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Transition from Another CollegeMost of those reading this section probably came from community college. For those few that might have transferred from another four year institution, welcome and congratulations on leaving that crummy place you used to attend to come to a real school! (What? Cal students have a reputation for being arrogant? Couldn't be!) The advice we give to you is quite different than what we gave to those than came directly from high school. Since you have already passed most (if not all) of your lower division courses, you're probably not going to have to take any here. Consider yourself lucky. The lower division classes you took were probably small, well paced, and taught by professors who really care about the class and enjoy teaching it. If you talk to any of your classmates that came here directly from high school, you'll see that the lower division classes here are far different (example: Chemistry 1A could have upwards of 1,000 students enrolled, some of which attend class in rooms across campus and watch the lecture on TV!).Students such as yourself have one problem that freshmen don't really have: you need to quickly decide what you want to study. Freshmen have had several years to learn about and experiment with all of the different emphases and specializations in CEE. But since you're starting as a junior, you have to decide quicker which one you like. Therefore, we suggest that you take the general classes first (CE 100, CE 130, some core classes) that will let you get a feel for the different possible career paths before you begin taking technical electives in one area. Though you are not required to take it as a transfer, enrolling in (or at least attending) CE 92 will give you an opportunity to see all the various disciplines in CEE, and even some careers outside the field. The class requires almost no work, so there's little harm in taking it. Get Involved! Most transfer students are at a disadvantage to freshmen when it comes
to making new friends. Freshmen usually live in the dorms and take large
classes, giving them the opportunity to meet many new people. Most transfers
live in private housing of some sort and take mostly upper division classes,
giving them less opportunity to meet new people (especially people outside
CEE). Therefore, it is even more important for transfer students than it
is for freshmen to get involved in groups and activities so they can make
new friends. Get involved in ASCE or WEF to meet fellow students in your
major, and get involved in other activities around campus that interest
you. A thorough list of organizations can be found at www.berkeley.edu/for_students/activities.html.
Have fun!
Now let's look at something that is very important....
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