UC-Berkeley

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Yes. Yes.

UCLA is in more of a rich area of LA, and has a reputation for being more social.
Berkeley is in Berkeley (obviously), a very liberal city known for being the home of leftist activism even now. For example, for a few months last year during the summer there were some hippies who were living in the trees so that the trees wouldn't be cut down. They threw their feces at people who tried to get them to leave.

Another example is the large amount of people that protested against having military recruiters on the UC campus.

Both have a reputation of having a large Asian population.

Berkeley has bay area weather, which ranges widely from fog to sun, but it's always comfortable. LA goes from comfortably hot to uncomfortably hot.
 
jefgreen said:
Does Berkeley prefer CA residents? Do ALL the UC's? Also, what is the difference between UCLA, and UC-Berkeley?
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Berkeley is a pretty tough school to get into.

The difference between Berkeley and UCLA is that they are different schools. Not sure what you mean by the difference. UCLA is in LA, Berkeley is North East of san fran.
 
jefgreen said:
Also, what is the difference between UCLA, and UC-Berkeley?
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The fact that you even have to ASK this...

ugh...dammit jef...

All you need to know is that they're hellishly hard on out of state applicants, whether freshman or transfer. You probably wouldn't get in even if you were a golden applicant, much less one with a 2.2 and 1300/2400.
 
yanorglu said:
The fact that you even have to ASK this...

ugh...dammit jef...

All you need to know is that they're hellishly hard on out of state applicants, whether freshman or transfer. You probably wouldn't get in even if you were a golden applicant, much less one with a 2.2 and 1300/2400.
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Yeah. I'm in-state with a 4.06 UC GPA and a 2060/2400 and 32/36 and I consider Berkeley and LA to be extreme reaches for me. The only people I know who got in had like 4.3-4.4 UC GPA and like 2200+.
 
I know a few people with 3.0+ and 1500s who got into both Berkeley and LA. Grades and test scores can only get you so far if you don't have a good personal statement. <-- This is for instate. I don't know about out of state applicants.
 
Eisley said:
Yeah. I'm in-state with a 4.06 UC GPA and a 2060/2400 and 32/36 and I consider Berkeley and LA to be extreme reaches for me. The only people I know who got in had like 4.3-4.4 UC GPA and like 2200+.
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Yeah, going from the idea of a CC to Berkeley isn't the most feasible. I'm sure you will get in though Eisley! We're rooting for you. PS: I am extremely jealous of your living in a state with warmth. 🙁
 
Part of the problem is that they're just so crowded. They've gotten to the point where they practically make the freshman admissions artificially hard in an effort to encourage more people to get their GE out of the way at a CC, then transfer in when they're focusing on their major. Intro class sizes at UCs are absolutely ridiculous, even by state school standards.
 
Sounds like a big NO to me then. That's okay, lol. I knew it was hard to get into but not this hard.
 
jefgreen said:
Sounds like a big NO to me then. That's okay, lol. I knew it was hard to get into but not this hard.
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Well, it is one of the best public science schools. No offense, but having a 2.2 and a 1300 is really going to handicap you when it comes to school choices. At this point you will probably be best looking into the CC--->Uni path.
 
This is off topic but does anyone know if Vanderbilt is tough to get into from a CC. Do they have any agreements with Tennessee CC's like Virginia does? Anyone know?
 
Vandy's pretty tough to get into, transfer rate hovers at around 28%. You'll have to completely knock out your CC courses and have a load of leaderships positions, etc.

Cornell also has a transfer rate in that ballpark. If you're deadset on an Ivy, but in a position where you'd have to transfer, Cornell is the only reasonable one. The rest have transfer rates literally under 5%, and keep in mind no one applies to these school unless they're sure of having a shot.

If you want a big California school, USC has a 30% transfer rate. Mucho dinero is required for all these schools, though.
 
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yanorglu said:
Vandy's pretty tough to get into, transfer rate hovers at around 28%. You'll have to completely knock out your CC courses and have a load of leaderships positions, etc.

Cornell also has a transfer rate in that ballpark. If you're deadset on an Ivy, but in a position where you'd have to transfer, Cornell is the only reasonable one. The rest have transfer rates literally under 5%, and keep in mind no one applies to these school unless they're sure of having a shot.

If you want a big California school, USC has a 30% transfer rate. Mucho dinero is required for all these schools, though.
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Yeah I can't see someone obsessed with money going to a Cali school and paying out of state. Not worth it for undergrad, IMO. I thought you wanted William and Mary's or something? Maybe you should go on some college visits. Honestly, I think you need to look at some instate NJ schools, but that's just me.
 
Yeah just go to your state system's flagship and be done with it. Rankings be damned.

Private schools tend to not have Direct-Transfer-Agreements with community colleges, those are almost always found with public schools. And even then, DTAs are more about ensuring all your credits transfer. It's not a ticket that says "This guy did 2 years at CC, now you have to let him in". You still need to get good grades.

And speaking of credits, keep in mind that private schools are really hostile when it comes to transfer credits. You'll have to retake at least a semester most of the time. That means it's gonna take longer to graduate and you're going to have to spend more money doing it.
 
jefgreen said:
This is off topic but does anyone know if Vanderbilt is tough to get into from a CC. Do they have any agreements with Tennessee CC's like Virginia does? Anyone know?
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I highly doubt that Vanderbilt would have any of those special agreements with Community Colleges, because it is a private school, unlike William & Mary and UVA.
 
whitesox24 is right. Vandy is not part of the UT system.

I wonder if the high transfer rate at Cornell is due to the fact that part of it is associated with the New York public university system. I don't know exactly which departments, but I know the college that the vet school is associated with is public. (Therefore NY residents get preference and a break in tuition.)

Also my stats for Vandy (since I was accepted):

3.91/4.00, 1530/1600 (750V 780Q), 4/325 + legacy (my dad went to Vandy)
 
Maygyver said:
Yeah I can't see someone obsessed with money going to a Cali school and paying out of state. Not worth it for undergrad, IMO. I thought you wanted William and Mary's or something? Maybe you should go on some college visits. Honestly, I think you need to look at some instate NJ schools, but that's just me.
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-Yeah, once I saw the OOS tuition I said forget it last night.
-I do, I'm just trying to figure out what schools ranked higher than UVA are not difficult to transfer to or have special agreements. Apparently UVA is the top of the top. The highest ranking university with a Guaranteed Admissions agreement of some sort set up. I also know for a fact that I can take advantage of that agreement. Unfortunately I will have to pay OOS tuition.

-I have considered some NJ schools. I've visited Princeton, TCNJ and Rutgers. Princeton is a reach for pretty much everyone and I am not smart enough for that, so that is out the window. I am considering TCNJ and Rutgers. I have visited others but I really don't care for any of them. I really just want to get out of state for UG and Med school. My parents saved up a ton of money so I can pretty much choose where I want to go.

We are checking out OSU, W&M, UVA, UK, and a bunch of others. Not EVERY oos school has ridiculously high tuition rates like the UC's.
 
I am NOT staying in state.
 
Honestly, I know what you are saying. I really just want to do one year of CC and then just head of to UK or U of Texas or something. I really want to go out and see other parts of the country and meet new people that are from all over.

Not every single OOS school has ridiculously high tuition!!

I just don't like the area I'm in, ok...?
 
jefgreen said:
Honestly, I know what you are saying. I really just want to do one year of CC and then just head of to UK or U of Texas or something. I really want to go out and see other parts of the country and meet new people that are from all over.

Not every single OOS school has ridiculously high tuition!!

I just don't like the area I'm in, ok...?
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Ha...alright. If you want to see other parts of the country that is what travel is for. Just so you know, people that go to a New Jersey school aren't ALL from Nj. Also, if you don't like the area you are in...then don't go to school where you live, difference parts of states are different. You really shouldn't shoot down all NJ schools just because you got teased in high school and because there are expensive parts of NJ. Just so you know, Cali is pretty expensive itself and you will find rude people everywhere.

If you don't want the advice that you know you are going to get from posting here, because 99% of it is good, true advice, then don't post questions that are opinions and that you need to research yourself.
 
^Agreed. You'd definitely get sick of California FAST with that attitude.

I understand you have family in Kentucky, but UofT? Where did that even come from?

I think if you're going to go out of state, you might as well choose a private school because you'll be taking out monstrous loans anyway. Just think of the pros to private schools.


  • Establish strong connections for later in life.
  • Much larger amount of out-of-staters than public schools.
  • VERY generous financial aid packages.
  • Generally smaller student body, so you're not treated like a number.
But you have to be careful about why you choose the school you choose. No offense, but I can't shake the feeling that you're only asking about Cal and UCLA because you saw them at the top of a rankings list somewhere and then rushed to hSDN to ask questions that could have been googled in mere seconds. Rankings aren't everything. In fact, at the undergraduate level, I'll go out on a limb here and say they don't mean ****, especially if med school is what you're shooting for.

So go find some private schools with decent transfer rates. Research them carefully, and get opinions from people who actually go there. www.studentsreview.com is great for reading some testimonials from people who've been there.
 
For what it's worth, if I got into Cal and UC Davis but not into UCLA, I would probably go to Davis.
I want the typical college experience with a good balance between academics and socializing. From what I've gathered by talking to people I know who go/have gone to Cal, it's competitive, socially boring, and not an "exploring" experience.
I've used studentsreview as well and I've read every comment about all 8 colleges that I applied to, which helped me form my opinions 🙂
 
I believe the UC's do prefer CA residents (aka taxpayers). There's always UCI! We've got way more research opportunities, 10 minutes from the beach living in OC, none of the smog, .... and....and....uh....anteaters! 😀
 
If I moved to CA and went to a CC for two years would I have a good shot at UCB or will it not matter because I am OOS? I really want to go there.
 
Stop. Freaking. Posting.

Yeah, I'm going to flame you, much like everyone else on this board. It's your fault for making yourself so susceptible.

[begin list]
1. Quit asking these incredibly google-able questions about whichever college you're in love with at the hour; you seem to have gone from Cornell to NYU to Maryland to Washington to William&Mary to U Kentucky to U Texas to UCxx and etc.

2. Quit posting about the SAT. You already took it and got a crappy score in every category, although you had a sort of fit of denial and insisted that only your math performance was poor, despite claiming to had studied for it vigorously. If I remember correctly, your [converted] PSAT and SAT scores wound up being very close to each other despite your supposed "studying" in between the two.

3. Quit denying all this advice given to you. It's for your own good; we want to see you succeed, it's just that we also want to set you on a more realistic path to achieving that success. Stuffing your schedule full of AP classes in your senior year, studying vehemently for the SATs, and teaching yourself a college year's worth of math in one summer is not a realistic plan, especially if you have a 2.2 GPA already.

We suggested the community college route, as it would give you a nice chance at redeeming yourself. But again, being jefgreen, you decide to complicate things, namely by trying to figure out the best way to go about packing your bags and heading for Virginia to attend community college and transfer to the College of William and Mary, after just one visit to its campus, to study on a pre-med track, when W&M is far better known for being a powerhouse in the social sciences and liberal arts. Now you're trying to do the same with Berkeley.

In a broader sense, we suggest keeping your options open instead of cementing your entire future right down to which residency you want to match into. You have years to take care of all of that, but you're just so damn neurotic that you insist on looking into it right now!
[end list]

Simply put, for the past several months you've been centering your life on a career aspiration that you frankly do not come across as being cut out for. So here's my own personal advice, take it or leave it:

[begin list]
1. Take only one or two AP classes next year, just to roughen yourself up for college-level work. I suggest an AP History class, as writing DBQs is one of the best ways to whip yourself into good shape as a writer. An AP Science, assuming you qualify to take one, would also be a good way to get into the quant side of college work; you have no idea how many people in college quit pre-med after getting back their first Chemistry mid-term.

2. Learn better study habits. Either you lied about studying for the SAT, or your methods just don't work. A tried-and-true way to study is simple practice; don't just read, start to write. Writing something down on a piece of paper in front of you is much more efficient at implanting it in your brain than just reading it. When it comes to math and science, do as many practice problems as you can; don't just do the ones assigned, don't just do one of one type and assume you've got it down. For standardized tests, take as many practice ones as close to true testing conditions as you can. I upped my SAT score by hundreds of points by just taking test after test, making sure to understand why I go so-and-so question wrong.

3. Go to community college and try your absolute hardest to keep as high of a GPA as possible. Halfway through your second year there is when I would begin a serious college search. Don't just assume you'll get a 4.0 in community college because "I'll actually try". You didn't try in high school, so why should anyone believe you now?
[end list]


And to answer your question, you must live in California for a total of 366 days while working; if you came with clear intentions on being a student, even if only at a community college, they'll deny you in-state tuition. And trust me, in a system as crowded and budget-slashed as the UC, they'll find plenty of ways of twisting it so that they don't have to let you pay when the in-staters pay.
 
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jefgreen said:
This is off topic but does anyone know if Vanderbilt is tough to get into from a CC. Do they have any agreements with Tennessee CC's like Virginia does? Anyone know?
Click to expand...


Vandy's really tough to get into right now and it's about to get even harder. They just renovated and added a new freshman quad or something... it's awesome if you do get in though because their financial aid program is amazing. You'll need at least a 30 ACT though... and a 3.8 minimum.

I think they're pretty tough on transferring credits though... even from other universities (not CCs).
 
I just got into AP Psychology, Euro, US, and Art History and am testing for the English one. I didn't try in the beginning of HS because I was put into stupid classes b/c the school thought I had ADHD or something and I had two teachers in the room and everything. I felt like a ****** and didn't apply myself. Then I realized sophomore year that not trying is not working out so I got straight A's in stupid classes. Got moved up. I am in regular and a few honors classes this year and will FINALLY have good normal smart classes next year. But, oh wait, except for getting out of a few college classes, pretty much nothing I've done these past three years actually matters!

But that is OK because I will only have to spend one year (most likely) at a CC and then I can transfer to OSU or UK.

I am able to handle DBQ's and freshman level college work. I'm not an idiot. I am actually very smart and talented (take it for what it is worth, which on here is not much). The only reason I bombed the SAT was because I haven't learned any of the basics in school. I'm just going to take it again and get a 1550 or something. I really don't feel like prepping for something, which in reality has no bearing anymore. I'm gonna have to go to my local CC for a year anyway so I might has well get a decent SAT score and just salvage what I have left of my GPA.

EDIT:

To be honest, and you can deny this. I pretty much have no proof at all that I can handle college level work but I got into four AP's so far which half the students failed (except for maybe Psych b/c Psych was kind of a joke, US was brutal though). It just pisses me off b/c I am so talented but yet I screwed up so I have a horrendous GPA and a mediocre SAT score. SAT's mean next to nothing in the real world. My cousin got a 3.75 GPA, was in the top quarter of his class and got a 1410 on the SAT as well. I am just not a good SAT test taker. And not studying harder for this thing doesn't mean I'm lazy. You know what it means? It means I'm being realistic. I have a sub 3.0 GPA. Unless I score a 2000 on the SAT, I'm not getting any place that is reputable.
 
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This is slightly random but I think DBQs are ridiculous. I've not yet had to do one or anything similar to one in my UNA History class and I don't see how they'd ever be useful.... I mean it's not like your professor is going to give you sources on an exam...
 
jefgreen said:
And not studying harder for this thing doesn't mean I'm lazy. You know what it means? It means I'm being realistic.
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wat

CScull said:
This is slightly random but I think DBQs are ridiculous. I've not yet had to do one or anything similar to one in my UNA History class and I don't see how they'd ever be useful.... I mean it's not like your professor is going to give you sources on an exam...
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If nothing else, they can really whip your writing skills into good shape.
 
yanorglu said:
If nothing else, they can really whip your writing skills into good shape.
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That's what AP English is for though... the whole AP History system is kinda ridiculous in my opinion. You cram so much information in so little time and you don't actually learn anything useful. Basically you take an entire year to prepare for an exam. In my college class we take time, enjoy the material more, and actually get to learn and understand the concepts rather than memorizing facts and do DBQs and crap.

Haha, anyways I'm insanely off-topic, it's just a soap box of mine.
 
CScull said:
That's what AP English is for though.
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In this case I guess it depends on the teacher. My AP English teacher was really easy on us, but my APUSH teacher was an absolute drill sergeant.
 
yanorglu said:
wat


If nothing else, they can really whip your writing skills into good shape.
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I mean that since I have a 2.2, I'm not going to get into anyplace reputable so there is not much of a point to studying my butt of for the SAT's. I'm not lazy, I just don't see much point to busting my butt only to be rejected by places. Better off just going to my local CC for a year and then getting on with my life and med school from there. And I can just use my AP credit from next year to get out of a few classes at CC.

I might be able to get into a few schools if I can pull a 2.5 at the end of the year and get like a 1600 SAT score. Doubt it will happen though.
 
yanorglu said:
In this case I guess it depends on the teacher. My AP English teacher was really easy on us, but my APUSH teacher was an absolute drill sergeant.
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My English teacher's awesome... it's a lot of writing but I think I'm improving a bit and I love the reading we're doing right now.
 
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