<p>Eits, you have a very interesting story. I’ve got a few questions…</p>
<p>1)Do you know any Chemistry majors or anyone affiliated in the College of Chemistry? And if you do, how are they as people and are they swamped with the workload?</p>
<p>2)So what is it about Cal that you like so much? My main reasons for going to Cal are that it’s #1 in chemistry which is hard to turn down… and it’d be an entirely new experience. Which I guess was your reason, but now that you’ve experienced it, what’s so great about it?</p>
<p>I typed a really long and thoughtful response, only to have my browser log me out before I could post it. To summarize:</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone in the College of Chemistry, but I can tell you that almost everyone at Cal is swamped. However, if you were dedicated enough to get into Cal, you are more than capable of handling the workload at Cal.</p>
<p>When I look back on my experience at Cal, what I take away most from it was the people that surrounded me. The professors I had were all incredible and actually cared about their students. I thought they would be untouchable being from the University ranked #1 in English, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Every one of them was not only available during office hours, but enthusiastic about sharing and discussing whatever topic it was I had come in for help about. The students at Cal are also really great. I thought I was the worst student there when it came to procrastination, but once everyone around me was walking around going “**** there is no way i can finish this paper, and all this reading” I realized we were all in the same boat. Sorry it’s brief, if you’d like more clarification just ask, but I’m bummed that my longer post was deleted and I’m going to post this before it happens again.</p>
<p>I guess for specifics, are people as weird and crazy as everyone makes them out to be? To be honest it sounds like a bunch of B.S. that people speak about Berkeley’s crazy people. But maybe you could shed some light on it…</p>
<p>And how hard was it to meet friends? I plan to live in an apartment near campus if I can find one, but I guess the dorms would be tolerable… Thanks eits!</p>
<p>The crazy people thing isn’t really the case. Most of the crazies aren’t students and you simply walk by them on your way to class. You will become familiar with a few of the homeless people: Running Man, Good Morning Man, and Pajama Man. Those aren’t their names, but it’s how I remember them. You will always see running man jogging around campus. I never once saw him walking. Good Morning man says good morning to you almost every day it is nice out on the corner of Telegraph and Bancroft. And you will see pajama man on Sproul usually around Sather gate. The entire student population is pretty much 'normal."</p>
<p>There are plenty of oppurtunities to make friends, in classes and study groups etc. I made quite a few friends my first semester from study groups for classes, but the two people I hung out with most were from the dorms. You can also meet people in the zillions of coffee shops and at the dining commons. I’m not the most social person, but made plenty of friends. If you’re really worried about it, the dorms aren’t horrible, but if you’re comfortable talking to people I wouldn’t hesistate to move into an apartment.</p>
<p>I see that you chose Cal over UCLA because of a different experience etc, but would you say Cal’s English department is much better? I get that there are world-class professors there but comparing the course listings, UCLA seems to have a wider variety (I’m also more interested in American Lit so that is my major at UCLA). </p>
<p>Also, I’m already in the Bay Area so going to Cal is like staying home for me lol – so its’ the opposite for me. But I really don’t want to turn down Berkeley for a reason like that if it really is that amazing of a program. </p>
<p>And in regards to meeting people, I feel like I’ve met only 2 types of people at Berkeley - the hipster-y kind that party ALL the time or the more nerdy/awkward kind of students. Man, those are horrible generalizations but yeah… Is there a middle ground to Berkeley students?</p>
<p>Hi,
I am trying to decide between Unit 3 and Clark Kerr, do you mind sharing your experiences/opinions/what you have heard about these two dorms? Also, what is this deal with off-campus and on-campus housing, whats the difference?</p>
<p>dezz, there are certainly world class professors at UCLA as well. I wouldn’t turn down Berkeley on course listings alone, as they change by semester. I can’t speak too much for UCLA’s program as I don’t know much about it, but I can say that Cal’s program really is top notch and when you find the right professor, you will know exactly why.</p>
<p>As far as the generalizations, I don’t think they’re too harsh. There are certainly more hipsters than I normally prefer to deal with, and I avoid the avid party going crowd like the plague. Having said that, there are plenty of normal people. People that are interested in their classes and are there to work hard, but not make school their entire life and who don’t look or act like they came from latfh.com You will be able to find people you’ll get along with and trust me, there are plenty of hipsters and party goers at UCLA as well. You will find your middle ground.</p>
<p>I never once set foot on or around unit 3, so I can’t really comment, but I did live at Clark Kerr. Clark Kerr is a decent walk, so learn the bus system and don’t rely on the one that is right before class as it usually runs 20 mins late. I enjoyed my time at Clark Kerr, but the lack of a full breakfast in the mornings during weekdays was a bummer (don’t know if this is still the case). One of my favorite things about Clark Kerr was that it felt like coming home after a long day. There was a difference between campus and the dorms that I know some students at Unit 2 didn’t really feel the same about. </p>
<p>As for living on and off campus, on campus housing means you are living in a building that is ran by the school. Clark Kerr is ‘on campus’ housing that is farther from the school than a lot of ‘off campus’ housing. It is not a distinction in distance, but rather who is running the building. </p>
<p>Hope that clears it up, but if not feel free to ask more questions.</p>