What are some essential things every Berkeley student needs?

<p>My parents being immigrants and being an only child, I'm a little at a loss as to what I should expect for college. </p>

<p>I'll be attending Berkeley in the Fall, majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. What are some things I know I will have to bring for college, both in terms of classes and the residence halls? Do students generally use laptops a lot more than notebooks for taking notes in class? What else might my teacher expect me to have?</p>

<p>I want to make sure I'm prepared for my first day of class, so. :] Sorry if this question seems a little stupid.</p>

<p>You are fine using a notebook to take notes. Not too many students use laptops effectively to take notes and some teachers outright ban them in class.</p>

<p>You probably need a laptop or desktop for school work. You might be able to get by without one since there is an academic service center in the dorms and a computer lab in Soda (engineering building) that you can use for programming and whatnot.</p>

<p>You will be directed to a Move-In Day web site which includes a recommendation list of what to bring.</p>

<p>[UC</a> Berkeley Fall 2008 - Residence Hall Move In](<a href=“http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/Move_in_2009/my_room_sun.html]UC”>http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/Move_in_2009/my_room_sun.html)
And you don’t need to bring a whole lot. Remember, you’ll probably buy stuff when you get here-- thus adding to the amount of stuff that you’re going to have to pack when you move-OUT. The more stuff you have, the more of a burden it is to pack (unless you’re one of those rare individuals who love to pack lol).</p>

<p>And ditto above: Regular ol’ notebooks would be fine. Plus, if your professor uses diagrams/drawings to illustrate a point, it’s a lot easier to translate that onto a notebook as opposed to a laptop/netbook.</p>

<p>ditto above…hardly anyone uses laptops to take notes in engineering…not very effective when ur trying to copy down equations and diagrams. </p>

<p>professors don’t expect u to bring anything to class but ur brain. how u learn is entirely up to u. attendance for lectures is optional unless ur in one of those useless classes where no one would show up unless attendance is mandatory…sometimes lectures are so ineffective that people will just skip them (watch, after a week or so, half the seats in ur math lecture hall will be empty).</p>

<p>Thanks so much everyone! :] All the advice was very helpful.</p>

<p>Definitely a piece.</p>

<p>Niivalue, I highly highly recommend you read “Getting the Best out of College”. It’s a fantastic book that’s extremely useful and while many people will say its common sense, it’s especially helpful for people who’s family don’t have american college experience. Personally, my parents went to college in Asia and did graduate school in America, but they never attended undergraduate in America which, IMO, is considerably different. The book covers all sorts of topics from roommate issues to signing up for classes to social activities on campus. It’s like a third parent almost, lol.</p>

<p>Your sanity.</p>

<p>water filter</p>

<p>I’ve been using here (<a href=“http://collegechecklist.yolasite.com%5B/url%5D”>http://collegechecklist.yolasite.com</a>) to pack…and I’m hoping to take notes on my laptop, but I hear you don’t have to at all.</p>

<p>Homeless bum repellent.</p>