University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

One of the most important things that I learned during my freshman year of college is to learn for the sake of learning and to have fun while doing it. I came from a very competitive high school where students were always taking as many Advanced Placement and honors classes as they could handle. Once I got to college, I took some general education courses and found myself questioning the subjects I was learning about. It seemed as if everything I learned before college was thrown out the window. College courses are about thinking critically and to this, you really have to be interested in the material. In high school, I was able to get away with memorizing facts and figures I did not have much interest in, but in college I really had to delve into the material. Some ways I was able to do this included opening up myself to the world through communicating with my roommates and floormates about the material I was learning about as well as forming study groups with peers. In high school, I was able to study alone, but college taught me that everything is collaborative and we are all interdependent.

I would tell my highschool self to start being more open and social since, unlike highschool, I wouldn't have my close friends around anymore. So I should try meeting new people more often.

Study hard seriously! Start working on time management now. Discover yourself as a person, a womyn , and a human being. Make time to laugh. Do what is important to you. Grow stronger, grow comfortable with succeeding at less and you will not fail at much.

Always rememeber that what you learn in UC Berkeley will change the way you see life. It will give you the opportunities and the skills to make a change in this world. Education should be your priority and seeking out the opportunities that you need to be succesful should be your main goal, as UCB paves the way to a very succesful carreer and an outstanding proffesion. Studying Architecture will be one of the best decisions in your life as you will be able to meet so many intersting people in a very complex field. But do not forget to enjoy this life experience, and always work hard as this will pay off very well in the future. Finally be proud of your self and everything you have accomplish there are so many great things to come, and GO BEARS!!!

Be open-minded. However cliche is it, college is about finding the place where you best fit in the world. It's about making the choices that will establish who you are: the person you want to be, the working environment that best suits you, the field of study that you want to dedicate your energy to, and the friends that you will share some of the best years of your life with. Push yourself to test all these possibilities, without inhibtion. College is also a coming-out time, a transition from a local high school into a broader academic, national, or even international community. Be prepared to accept the responsibilities that come with that: the grueling work and the dedication, but also the many opportunities that will come alongside your intellectual pursuits. Take them, but always remember why you are doing what you do. Most of all, be passionate, and stay passionate. Be ambitious enough to want the best for yourself and for others; college can provide the tools and the experiences for you to obtain just that.

Take a moment to celebrate and appreciate your parents and High School teachers. Never again will you have this level of support. Appreciate the meals made for you and allowances made. Work hard in school and keep your valedictorian status but don't let that control and dictate your life. Make time for what you love and don't forget who you are. The person you are is enough and the person you will become is amazing. Do not be afraid to show this true self to others, as long as you don't change yourself for them they can't truly hurt you. Make time for who and what you love. Pursue even your earliest dreams so that you never go back and say "what if?". Understand that those you leave in high school you may lose contact with, but know too that you will make amazing and beautiful friends everywhere you go, only the best of childhood friends will stay with you. Don't spread yourself too thin, college is about more than school and extra responsibilites. Take on only that which really matters to you. Never forget, honesty is the best policy, even through difficult times.

I used to be a student who go to school and play almost everything in my school with my friends everyday. Now I am not do like that because I know that I should do what I want to be.

none, i did everything i could have. relax more, dont freak out, you will get into a good school regardless. :)

going to community college was the best decision you will EVER make. you're not a failure, you're brilliant, and everything falls into place eventually.

Take chances. Take classes that you never thought you would consider or even need- they enrich you as a person. Strike up conversations with your professors, no matter how intimidating they look in the huge lecture halls. They learn from you as much as you from them. Make friends. Find people who you can trust like family. They will be the people you turn to when you get homesick, sick, or sick of studying. Exercise regularly and eat well. It boosts not only your muscles, but your mood and morale. Explore. Being in a new place, take advantage of any free time you have to discover the area around you. Cheer. Get deep in school spirit and cheer on your athletic teams and other student groups. There is nothing quite like the electricity that you will find in yelling "GO BEARS" with 20,000 other people. Stay glued to the university events calendar. Take advantage of visiting lecturers and arts events your campus has to offer. And while doing all the above, take photographs. You will want to be able to smile and reminisce on every little detail of the best years of your life.