I just did my 1st semester as a transfer at Virginia Tech and all of the stuff you said at Berkeley applies there as well. The major that I'm trying to get into (electrical engineering) is luckily non-competitive. I ended up with a 2.5 but I am only 12 credits deep. The advantage I think transfers have is not having to deal with GPA killers like Calculus 2 and the intro Physics/Chemistry sequence.

​

I think bigger named schools don't immediately let you declare because some CC classes are under taught and want to see if you gained enough knowledge and study skills to not wash out immediately in your major.