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From what I have seen, a lot of people actually let loose when coming to Cal - it’s just no longer feasible for people to obsess over grades when they no longer have any way of obtaining 4.0’s through whining/playing the system/etc. A lot of people who worked very hard and “stressed” to get a 4.0 in high school now get much lower than 4.0 and are very happy with what they get. Of course some will still stress a lot about grades and it is very competitive, but it’s not really a pronounced problem anymore.</p>
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I’ll admit at some point there are sacrifices to make to get a grade. I never had a problem understanding the theory behind math in high school, but in math here I have to skip understanding some of the underlying ideas and settle with just knowing the process because I don’t have enough time/willpower to know every detail in a fast paced class like math. And there are people who just float on by, just trying to pass each class. But I’ve personally found that there is a significantly higher percentage of people who are genuinely interested in learning than there were in high school. Everyone gets to choose their own classes. People get to take classes with world renowned professors. It’s an amazing opportunity and most people at least try to make the most out of it.</p>
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First, see my previous point on grades. Secondly, the problem that I actually see is that people try to become superficially involved in TOO MANY clubs because they think it’ll look good on their resume. But there aren’t too many of those kinds of people (because in reality the most beneficial thing both for a resume and for personal well being is to become very involved in a handful of activities that you’re genuinely interested in). I will reiterate that Berkeley is very competitive, and for some people (re: engineers, premeds, etc) it can be very hard. But each person has a lot of leeway in what their experience means to them.</p>
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All I’m going to say is that if you’re happy, you will be surrounded by people who are also happy. Pessimistic seclusionists will hole themselves up in their room or in their library and are rarely seen. It’s their own decision and it has no effect on your life here.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>