University of California-Berkeley

Berkeley is a great school chock full of award-winning, book-publishing, enthusiastic professors who really know their stuff. If you take classes you're really interested in, you'll learn more. Don't forget about office hours, tutoring sessions, and study groups. Besides the required curriculum, there are a whole lot of opportunities to expand your view of the world - theater, symposia, films, lectures, and of course the occasional crazy person giving a speech on Sproul.

In high school, I never imagined there could be so many subjects outside of Math, English, American History, and so on. But at Berkeley, it's hard to decide on what to fill your schedule with because of the hundreds of classes to choose from. You can study almost any subject you can think of and learn from some of the top professors in the world. In your first year or two at Berkeley, you can take classes called Discovery Courses if you are unsure exactly what you want to study. They help students who just want to experience the basics, who want to test the waters before diving in. You can also take seminars that are only open to freshmen and are limited to 20 or less students. In these classes, you can get much of the focus and attention you need and they are only once or twice a week so you can take several. I know many people are undecided when they enter college and it can be scary not knowing what you want to do when you grow up, but a lot of those people don't know that most people at Cal are like that! But the beauty of being undecided is that you can experience MANY different kinds of classes first. You have the opportunity to learn so much more outside of that limited range of high school subjects. What's your interest? Astronomy? Near Eastern Studies? Peace and Conflict Studies? Microbial and Plant Biology? Anything! Go for it!

There is literally nothing holding you back at Berkeley from taking exactly the classes you want. In fact, the College of Letters and Science requires you to take classes in virtually every field. You might call that restrictive, but that would only prove you don't know Berkeley. A class like Physics for Future Presidents, which is essentially basic Physics, but the math is optional, is typical of L&S. We also have student-taught DeCals, with subjects ranging from gender studies to Batman to Star Wars to Lord of the Rings all the way back to a study of Berkeley in the sixties and the Free Speech movement. There's nothing stopping you from learning pretty much anything you want to learn.

I am definitely learning a lot. Especially this past semester because I had great professors for all of my classes. In the past when my professors weren't the best, I always talked to my graduate student instructors (GSIs). There are so many resources to help students at Berkeley, so I have always been able to find answers to my questions. Also, profs and GSIs really care that students understand the material and will definitely try to help you and clarify any areas of misunderstanding.

This place is as great as the stories describe them to be.

Going to college here is an embodiment of the American dream.

Imagine every single positive aspect of the Ivy League schools and combine them with the uplifitng environment of California.

The environment is incredibly welcoming and you'll always find a place to fit in. It's definitely challenging, but incredibly rewarding. Personally, I adore it.

Cal is such an an amazing home to thousands of brilliant, dedicated, imaginative individuals. Life in Berkeley has been none other than fantastic. Berkley brings out the best in me, academically, socially, and personally.

Here at Berkeley, the professors really do know their stuff. How much you learn thus entirely depends on how much effort and time you put into studying and attempting to understand the materials which professors and GSIs have made available to and for you.

UC Berkeley is big, and the number of people can be overwhelming, but there's something for everyone here. The location is great-- downtown Berkeley is just a short walk away, and San Francisco is accessible by bus. Although the classes can be difficult, there's plenty of support readily available, and you really do learn a lot.

The classes here are great. The professors are all the best at their field and teach with passion that is tangible. They really are geniuses. The classes taught vary from a class on just mushrooms to hip hop to harry potter to bird watching. I guarantee that if you are looking for a specific class, you will find it (even the most random ones!) We also have what we call DeCals which are classes taught by students themselves on specific topics not offered in the academia courses. Here you will find classes on the Vampire revolution (from Dracula to Twilight), how to play the guitar, wine teaching classes and much more! What I suggest is to take your time with the options. Where else are you going to learn this stuff? By taking classes that interest you, you're taking a giant step toward your future!