student life

Every campus ambassador ends their tour with their Berkeley Story, a tale of how they got to where they are today. During mine, I mention that it was difficult for me to adjust in my first year. It took a long time for me to feel like I belonged at Berkeley. I usually don’t have time to expand beyond that, but I’d like to do so now.

During freshman orientation week, I remember a lot of the presentations included the phrase “you belong here.” Honestly, I think it’s kind of hard to feel that way in a school of 40,000 students. It’s difficult to feel connected...

As my final Fall semester at UC Berkeley comes to a close, I am reflecting on my time as an undergraduate student here. Through this reflection, I realized many things about myself and how I’ve grown throughout my time at Berkeley. Let’s have a look at some of the things I’ve learned and hopefully my stories can help provide you guidance with your college experience.

A common thought I had throughout my lower division classes was “yeah, I don’t...

People sometimes have concerns that Berkeley is academically cutthroat. As Ambassadors, we love to explain that the culture is much more collaborative than competitive. But it can still be difficult to deal with the “Berkeley bubble” of overachievers; imposter syndrome is definitely real.

This feeling can happen any year, but as a current junior, I feel it’s especially relevant. Many of my classmates have taken up officer positions in clubs while juggling internships...

Before I came to university, I always considered myself a fairly organized person. In high school, that meant having a different binder for each class and a to-do list in the notes app on my phone. But flash-forward to my first time reading a course syllabus at Berkeley, and I realized that I needed to change my approach.

Firstly, I think it’s incredibly important to put all of your classes into a calendar. Most students use Google Calendar for this. In university, unlike in high school, your...