<p>I do miss this time of the year last year… finding out about all the colleges you applied for… did I get in? was I rejected? Maybe it’s just in retrospect that it was so much fun, 'cause I do think I was quite the ball of stress this time 365 days ago (give or take).</p>
<p>I know all you high school seniors are eager to find out what your fate will be right now… your future is seemingly depending on the somewhat arbitrary decision of a pompous board of admissions officers. But… soon you’ll know your chances and you, should you be lucky enough to get into Berkeley, you should consider it. I’m am SO lucky to be a Cal freshman this year! I cannot picture myself any other university. Granted, I would have gone to Stanfurd had I been accepted, but I am SOOO grateful that they sent me that small envelope. ;o) </p>
<p>These past six and half months have been the best of my life! I’ve made the best memories possible with some of the best people I’ll ever meet, I’ve been inspired by some of the smartest men and women in the world (those would be my professors), I’ve stared up at the Campanile and just smiled because I am just so fortunate and Berkeley is such an amazing place, and so many other little things add up to one huge eye-opening experience. </p>
<p>There are so many rumors going around this discussion board about Berkeley that seem to villify this awesome school! I know that Stanfurd people enjoy gloating about their more selective school (and I REALLY don’t want to start one of those boards…), but I don’t think there’s is any other university in the world that would fit me half as well as Berkeley does-- I wouldn’t be happy anywhere else. First, I just want to say it’s ridiculous how people make out the competition at Cal to seem entirely cutthroat. I’m a biology major, so I’ve been taking those wonderful weeder classes that get everyone’s panties in a bundle, and, while they are difficult, students are NOT trying to sabotage other students. That is RIDICULOUS. The only thing impeding you from not doing well here is you… you need copious amounts of motivation, determination, and…well, study time to stay at the top of classes here, which is not impossible, as people like to paint that out to be. Other people think the town of Berkeley is a scary place; it really isn’t. If you’re from a very sheltered town, it’ll probably be a shock to see some many homeless people wandering the streets, but for the most part, they’re quite harmless. There are even some who adopt entertaining personas… superhero bum, anyone? :o) But living in Berkeley is exciting. Next, other people don’t think Berkeley is a “party school”; well, it’s not SB, but let me tell you, I know enough people who get drunk on Thursday nights to fill a couple of lecture halls. Which brings me to my next points… the class sizes are totally doable! First off, while lectures are large (this semester I have a class in Wheeler, the biggest capacity lecture hall in campus and last semester Chem 1A had 1300 people in three different sections), your experience is made more personal by discussion sections, which are no larger than 20 people run by a grad student. You can suck as much information out of your GSI as possible, but professors are always in office hours if you want to take the opportunity to talk to him or her. And just get comfy with your textbooks… I guarantee all the info you’ll need for your sciences classes is in there somewhere…</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m done shedding light on some of the Berkeley stereotypes. Berkeley is a blast and I hope many of you consider it as a school to go to next year. Have a fun next three weeks! :p</p>