academics

The Myth of “ONE” Best Fit University

April 21, 2021
Katia Gibson

Maybe you applied to 10 schools and got into all of them! Congratulations!

Perhaps you were waitlisted to Berkeley, accepted your offer elsewhere, and now you got in to Berkeley! Now what?

Maybe you didn’t get into the schools you hoped for and are now overwhelmed as you compare and contrast your options.

As a college senior reflecting on the college decisions process, I think the college decision was too overhyped for me. I remember my thoughts that kept me up at night, trying to search for a sign that would reveal the school that was the one. Committing to a...

How to (mostly) write an essay.

April 21, 2021
Andres Larios

Whether you find yourself in a STEM class (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) or in creative writing class, essays will follow you throughout your time at Cal and any other higher education institution you find yourself in.

Some may rejoice while others may think it is just an unnecessary way of reaching a conclusion. I am not here to debate its necessity, rather help provide advice and some ideas for you when that day arrives where you sit down for several hours to brainstorm and write your essay.

The first thing to establish is that every professor and every...

How to Transition from Online School to In Person Classes

September 26, 2021
Vincent Ooi

Have you been attending Zoom University from your bed this past year? Now that “in-person” school’s back in session, what changes will you need to make to your daily routine? What are the types of habits that are going to make you successful?

student standing in berkeley hills overlooking the bay area

Me in the Berkeley Hills overlooking the Bay Area!

If these are the questions that you’re...

Participating in a Virtual Summer Internship

October 7, 2021
Lisa Zhou

I was in the second semester of my sophomore year and had only had two jobs my entire life. Both of those jobs were not part of the fields within my major (Sustainable Environmental Design). I felt like it was finally time to try out something closer to my major and explore what was out there. I was always interested in studying abroad, so I looked into what they had to offer.

Due to the Covid19 pandemic, many programs were being held virtually or were completely canceled for the time being. But then I remembered a newsletter I saw from my college about a virtual...

Pick-a-Major: Finding What Works for You

October 21, 2021
Paulina Nguyen

One of the hardest decisions I faced when I entered the College of Letters and Science was figuring out what I wanted to study. With over 80 full majors and over 100 minors to choose from, the possibility of what major to choose results in endless combinations. Not to mention the option of applying to majors between other colleges; actually deciding what path to choose can seem like an insurmountable task. It definitely felt that way when I was a freshman two years ago. It seemed like there were just too many interesting classes to take and not enough time in my schedule.

...

How to Build your 4 Year Plan as a MCB (Molecular and Cellular Biology) Major

November 30, 2021
Vincent Ooi

Will you be declaring as a MCB (Molecular and Cellular Biology) major? Do you need some help in getting things started with planning out the next four years of your undergraduate career? Well, I’m here to help! As an out of state student who came from Hawaii, I didn’t have any connections in Berkeley so I started planning everything out from scratch. During my freshman year, I was actually required to submit my 4 year plan (the courses that I am taking for each semester) in my 6th week of class due to a requirement that I had to satisfy in my Army ROTC program. Yep, that...

Breaking Through Into Business Clubs

February 22, 2022
Paulina Nguyen

Besides the incredible academic and research opportunities, a diverse student population, and an impressive faculty roster, one thing that I will always rave about at UC Berkeley is the variety and professionalism of student extracurricular clubs. While what we learn in the classroom is vitally important to our futures, taking advantage of our Bay Area location and career oriented resources is what truly ensures that Berkeley will set us on an ideal post-grad path.

Berkeley has dozens of business clubs, some of which are notoriously difficult to join. From consulting to finance to...

CS@Cal

June 13, 2022
Jeffrey Zhou

Hey!

Hey you!

Yes you. You look like you clicked on this article looking to get a better sense of what studying Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley is like!

Well that’s what I’m going to try my best to do in this delightful little blog post here, so bear (ha ha) with me as I take you through a beginner’s guide of this wild and wacky world of CS @ Cal, everything from classes, to projects, to the L&S declaration process, and finally a little sneak peek at what you could potentially get out of this small, niche, oft under-the-radar major here...

Why ALL FIRST-YEARS Should Do Summer Bridge (coming from a former bridgee!)

June 24, 2022
Ethan Collier

Hey there! Congratulations on making it to UC Berkeley! You are about to embark on an amazing four-year journey here. Now, you may be wondering… How can I make the most of my summer? Well, I have got the answer for you! Summer 2021, I was exactly in your situation. I was doing Golden Bear Advising (GBA) and wondering what else can I do to get a head start on creating my Berkeley experience. That’s when I signed up for Summer Bridge at the very last minute. Do I regret it? Absolutely not!

What is Summer Bridge (no for real though)?

Wait,...

Am I Satisfied with my Berkeley Degree? From a UC Berkeley Alumni

June 27, 2022
Vincent Ooi


The answer to this question is what every incoming student wants to know. Is a Berkeley Degree worth the investment? And that’s a valid question. As a UC Berkeley alumni, I want to provide my perspective on this. Hopefully, by the end of this blog, you will be able to gain additional insight to your education here at Berkeley. This will also be the last blog that I will write for Bear Talk. If you’d like to read my previous blogs, then please check out my profile here.

First, I want to start off by saying that everyone’s experiences will be different depending on the track and...