UC Berkeley Computer Science and Engineering The Real Story by Students

1. UC Berkeley Computer Science and EngineeringThe Real Story by Students Sevan Tutunciyan - sevan@cal.berkeley.edu Vitaliy Bondar – vbondar@yahoo.com Jinhui Li - ligcow@yahoo.com

2. Outline • Transfer from CSM to UC Berkeley • Survive and succeed at UC Berkeley • Find and keep your job • Questions

3. Part ITransfer from CSM to Berkeley • Before Applying • Preparing Transfer Application • Appealing • After Get Accepted

4. 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)

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Appeal • Follow the appeal guidelines • Might need recommendation letters from professors

10. 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

11. Part IISurvive and Succeed at Berkeley • Overview of CS Program • Class and Course Planning Info • Resources and More Class Details • Opportunities Outside of Class

12. 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)

13. 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

14. 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!

15. Professors • Their door is open to you (more than you think!) • But you aren’t their first priority • Interact with them but be prepared

16. 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

17. 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)

18. 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.)

19. Computer labs and accounts • Mostly Unix and some NT • Permanent named accounts • Class accounts • Computers crash and slow down • During projects, hog a computer

20. 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!

21. 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

22. Exams • Balance review and practice • Practice exams • Partial answers • Attend review sessions!

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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!

27. 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)

28. 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!

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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!

33. 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!

34. 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.

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. Part IIIFind and keep your job • Prepare to get a job • Get a job • Succeed at work

39. 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)

40. 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!

41. “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

42. “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 ;-)

43. 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

44. 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