Yup. Got in!! Go Bears!! I will be picking any recent students brains about housing and Chemistry program. So f'ing proud of him and I know his grandfather, 25+ years on the faculty, is smiling down from heaven ;-)

Congrats!! PM if you have any questions on housing. Go bears!

Congrats! What do you think was key in him getting accepted? Does he have a general idea of what he might study?


(back in the previous century i got the "fat envelope" and my parents opened it before I got home, which kind of irked me)

Congratulations to SCT Jr., and of course to his proud papa!

Big C said:

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Congrats! What do you think was key in him getting accepted? Does he have a general idea of what he might study?


(back in the previous century i got the "fat envelope" and my parents opened it before I got home, which kind of irked me)

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We really let him drive the train on where and his essays. We actually haven't seen his essays and I think that was wise - let him answer his Personal interset questions rom the heart and with vulnerability.

As of today he wants to do life science research. I am not sure if he applied chem, bio or biochem to cal.

I don't really have a clue why he got in. His EAs were OK but not amazing. He has a solid academic record. If I had to GUESS (cause Cal and the university ethos) it is that he is an ecclectic scholar - interested in lots of different subjects and something of a polygot....so loving cell biology AND 19th century american poetry and french philosphy with a healthy appreciation of video games and NBA. I think it also is why Reed is woeing him hard and probably why he got WL at Davis and UCSD.

As much as I have DESPISED this process it worked out in the end and I think of the "top" UCs he got into the one that fits him the best. He will make a great Bear if that is where he ends up going.

socaltownie said:

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Yup. Got in!! Go Bears!! I will be picking any recent students brains about housing and Chemistry program. So f'ing proud of him and I know his grandfather, 25+ years on the faculty, is smiling down from heaven ;-)

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outstanding! quite an accomplishment these days. go bears!

Congratulations!

Congrats!!

Just him in time for him to go with his "old man" to watch the rising Bears stomp some ACC butt. Congrats to him, getting in is quite an accomplishment these days.

We are so making acc road trips and zapping some nil love when I get home

Congrats!

> As much as I have DESPISED this process it worked out in the end and I think of the "top" UCs he got into the one that fits him the best. He will make a great Bear if that is where he ends up going.

congrats bearent! fwiw, my luckiest break was moving out of south side apts in favor of more affordable student residence in quiet northside's stebbins/green hands co-op. 5 hours/week house chores, decent rates, grreat people [married one 50 years ago] ...

https://www.bsc.coop

Freshman year dorms is the solid way to go to meet the most amount of people.

I also enjoyed my co-op experience for a number of years afterwards! There are so many different co-op houses, each with their own flavor.

75bear said:

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Freshman year dorms is the solid way to go to meet the most amount of people.

I also enjoyed my co-op experience for a number of years afterwards! There are so many different co-op houses, each with their own flavor.

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In the other thread I posted that I now know several kids that did not get into Cal and took my "Plan B" route: go to Berkeley City College on Center Street starting this summer with tge option of living in the CO-OPs (only need to be a "student" and summer is the easiest time to get into the system. Once in the system you have priority over those who don't).

There is also a lot of private student housing in downtown Berkeley now. As a CC student you are allowed to take one class at UC each semester, paying CC prices. Nothing stops you from attending Cal games and sitting in the student section. Joining clubs. Do the work and you will get good grades and can transfer into Cal easily as a junior. Save a ton of money. Probably graduate from Cal with a better GPA than those that enter as a freshman.

+1 on getting the good news from my daughter on her Cal acceptance. Rejoicing with my online Cal family here.

Now I am on pins and needles waiting for her decision - Cal, UCLA or Brown

socaltownie said:

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Yup. Got in!! Go Bears!! I will be picking any recent students brains about housing and Chemistry program. So f'ing proud of him and I know his grandfather, 25+ years on the faculty, is smiling down from heaven ;-)

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He gets disowned if he doesn't go to football games?!
Congrats...I can't even imagine how that must feel...

congrats!

Congrats to socaltownie and sct jr.!

Also congrats to LosAltosOski and child!

Go Bears!

LosAltosOski said:

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+1 on getting the good news from my daughter on her Cal acceptance. Rejoicing with my online Cal family here.

Now I am on pins and needles waiting for her decision - Cal, UCLA or Brown

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I missed this yesterday...all the best to your daughter!

WOW!!! Congratulations!

This is so exciting. Go SCT Jr. and Go Bears!

At least one of his buds also got in and is a strong lean yes. I can't wait to flybuo to go to games with them.

That's a parentlng job well done, congrats to Socaltownie and his better half!

Also, big congrats to smh and Mrs on your 50th anniversary!

My daughter was accepted!

We are OOS, I think the difference maker is that she has done documentary filmmaking and it made the difference with her essays in terms of telling her story.

Now we are down to UVA and Cal, wife is going with her to both campuses over the near two weeks for admitted students day. UVA has unfortunately been on her brain as she got an early admit so may be tough to beat, fingers crossed that her day at cal goes well.

AUOso said:

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My daughter was accepted!

We are OOS, I think the difference maker is that she has done documentary filmmaking and it made the difference with her essays in terms of telling her story.

Now we are down to UVA and Cal, wife is going with her to both campuses over the near two weeks for admitted students day. UVA has unfortunately been on her brain as she got an early admit so may be tough to beat, fingers crossed that her day at cal goes well.

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I went to both and loved them both. Cal is better overall, take that admit and run (don't walk) to Berkeley.

FYI, C'Ville is nice but pretty small. 4 years there is a LONG time

smh said:

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> As much as I have DESPISED this process it worked out in the end and I think of the "top" UCs he got into the one that fits him the best. He will make a great Bear if that is where he ends up going.

congrats bearent! fwiw, my luckiest break was moving out of south side apts in favor of more affordable student residence in quiet northside's stebbins/green hands co-op. 5 hours/week house chores, decent rates, grreat people [married one 50 years ago] ...

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I'll put in another vote for northside co-ops. You can always go to the parties on southside (Barrington's were notorious), but northside was quieter and safer when you were trying to get work done and Cloyne parties were no slouch. Very convenient for science/engineering students. The food generally wasn't great (I recall some curry dish that was referred to as "Green Death"), but good enough and the $300/qtr fee worked out for those of us who were paying our own room/board. I lived at Ridge Project (now Casa Z) then Stebbins (1974-1976) - disliked the former but enjoyed the latter. Each co-op has its own personality, that's for sure.

AUOso said:

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My daughter was accepted!

We are OOS, I think the difference maker is that she has done documentary filmmaking and it made the difference with her essays in terms of telling her story.

Now we are down to UVA and Cal, wife is going with her to both campuses over the near two weeks for admitted students day. UVA has unfortunately been on her brain as she got an early admit so may be tough to beat, fingers crossed that her day at cal goes well.

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Congrats! Best luck with your decision.

eastcoastcal said:

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Congrats!! PM if you have any questions on housing. Go bears!

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My daughter got in.
Yes, tell about housing!!!

concordtom said:

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eastcoastcal said:

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Congrats!! PM if you have any questions on housing. Go bears!

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My daughter got in.
Yes, tell about housing!!!

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That is fantastic tom!! What major?

concordtom said:

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eastcoastcal said:

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Congrats!! PM if you have any questions on housing. Go bears!

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My daughter got in.
Yes, tell about housing!!!

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She'll get freshman housing but after that almost everyone goes off campus. For freshman housing, Blackwell is the most upscale/bougie but very difficult to get unless Regents/Chancellors scholar. Unit 1-3 all similarish except location. Foothill mostly engineering students & has slightly larger rooms but generally not as social. Clark Kerr quite social, larger rooms, and a bit more of the frat/sorority/party scene, but also further from campus. Happy to answer any specific questions!

eastcoastcal said:

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concordtom said:

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eastcoastcal said:

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Congrats!! PM if you have any questions on housing. Go bears!

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My daughter got in.
Yes, tell about housing!!!

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Clark Kerr quite social, larger rooms, and a bit more of the frat/sorority/party scene, but also further from campus. Happy to answer any specific questions!

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I was in Norton Hall in Unit 3 my freshman year. Unit 3 was just a block south of campus (Lower Sproul). IIRC, Clark Kerr is just across the street from Unit 3, so it's not all that far from campus.

I used to have friends in Haste Channing when I was a freshman. Whenever I visited, it did seem more friendly, but I never got the frat/sorority vibe. How things have changed!

In any case, I hope you enjoy your time as a student at Cal! Party often and hard, but don't forget to hit the books and graduate (then give back to the school as an alumnus/alumna).

socaltownie said:

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concordtom said:

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eastcoastcal said:

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Congrats!! PM if you have any questions on housing. Go bears!

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My daughter got in.
Yes, tell about housing!!!

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That is fantastic tom!! What major?

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Biomedical engineering.
She's also looking at Cal Poly, 4% acceptance rate for 100 slots, and UW, for what reason I'm not quite sure. There's something about going away for college that is appealing.

If she chooses Cal I can draw a line to family graduates going back to 1908, though not yours truly - although, as you know, I WAS at The Play; that has to count for something!
I'm proud one of my kids applied and got in, if nothing else.

I'm happy for you, too, SoCal. We've got a lot of time together here on BI. Fun.

concordtom said:

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socaltownie said:

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concordtom said:

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eastcoastcal said:

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Congrats!! PM if you have any questions on housing. Go bears!

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My daughter got in.
Yes, tell about housing!!!

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That is fantastic tom!! What major?

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Biomedical engineering.
She's also looking at Cal Poly, 4% acceptance rate for 100 slots, and UW, for what reason I'm not quite sure. There's something about going away for college that is appealing.

If she chooses Cal I can draw a line to family graduates going back to 1908, though not yours truly - although, as you know, I WAS at The Play; that has to count for something!
I'm proud one of my kids applied and got in, if nothing else.

I'm happy for you, too, SoCal. We've got a lot of time together here on BI. Fun.

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Son was accepted into the Chemical Biology program at the College of Chemistry. Congrats on SLO. WL there. If she is interested down the road in biotechnology manufacturing and wants to spend a summer interning at a San Diego life science co you know where to reach out ;-)

Pretty sure son is all in. 2 of his close friends were also accepted and we are going up as a posse to Cal Day in 2 weeks. I have been told my job is to listen to the band and then disappear until time to drive them back to the airport. I figure if a nice day time to walk up to the Botanical Garden and then lunch at IHouse.

Congrats, Tom! I have a Cal Engineering degree (1976) and one of my sons has a Cal Poly Engineering degree (2013). I think the programs appeal to different student objectives (prep for graduate degree vs work in industry after a BS) different learning styles (theory vs application). To the limited extent that I can, I'd characterize the differences between the programs as follows:

Cal

• More instruction on theory, less on practice - not sure if/how much this has changed since the 1970s
• General focus is to prepare the student for grad school - one of my classmates went on to a PhD at that cow-college in Palo Alto and a career at HP Labs.
• Very few engineering courses your first two years - lots of Chem, Physics, Math.
• Chem and Physics used to be the real "weeder" courses that washed out prospective engineering students before they ever took an engineering class. Not sure if that's still the case.

Cal Poly

• More hands-on, NOT "vocational", just that there is a lot of emphasis on labs and application of theory. I think my son had 24 hour access to labs by his junior year - and needed it.
• Students take engineering courses right from the get-go, so find out if they're cut out for it.
• Focus is on preparing students to walk out with a BS and begin a career in tech.
• As at Cal, it's hard work. His first year, my son tried to combine the social life of his freshman roommate, a history major, with an engineering course load. It didn't go well. I recall my wife and I sitting in a taco joint in SLO, talking him out of switching majors because he thought the work was too hard.

Once again, congratulations to your daughter.

01Bear said:

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eastcoastcal said:

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concordtom said:

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eastcoastcal said:

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Congrats!! PM if you have any questions on housing. Go bears!

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My daughter got in.
Yes, tell about housing!!!

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Clark Kerr quite social, larger rooms, and a bit more of the frat/sorority/party scene, but also further from campus. Happy to answer any specific questions!

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I was in Norton Hall in Unit 3 my freshman year. Unit 3 was just a block south of campus (Lower Sproul). IIRC, Clark Kerr is just across the street from Unit 3, so it's not all that far from campus.

I used to have friends in Haste Channing when I was a freshman. Whenever I visited, it did seem more friendly, but I never got the frat/sorority vibe. How things have changed!

In any case, I hope you enjoy your time as a student at Cal! Party often and hard, but don't forget to hit the books and graduate (then give back to the school as an alumnus/alumna).

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Clark Kerr (which was called Dwight Derby when I was at Cal) is between Dwight and Derby on Waring street - next to the frats and sororities and about 3 blocks south of the stadium.