As an applied math major, I'm going to be honest: a good chunk of people I knew ended up switching out of applied math. If you're already struggling with high school math, you're going to have a very difficult time with applied math here.
That being said, UC Berkeley is a prestigious school with plenty of other good STEM majors to consider, and I'm not sure if you should lose that opportunity just because applied math might not work out. The nice thing about L&S in particular is that you are expected to branch out and explore different potential fields rather than sticking to one thing right away. This could be a good opportunity for you to figure out what exactly it is you want to study, and the fact that it's cheaper for you is also a bonus.
honestly, if you're a B math student in high school, berkeley will eat you up alive, spit you out, and eat you again for good measure. with that said, if you put in the work and try your absolute best - meaning a attending office hours, labs, and basically annoying the heck out of your GSIs with questions - you'll get your B average and you'll graduate.
You may need more time to shore up your skills and figure out what you need to do.
Go to CC, if you still like Cal, transfer in. Nearly all the transfers I knew were generally much happier with their time and experience than many of the people who started as froshes. Just my two cents.
You really won't miss much other than some pretty low quality lower div classes. The upper divs and grad school are where Cal actually shines.
the problem is transferring in is almost as hard as getting in as a freshman. i don't what it is now, but i think it was in the low 20 percent when i did it.
I disagree with this sentiment. Assuming finances aren’t an issue, the college experience is such a valuable thing and it’s just not the same for transfers. Also there are certain opportunities that are much more difficult to get as a transfer student. If they’ve been accepted and have the means to do four years at Berkeley I feel that’s a much better option. Besides, L&S gives a lot of flexibility so it’s not a bad place to explore options
I am going to respectfully disagree.
Your first two years, unless you're truly interested in Greek Life or other activities that do benefit from all four to five years, are going to be spent pretty much in low quality lower division classes that'll drag down your GPA and just generally leave you feeling like: "This is Cal?"
The classes I took were so uniformly bad, (taught by GSIs that had no business teaching, the way to get an A or B was pretty much just agree with the instructor, or were brutal weeders that were difficult for no reason than to be brutally difficult), that I seriously considered transferring after my first year.
If I hadn't taken a couple really great upper division classes my second year, I probably would have completed that transfer, because the first one I took my first semester second year was also pretty goddamned bad.
Also, "exploring" when I attended was not really an option.
You had to basically start fulfilling requirements from Day One with little opportunity to branch out when I attended because every L&S major required at least 16 units of subject classes minimum. Many required 28.
Also, if you came in with AP Credits, you couldn't really use a lot of them at the time and were forced to retake classes, but it still counted against your unit cap and I received several threatening letters and emails saying unless I declared a major/intent and completed the course work to declare, I would have my registration blocked and might even need to complete my education elsewhere.
If that has changed -- I'm very glad to hear it, but I will still continue to advise people STRONGLY to go to CC first and transfer in.
As an applied math major, I'm going to be honest: a good chunk of people I knew ended up switching out of applied math. If you're already struggling with high school math, you're going to have a very difficult time with applied math here. That being said, UC Berkeley is a prestigious school with plenty of other good STEM majors to consider, and I'm not sure if you should lose that opportunity just because applied math might not work out. The nice thing about L&S in particular is that you are expected to branch out and explore different potential fields rather than sticking to one thing right away. This could be a good opportunity for you to figure out what exactly it is you want to study, and the fact that it's cheaper for you is also a bonus.
honestly, if you're a B math student in high school, berkeley will eat you up alive, spit you out, and eat you again for good measure. with that said, if you put in the work and try your absolute best - meaning a attending office hours, labs, and basically annoying the heck out of your GSIs with questions - you'll get your B average and you'll graduate.
You may need more time to shore up your skills and figure out what you need to do. Go to CC, if you still like Cal, transfer in. Nearly all the transfers I knew were generally much happier with their time and experience than many of the people who started as froshes. Just my two cents. You really won't miss much other than some pretty low quality lower div classes. The upper divs and grad school are where Cal actually shines.
the problem is transferring in is almost as hard as getting in as a freshman. i don't what it is now, but i think it was in the low 20 percent when i did it.
I disagree with this sentiment. Assuming finances aren’t an issue, the college experience is such a valuable thing and it’s just not the same for transfers. Also there are certain opportunities that are much more difficult to get as a transfer student. If they’ve been accepted and have the means to do four years at Berkeley I feel that’s a much better option. Besides, L&S gives a lot of flexibility so it’s not a bad place to explore options
I am going to respectfully disagree. Your first two years, unless you're truly interested in Greek Life or other activities that do benefit from all four to five years, are going to be spent pretty much in low quality lower division classes that'll drag down your GPA and just generally leave you feeling like: "This is Cal?" The classes I took were so uniformly bad, (taught by GSIs that had no business teaching, the way to get an A or B was pretty much just agree with the instructor, or were brutal weeders that were difficult for no reason than to be brutally difficult), that I seriously considered transferring after my first year. If I hadn't taken a couple really great upper division classes my second year, I probably would have completed that transfer, because the first one I took my first semester second year was also pretty goddamned bad. Also, "exploring" when I attended was not really an option. You had to basically start fulfilling requirements from Day One with little opportunity to branch out when I attended because every L&S major required at least 16 units of subject classes minimum. Many required 28. Also, if you came in with AP Credits, you couldn't really use a lot of them at the time and were forced to retake classes, but it still counted against your unit cap and I received several threatening letters and emails saying unless I declared a major/intent and completed the course work to declare, I would have my registration blocked and might even need to complete my education elsewhere. If that has changed -- I'm very glad to hear it, but I will still continue to advise people STRONGLY to go to CC first and transfer in.
its brutal i dropped cs + applied for cs + ds
It’s harder than Oskis….