<p>Sorry for not doing quotes. That feature doesn't seem to work in my browser (Konqueror).</p>
<p>OP: "I came in from an environment (TAMS) where I had lots of friends, who are smart, and I was really close to them since I lived with them. I expected it would be similar in Berkeley, but that is not so. I didn't really make a whole lot of friends here, the friends I did make were only so-so, apart from like one who I am quite close with. But still, overall I seriously did not make the friends I expected even though I am a very extraverted kind of guy. You could say this is because of Berkeley, but I think it is combo of Berkeley's "unfriendly" atmosphere coupled with not living in the dorms."</p>
<p>I know a few people from TAMS here. If it's any easier, you could hang out with them. Also, lab partners from CS and MCB classes are pretty easy to know. Really, this issue is something that everyone encounters at some point. Moving, making new friends, and adjusting to changes is just a part of maturing and growing up.</p>
<p>OP: "The second major hurdle was academics. The academics here are intense. I am majoring in MCB and minoring in CS. I took Ochem and CS61a, both of which were murder. The classes are literally insane. The class average for the second midterm for ochem was a 62/150, thats crazy!"</p>
<p>I like low averages =). They make the curve all that much sweeter. Higher averages usually means 1-2 points separating an A and A-.</p>
<p>OP: "I have studied more this year than I ever have in my entire life and still did not do that well because the school is just that hard and competitive. What kind of place makes you work ur nuts off, and then doesn't even give you anything in return."</p>
<p>Sure it gives you stuff in return. You get a prestigious brand. You get the satisfaction of having met and surpassed a challenge. You get to feel the exhilaration of relaxing after 2 straight days of studying (finals these past 2 days T_T). You also learn that much more stuff. I remember in high school and CC where the work was a piece of cake. That actually was a disadvantage for me here because I started off by playing games all day instead of actually studying the material. Berkeley will help you develop good study habits and teach you how to maximize your hours for maximum efficiency and how to handle stress.</p>
<p>OP: "Now granted, kids did do better than me, but having an avg of 62 is crazy. The avg for CS exams was like a 24 out of 40. There is no curve in the CS class either."</p>
<p>I've talked to profs and trends for courses aren't that bad. Usually around 20-25% get some sort of A in each class. Even uncurved classes tend to hover around that just by a pure normal distribution. If you're not doing well in your classes (and from your later comments you seem to be), maybe you should consider revising your study habits. For example, some things I find to be helpful are:</p>
<ul>
<li>Prepping for courses in advance (either by webcasting, reading textbook, doing previous hmwk/exams, or by auditing in advance)</li>
<li>Obtaining previous semesters' course material (homework+exams) either by downloading them before they're taken down or by finding people in higher grades who've taken them before.</li>
<li>Rewriting notes 1 day after each lecture. Because lectures usually go MWF or TuTh, you have a day to refresh the material before you hit new stuff.</li>
<li>Be prepared heading into lecture. Don't let lecture be your first exposure to the material.</li>
<li>Make use of OHs and discussion sections. I attend all the discussion sections during the first week or two of classes and find the "best" TAs. Then I change my schedule to go to those sections if possible. I also try to hit up all sections if I have enough time each week.</li>
<li>When reviewing for a test or final, I like to study actively instead of passively reading notes. Each week, I think of 20 or so possible problems based off of previous exams. In the weeks leading up to an exam, I do those problems and redo previous homeworks. This reduces the amount of time I spend cramming uselessly at the end.</li>
<li>Another good way of solidifying the material is to find study buddies. I usually find someone I'm somewhat friendly but not super-close to in discussion or lab. Then, we make problems for each other and go over concepts together. Explaining stuff to someone else really stresses your understanding and challenges you to keep up so not to make a fool of yourself.</li>
</ul>
<p>OP: "And you know what really burst my bubble, is that even after having such difficult academics, the school does almost NOTHING to help you. Berkeley doesn't even have a campus sponsored 24 hour library. I mean come on, with such rigorous studying you need a 24 hour library. University of North Texas, a mediocre university where TAMS was at had a 24 hour library. Seriously, they don't provide the faciliites, even though they provide the hellish work!"</p>
<p>As many people have mentioned throughout the convo, there are places (7th floor Eschelman, 61A labs, Dwinelle, etc.) where you can study through the night. I don't like to do that, though, because I find that sleeping is more helpful than cramming (diminishing marginal returns).</p>
<p>OP: "Right off campus there is no wireless internet. Advisors are scarce and you have to make appointments otherwise lines are long. I am still waiting for my credits from TMAS to get transferred after waiting a full year. Tuition is increasing."</p>
<p>Yea. We do get hosed by being OOS or international students. It's just a fact of life though. There's nothing we can do. I'm sure that tuition is going up everywhere. Berkeley still offers, for me, the best bang for the buck and greatest balance in all disciplines. I've never seen long lines for advisors though <em>shrug</em>.</p>
<p>OP: "My gf who goes to MIT, all the buildings are accessible with her ID, NONE OF OURS ARE! only if you are specialized to a dept can you get in to a specific building. Housing is far from campus, rather than ON CAMPUS like most universities."</p>
<p>EECS buildings are accessible with the EECS cardkey. You can apply on 3rd floor Soda or 2nd floor Cory. Since you're taking a CS class, you can get into those places. Aside from that, there are the places I mentioned above that are open 24/7.</p>
<p>OP: "Most students only do dorm housing for 1 year because its so expensive and there is such limited dorm housing, thus even further preventing a school bonding/friendly experience. The kids are extremely competitive, expecially in the science classes."</p>
<p>I disagree. Dorm life wasn't very good for me because the people there were from different majors and my floor wasn't very social. Now that I'm in an apt, though, things are a lot more fun. My mates and I study together, eat together, and work out together. You can't get better bonding than that. </p>
<p>Competition is good. After all, we don't want half-baked engineers graduating and blowing up our bridges now, do we? It also teaches you to deal with stress. You'll face lots of competition in the work force. Moreover, competition also makes school all that more fun. I don't think it's that much of a challenge to breeze through a course and not put any effort into it and not to beat out anyone else.</p>
<p>OP: "Just to make further comparison at MIT (i use this school because i know a lot about it through my gf) they have a full year of P/F pretty much . The first semester doesnt even count and the second one if you fail a course it doesnt count. Then there is things like FLP, which is basically a program before you come into MIT where you playa lot of ice breaker games and stuff to just get you knowing people in the school. There is also things like in winter break they have classes and stuff you can take. At Berkeley, even though it is considered a top school, it has NONE of this. I know it is state, but damn its supposed to be the best! You come to Berkeley and the effing begins. I mean no cushion, no ice breakers, no nothing. Its rough, its rough."</p>
<p>Yea, you're right about other schools being more lenient. But I guess it's not something that I'd want. I want to actually earn my grades and to be challenged by things. I don't feel that I'd get the same kind of motivation in a private school. I guess Berk isn't for everyone in that regard.</p>
<p>OP: "Now I'm not saying its all bad, I am paying 40k/year for something. TH professors are amazing and the quality of education is close to on par with HYMPS, which is saying a lot. I mean the professors are really quite good and the classes are interesting."</p>
<p>Yup!</p>