting such as research at BAIR making sense for an AI lab or a quant firm. But these are neither necessary nor sufficient for recruiting success.
I personally know students who did original research at Deepseek but couldn’t pass Citadel screen and others who ended up with quant offers on the back of good academics, solid internships and strong problem solving.
If you are optimizing for recruiting the difficulty of getting plum research opportunities shouldn’t sway you at all. Often the institutional prestige is a first filter that is impossible to change whereas research experience can be gained with time. Specific to your son, if he’s eecs met he should have a good shot even as a freshman in landing research.
There are also plenty of people who get into BAIR without 189. On the other hand there are grad level courses which require an A in 189 and 188 to get in. S22 is taking cs 288 and those spots were reserved for Grad students and A undergrads who made a compelling case in their course enrollment application.
It’s always better to optimize for learning rather than collecting badges (clubs, research) assuming it helps with recruiting. If grad school is a consideration then it might make sense to look at access to research but then you will also have to look at quality of research and where cutting edge research is being done.
2 Likes
>>Most firms value academic rigor and prior work experience relevant to the job over research.
This assumes prior work experience, which many students may not have.
>>It’s always better to optimize for learning rather than collecting badges (clubs, research) assuming it helps with recruiting
At least in D22’s experience at another top-ranked CS college, her research and club work clearly signaled her interests to employees, and most of her interview calls were driven by the research she pursued. She also roughly will take a full time offer in the same domain area as her research. I feel it helped her guide her future work to what she wanted.
From past students at our highly competitive school who are now in EECS, I’ve noticed that those who did deep ML research in high school were the ones able to secure cutting-edge ML research opportunities as freshmen at Cal.
Based on your comments, I’m assuming that the Berkeley EECS name can still open doors for internships even without early cutting-edge research experience in freshman or sophomore year. Perhaps involvement in less competitive clubs or projects can also provide the same advantage.
Attending Cal Day (if possible) is one of the best ways to figure out if Berkeley actually feels like the right fit for you, both academically and socially. You can even accept your admission in one of the booths and collect some cool swag.
A happy college life needs much more than academics. Explore dining options both on campus and surrounding areas. Look at different dorm options and housing for later years. Walking from some of the dorms can be uphill and that is something to consider. There are lots of recreation clubs and hiking trails nearby. There is intramural sports like 3 on 3 basketball, soccer and esports leagues.
Then there is D1 sports. Lot is expected of Cal football this year with the new coach. Cal basketball did reasonably well this year. Hopefully they can retain their best players in future years. It was a banner year for ex-Cal players with Fernando Mendoza winning the Heisman and Andrej Stojakovic taking UIUC to the Final Four.
2 Likes
Deciding between LA and Berkeley, and planning to visit both on admitted days - what are somethings to watch out or pay attention to beyond a general feel. Want to make the best of a single day on campus.
AI generated, cost a work token. Just kidding! I am sure others will chime in with their favorite cal day memories. I am glad it included a GPP minor!
1 Like
Thank you for using the work token 
I’ve downloaded programs from their web-sites, but please all pitch in with your experiences if any.
Does anyone know if the Cal Day guide is live yet in the Cal Events app? It looks like admitted students and families might need a passphrase to download it?
For those going to Cal Day, the guide is now available in the Cal Events app. We loved the morning welcome session with the Chancellor at the stadium when we went 4 years ago
1 Like
Same for mine. When she was accepted she was scared it would be too cut -throat and no fun like her high school, but she has loved every minute of it and cries at the thought she has less than a month left. She LOVES Cal with all her heart.
1 Like
Same here…S22 is really upset about leaving Berkeley. The fact that he spent only 7 semesters there is another source of sadness for him. No matter the exciting prospects ahead these kids have taken to Berkeley so much they find it hard to accept what’s ahead.
2 Likes
The article mentions budgetary issues involving TAs and their pay. This might affect students seeking to change their major to CS through comprehensive review in future years.
We had the BEST time at Cal Day on Saturday. My daughter could not have loved it more. We were already committed, but this solidified everything 100% Go Bears!
6 Likes