UC Berkeley Computer Science and Engineering

The Real Story by Students

Sevan Tutunciyan - sevan@cal.berkeley.edu

Vitaliy Bondar – vbondar@yahoo.com

Jinhui Li - ligcow@yahoo.com

Outline

Transfer from CSM to UC Berkeley Survive and succeed at UC Berkeley Find and keep your job Questions

Part ITransfer from CSM to Berkeley

Before Applying Preparing Transfer Application Appealing After Get Accepted

Before Applying

Don’t put all eggs in one basket, aim for multiple schools (check www.assist.org)

Take as many CS and science courses as possible– Unix, Shell scripting, C, C++, Java– Physics, Engineering

Take hard classes at CSM (helps with both admission and preparation for Berkeley classes)

Before Applying (continued)

Take summer courses (61 series) in Berkeley– Get a taste of the school life there– Get used to the style and the computer system– Work with partners, get to know some UCB

students and transfer students from other colleges– Prepare yourself for upper-division classes– Good grades might be helpful for admission– Will help to finish in 2 years and take upper-

division classes earlier

Before Applying (continued)

Get to know your professors, get your professors to know you (recommendations)

Get involved in extracurricular activities– Join student government– Join a club or start your own club– Help a professor with a project, research or

publication Get a co-op or an internship

– Cooperative Education helps even international students with a job related to major

– Internship may be easier to get than a full-time job

Preparing Transfer Application

Talk to advisors and university representatives (but don’t get discouraged)

Check online for helpful tips on writing your application and personal statement (www.collegeboard.com)

Personal statement is very important

Preparing Transfer Application

Personal Statement is your only chance to express and distinguish yourself– Get sample essays– The essay should be persuasive, so have a point,

state a special quality of yours– Be confident and use simple and straightforward

language– Get several people to proof-read the essay. Make

sure it is smooth and error-free– Get free help with your essay in ENGL 850

Appeal

Follow the appeal guidelines Might need recommendation letters

from professors

After Get Accepted

Talk to Barbara Hightower

bhtower@cs.berkeley.edu Check out CS/EE department websites

www.cs.berkeley.edu

www.eecs.berkeley.edu Check out the CS Handbook

http://buffy.eecs.berkeley.edu/Advising/CS/Peer/resources/cshandbook.html

Part IISurvive and Succeed at Berkeley

Overview of CS Program Class and Course Planning Info Resources and More Class Details Opportunities Outside of Class

CS Undergraduate Program

One of top 5 CS programs in the nation Very theoretical, teaches how to learn

specifics from abstract CS at Cal is research-oriented,

undergrads are underdogs. Social, sleep, academic (you can only

have two of these at any given time)

CS Classes

Class website Grades: use glookup (your best pal) Other resources (TA, reader, lecture notes) Not there to teach you C++ or Java (that’s

just a side effect) Front-loaded, back-loaded, balanced classes Class admission

Teacher Assistants

Make use of them, they are your guardian angels

They run their own sessions; helps to attend multiple TA sessions

Grad students are often better Watch for their hints (might reveal exam

and project goodies) Will provide their own notes, good!

Professors

Their door is open to you (more than you think!)

But you aren’t their first priority Interact with them but be prepared

Course Planning

Use course plan templates as a guide Admission is tough, so what ?

– Over-enroll, then drop– Have a backup plan

Mix front-loaded classes with back-loaded ones

Generally don’t take more than 2 CS courses in one semester

Course Planning II

Lower division– Take CS in the summer to expedite graduation

Junior Year– Take less-impacted courses– Take industry related courses (CS186, CS162,

CS122, CS170) Senior Year

– Take more-impacted courses (since now you have priority to get into them)

Course Planning III

General Education (GE) classes– Easy ones help you get through CS– Hard ones help you grow and take your

mind off of CS– Take advantage of the departments that

Berkeley is famous for (Philosophy, English, Political Science, Math, Economics, etc.)

Computer labs and accounts

Mostly Unix and some NT Permanent named accounts Class accounts Computers crash and slow down During projects, hog a computer

CS Projects

Choose your partner(s) carefully (bad partner -> bad project grade)

Pay close attention to project specs and to the newsgroup

Design first, code later (Cathleen Kennedy’s teachings)

Didn’t start yesterday? Too late!

CS Projects II

Slip days, save them for later Do project at school, not at home, talk

to people Backup your work, and test it (horror

story) Use tools (debugger, bug-submit, etc.) Paper-based projects

Exams

Balance review and practice Practice exams Partial answers Attend review sessions!

Study Habits

Do not study alone Form a study group, practice this while

at CSM! Ask to learn, teach to learn

– Your friend may know an easier solution– Review for others, be questioned

Hang around Soda to study – Central point for finding classmates

Internship

If you can get one before Berkeley, that’s great ! (ask Vitaliy)

At Cal, try to get one in Junior year At Cal, 2 ways of getting an internship

– Good GPA -> get into EECS internship program

– Search independently

Internship II

EECS internship program– Apply around February– If get in, you’ll be placed in a company

Independent – Use Career Center’s BearTraks to search

for internships– Attend an internship career fair

Research

Good for grad school and work experience Often need a good GPA and class experience

(better in senior year) Preview ongoing CS research using CS

website Ask your teachers if they need a research

assistant Knock on each teacher’s door, read about

their research in ADVANCE!

How to Get into CS?(CS only, not EECS)

How bad is it? General info Academic preparation Other factors Unwritten rules (the real deal) Didn’t get in (use Plan B)

How Tough is Admission?

Admission to School of Engineering == admission to EECS major

Admission to School of Letters and Science != admission to CS major

Your chances of getting in are…– Pick heads or tails, flip the coin

First time around, on average half of you won’t make it!

BUT YOU CAN RIG THE COIN!

General Info on CS

Applications are taken 3 times a year Need personal statement, good grades,

recommendation letters (if any) Can apply twice (this isn’t true!) Can’t apply too late

– (in your last semester when you have 120 units!) Can appeal if denied, maybe get minor if not

major

Academic Preparation

Lower-division CS– Take one class, but get a good grade– Take 2 classes in a semester, but get fair

grades, that will impress them You are not in the movie Matrix!

– Don’t try to dodge the bullet by taking hard courses or hard teachers all at once

Other factors

Personal Statement– Indicate extenuating circumstances

Recommendation Letters– Should be from CS-related persons– One from Cal’s CS teacher is SUPERB!

Understanding your options– Make sure to talk to Barbara and get

advice on how to get in

Unwritten Rules / The Real Deal

They don’t even look at your statement until you appeal– Because too easy to eliminate by GPA– But ask them if they looked at it during appeal

If you feel the decision is not fair– Request to speak with a deciding faculty member– Face to face, you might impress them!

Unwritten Rules II

Minor– When appealing, make noise– Sometime you’ll get a minor instead of a

rejection Being rejected does not mean...

– You cannot apply– And yes you can apply more than 2 times!

Plan B

The CS door didn’t work out, let’s try the window!

If you at least have a CS Minor– At least you have more priority than general public

in class admission Either way

– Choose related major (Cognitive science or Applied Math)

– Then keep taking upper division CS and reapply with better grades.

Plan B (Section II)

Cognitive Science– Easier classes, more AI-related– You get highest priority to get admission to

the AI course (CS188) Applied Math

– Admission to Math is easy– Harder route, GPA may go down– But better CS-related skills

Plan B (Section III)

Recommended Math Route– Can take 3 CS as math requirements– Also can use Stat 134 (Probability), good for CS– Must take 5 Math courses to graduate from Math

But if get into CS, abandon it! So best is to take CS-related Math first!

– Numerical Analysis and Linear Algebra

Plan B (Section IV)

IF NONE OF THIS WORKS– Do research and get a recommendation

letter, that may get you in! If that doesn’t work or can’t do it

– Just take as much CS as you can– Point is to learn, not to get a label– My friend took 6-7 CS classes and had a

Math major => got a job at NSA

Part IIIFind and keep your job

Prepare to get a job Get a job Succeed at work

Prepare to get a job

Keep summaries of all your projects (do something extra that you can talk about)

Keep class outlines Take important industry classes (Operating

Systems, Databases, Algorithms) before interview season

Get an internship or a co-op Learn how to learn (often more important that

knowledge itself)

Get a job

Start looking early Be flexible in your expectations Have a backup plan

– Graduate school• take GMAT or GRE early• establish a close relationship with at least one professor• do research

– Non-corporate jobs (research, government, non-profit)

Don’t give up!

“To-Do’s” to succeed at work

Ask questions (no more lectures, you have to learn the system yourself)

Be positive and optimistic (would you want to work with yourself?)

Help others and they will help you (your team is your working family)

Volunteer to solve problems (gain knowledge, recognition, contacts)

Be prepared to work extra hours (since you want to!) Take initiative (you have more power than you think) Think of possible solutions before bringing up a

problem

“To-Do’s” to succeed at work II

Be proactive: don’t say “I don’t know”; say “I don’t know at the moment, but I’ll get back to you by tomorrow morning”

Give realistic estimates and live up to your word (now you get to decide)

Protect yourself and your manager (if you think your project will be late by X days, let your manager know 2X days ahead)

Get a mentor (perspective, encouragement, networking)

Keep learning (books, courses, subscriptions) Have a life outside of office, or at least try to ;-)

Brief Summary

Start preparing for transfer early (go to www.assist.org and visit your advisors)

UC Berkeley is challenging, fun, diverse, and definitely worth your efforts

With smart preparation and a degree from UC Berkeley, you should be able to find and succeed in a good job

Part IVQuestions?

Feel free to contact us by email:Sevan Tutunciyan - sevan@cal.berkeley.edu

Vitaliy Bondar – vbondar@yahoo.com

Jinhui Li - ligcow@yahoo.com