how I got here

[Re]Finding My Academic Passions

March 8, 2024
Ethan C.

Coming into Cal, you’re thrown into a university with much to offer. With six undergraduate colleges, there’s definitely a lot to choose from for your academic pursuits. In the College of Letters and Science alone, there are over 80 different majors to explore and 500 courses you can take alone. Constantly, new majors and minors are being unveiled, and students can engage in a wide variety of different academic departments and programs. When I started at Cal in 2021, I came in as a pre-law student interested in a whole bunch of majors. I switched around a lot (and I mean… A LOT)....

Why I Chose to Boycott Advice During My First Semester

March 1, 2024
MJ S.

If you thought this was a blog providing advice on political boycotting, you would be woefully mistaken. Let me take you on a journey of failure, revelation, and self-actualization – as Maslow would have it.

I started what I thought would be my first of four years at Cal with great anticipation for future achievement, like I was inching up a black diamond knowing that momentum would release me into a good life once I have earned a sizable academic spread. But four semesters later, I have accumulated a snowball that has brought me further down than up and...

The Breadth Class That Took My Breath Away

February 28, 2024
Melina T.

Berkeley’s College of Letters and Science has a unique requirement called the Seven-Course Breadth. Essentially, L&S students must take at least one course in several distinct subject areas, regardless of their major. The hope is that through taking a diverse course load, students will be exposed to more perspectives and areas of intellectual curiosity. As a humanities student to my core, I can’t say I was thrilled about fulfilling the Biological Science requirement. Taking a semester-long class completely irrelevant to my major seemed like nothing but a waste of time and energy...

Fitting In Is Not a One-Size-Fits-All

February 23, 2024
Anna H.

On September 4th, 2003, estimated to be one-day old, I was abandoned at a bus station in a large city inside the People’s Republic of China. Due to the strict One Child Policy, there were no traces of my birth parents or ties to any identity except for a small red envelope filled with dirt and seeds. On the front and back of the envelope were illegible Chinese characters which seemed to be quickly scribbled. After an unknown amount of time in the harsh Chinese summer heat, a young woman found me and brought me to the Xinhua Social Welfare Center. There, they called me Xīn Yǎpíng. For...

My Berkeley Story

March 28, 2023
Jordan S.

My Berkeley story starts quite a long time ago, before I was even born. From 1981 to 1985, my mom was a student here at UC Berkeley. During her time here, she lived in Unit 2 Davidson Hall, was a member of the sorority Gamma Phi Beta, majored in French, studied abroad in France for a year, was a member of the Blue and Gold Yearbook and so much more. Berkeley was a part of her life and it was something that she cherished greatly. Further, her brother and sister-in-law also went to Berkeley a few years before her and settled down closeby in Walnut Creek. Because of this, my...

How I Got Into Haas Without Joining a Business Club

March 10, 2022
Mikayla Hwee

Totally not clickbait! No, but seriously. My name is Mikayla, and I am a Business Administration major at the Haas School of Business. After hearing that, most people assume I’ve climbed the ladder through a Haas-sponsored consulting club or competed in finance case competitions for years when, in fact, none of that is true. I’m here to tell you about how I got into the Haas School of Business without joining a single business club.

To begin, I want to touch on a passion of mine: music. (I promise this all ties together in the end). I’ve been inspired by music...

My College Application Journey (Applying to Colleges, Receiving Admission Letters, and Getting Waitlisted at Cal)

April 5, 2022
Josephine Lee

Working at the campanile and meeting many of the newly admitted/waitlisted students, as well as many prospective students looking into colleges and deciding where to apply, I couldn’t help but reminisce back to when I was a high school senior doing the same, and reflecting on how those experiences led to where I currently am today. So that being said, I decided to use this opportunity to share my experiences as a high school junior and senior and how I found the right college for me. I know that not everyone will agree on what type of college they would want to attend, but hopefully, this...

Nothing Really Matters

April 14, 2022
Alyssa Hurtado

If other Berkeley students are anything like me, they went through high school taking the maximum amount of AP and Honors credits, doing sports and extracurriculars in and out of school, staying up late to finish every assignment, and living in fear of letting themselves–or the people around them–down by getting *gasp* a B! When I was admitted to Berkeley, I had a gut feeling that this was where I would end up, whether I liked it or not. I was worried that I would be overwhelmed by the amount of people and that I would never be able to succeed here academically. After reminding...

Deciding the School That’s Right for You

April 19, 2022
Emily Conway

Congratulations, high school seniors! You’ve survived 4 years of hard work, a grueling college application season, and the agonizing waiting period before decisions are released in March. Whether you applied to Berkeley or elsewhere, pause and give yourself a pat on the back – taking the first step toward higher education is a huge accomplishment and you deserve to be proud of yourself.
Most people I knew had a decision to make at the end of their college admissions process. Some were lucky enough to have a clear choice. However many schools you’re choosing between, here are a few tips...

Dear Junior Year

April 26, 2022
Bridget Bernet

Dear junior year,

What a wild ride, am I right? I’ve been looking forward to writing this blog post all year, but now that I’m here I have no idea where to start. Lets work backwards. I had my first ever in-person Cal Day on April 23rd, 2022, and dare I say it, life felt like normal after two whole years in the pandemic. Wow. I won an award in the Rally Committee for being a dedicated older member. I applied for chair of the Rally Committee and did not get it (I’m telling myself that one is a blessing in disguise). I took over this blog and have been running it for quite some time...