The Major Fork — plan.andypandy.org

What the postings actually say

Pulled from the firms’ own job feeds this week, not from folklore.

Firm / role	Degree requirement, quoted	Haas alone?
Citadel Securities — Quant Trader intern ($4,500–5,800/wk)	“Bachelor’s degree in applied math, engineering, statistical modeling, calculus, computer science, physics or related disciplines required”	no
HRT — Algo Dev intern ($5,800/wk)	“full-time undergraduate ... in a quantitative discipline (math, physics, computer science, statistics, or a related program)”	no
Two Sigma — Quant Researcher intern	“pursuing a degree in ... statistics, mathematics, physics, electrical engineering, or computer science”	no
D.E. Shaw — Quant Analyst intern	“Advanced coursework in fields such as math, statistics, physics, engineering, computer science”	weak
Jane Street QT · D.E. Shaw prop trading · Jump QT · SIG QT	“no specific degree or major is required” / “any field of study”	yes
Jump Trading (all intern roles)	“INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS are encouraged to apply. We accept students eligible for CPT/OPT.”	—

What Haas is for: IB, consulting, product. Class of 2025 average start $100k, 90% placed in 3 months, top industries financial services and consulting. It is the best door at Berkeley for those — and it is not the door the quant firms use. Two degrees, two doors.

Why CS is cheaper than it looks

Verified against the 2026–27 catalog and the EECS requirement pages.

CS BA piece	Requirement	Your status
Lower division	MATH 51, 52, 54 · CS 61A, 61B, 61C, 70	51 + 52 via AP Calc BC 5 · 54 this term · four CS courses in the spine
Upper division	24 units total: one 4-unit Design course + 8 units upper-div CS + 8 units CS/EE + 4 units non-CS technical elective	Five CS/EE courses and one elective. Fewer courses than the Econ major.
Comprehensive review	Math 51 + 52 done · at least one of 61A/61B/70 with a final grade · 3.0 GPA · apply Jan 1–Feb 13 · by January of your 6th semester · can re-apply yearly	61A in Spring 2027 makes you eligible Jan 2028 with 61B + 70 in progress. 2025: 193 of 211 eligible admitted.
Overlap	Max 2 upper-division courses shared between two majors	Same rule as everywhere

Second shot: CS review can be re-entered every January through your 6th semester. A Jan 2029 admit still leaves three terms for 24 units. Data Science does not have that slack.

Semesters 2–4: the spine

Every combination stays open. Loads are heavy on purpose; the only cost of difficulty is GPA, and the floors are stated below.

Term	Courses	Units	What it opens
Spring 2027	DATA/STAT C140 · CS 61A · ECON 100A · ENGLISH R1B · DATA C88S (2u)	18	61A with a posted grade = eligible for CS and DS review Jan 2028, and it settles the “does AP count as a grade” question. C88S is 2-unit insurance: it is on the Econ statistics list and the ECON 140 prerequisite list and completes Haas Option 2 — so nothing depends on how Econ answers the C140 email.
Fall 2027	CS 61B · CS 70 · ECON 100B · UGBA 10X · one breadth	18–19	61B + 70 in progress at CS review. 100B replaces UGBA 101B. Haas needs 10X.
Spring 2028	ECON 140 · DATA C100 · CS 61C · DATA C104	16	CS lower division complete. Econ declared. C104 = Historical breadth + DS ethics + Haas non-business units. Both applications go out this term.

Permission numbers: ECON 100A in Spring 2027 needs one — AP credit posts in December, after enrollment. Ask ugrad@econ.berkeley.edu in October. C140 needs C8 plus calculus plus MATH 54 as corequisite; all satisfied.

June 2028: pick the top row you got into

Admits	Take	Senior load	Read
Haas + CS	Haas BS + CS BA	~15.5 upper-div units/term: 38 business + 24 CS. The 12 non-business units are already covered by ECON 100A, 100B, 140 and C104.	Maximum prestige. No Econ major — you leave L&S; home college is whichever declared first. Dropped from one degree = dropped from both.
CS (Haas no)	CS BA + Econ BA	~11 units/term. Room for STAT 134/135, MATH 104/110, CS 170/188/189 — the courses the quant postings actually name.	Equal or better than row 1 for quant. Weaker for IB/consulting.
Haas + DS (CS no)	Haas BS + Data Science BA	~16.5/term: 38 business + 28 DS.	Still STEM, still two selective programs.
Haas only	Haas BS + Econ BA	~16/term.	The v1 plan. Fine for IB; the quant doors close.
None but Econ	Econ BA + DS minor, and re-apply CS Jan 2029	light	Econ never dies: C or better in C140, 100A, 100B.

Rank CS first, Data Science second on the Jan 2028 CDSS application — you get only the highest-ranked admit. Apply as a simultaneous degree, never a change of college, so Econ survives as the floor.

The OPT question, mostly answered

The 24-month STEM extension does not have to be based on the same degree as the 12-month OPT. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)(3): the basis “may be, but is not required to be, the degree that is the basis for the post-completion OPT period” — any STEM degree from an accredited U.S. school within ten years works. BIO’s own page: “You can apply based on any previous STEM degree.”

CIP codes on Berkeley’s list: CS 11.0701 STEM · Data Science 11.0199 STEM · Economics 45.0603 STEM · Business Administration 52.0201 not STEM. So Haas + any of the three should carry 36 months. Still unverified: how BIO picks the CIP for two degrees conferred the same day. Ask in writing in September; the rule text is on your side.

Decision calendar

Sept 2026Seven emails, below. File the language APR correction.
Oct 2026Spring Phase 1 (13.5-unit cap): C140, 61A, R1B. Phase 2: ECON 100A with a permission number, C88S.
Dec 2026AP credit and language post. Verify. First-semester GPA is in the books — it counts toward the 3.0 CS floor and what Haas reads.
Jan–Feb 2027CDSS window #1 — skip; no posted CS grade yet.
Dec 2027Fall 2027 grades post. Three semesters is the Haas GPA. 3.0 is the CS floor and the Haas sim-degree floor; C-or-better in every prereq is the Econ floor.
Jan 1–Feb 13, 2028CDSS review: CS #1, DS #2, simultaneous degree. Four 250-word essays. No résumé, no letters.
Mar 2–31, 2028Haas. One lifetime attempt. Noon Mar 2 to 4pm Mar 31.
Jun 2028CDSS by Jun 1; Haas mid-June. Jul 1: Haas packet if pairing.
Aug 2028Point of no return.
Jan 2029Last CS re-apply if needed. Still finishable.
May 17, 2030I-20 ends. Eight semesters — CDSS refuses a ninth and the petition binds you to the stricter college.

Three risks, three floors

GPA is the only real cost. Spring 2027 is four hard courses plus a connector, in the window Haas reads. Floors: 3.0 for CS review and for the Haas simultaneous packet; C in every Econ prerequisite, one retake ever, no P/NP anywhere. Under a 3.0 the whole top of the table closes at once. Hedge: office hours from week 2; and if C140 is going badly by week 3, drop it — C88S keeps Econ and Haas intact, and C140 can be retaken in Fall 2027.
Haas + CS is two competitive admissions and no slack. Both degrees confer the same term; dropped from one drops both. Hedge: row 2 is a full-value outcome, not a consolation. Do not treat a Haas rejection as a failure of the plan.
One overlap rule is unresolved. Whether Haas’s 12 non-business units count as a major requirement (2-course overlap cap) or a college requirement (uncapped). On the face of the text they are uncapped and already satisfied by the spine. Hedge: ask Haas UPO in writing; the answer moves at most 4 units.

Next 30 days

ugrad@econ.berkeley.edu — does DATA/STAT C140 satisfy the Econ statistics prerequisite and the ECON 140 prerequisite? C88S makes the answer non-fatal, but get it.Sept
Haas Undergraduate Program Office — (a) confirm a simultaneous degree with a CDSS major (CS or DS) is accepted; (b) are the 12 non-business units subject to the 2-course overlap cap; (c) which statistics rule governs your catalog year.Sept
cs-advising@cs.berkeley.edu — confirm AP Calc BC counts as Math 51/52 “completed” for comprehensive review, and that 61B/70 may be in progress at application.Sept
CDSS advising — confirm you may rank CS #1 and DS #2 in one cycle, and that reviewers assess the CDSS major’s 8-semester feasibility only.Sept
Berkeley International Office — for two degrees conferred the same term, which CIP goes on the OPT I-20, and can the STEM extension be based on the CS/Econ degree. Quote 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)(3) in the email.Sept — longest lead
Fill the CDSS comprehensive-review interest form so the 2028 dates reach you automatically.now
File the APR Correction Request for the language route.now

Sticky-note rules

Never take UGBA 101A or 101B. ECON 100A/100B replace them, are credit-exclusive, and Econ rejects 101A.
DATA C8 does not satisfy the Econ statistics prerequisite. C88S or C140 does.
ECON 141 needs MATH 53, which you do not have. Take ECON 140, or add MATH 53 first.
Zero P/NP. One P in an Econ prerequisite ends the major; CS and Haas require letter grades throughout.
CS + Data Science together is a CDSS double major — possible, but you get only the higher-ranked admit from one review; the second would be a later declaration.
Spring 2027 times and seats are inferred from Spring 2026 — the schedule is not published yet. Re-check in October.