Dear Readers 10 & 11

Jenna said...

Dear K,
Can you make a post about scholarships? Are there any exclusively for freshmen?
thanks! :)

Dear Jenna,

Are you asking about general scholarships or berkeley scholarships? :) 

Unfortunately, I never applied to the scholarships at berkeley, but if you haven't already, check out the site: 

http://alumni.berkeley.edu/services/scholarships 

I'm not sure if any are reserved for freshman :( As far as other scholarships go, I applied through typical scholarship sites, such as fastweb-which weren't very helpful since so many people apply through those sites- but those sites give you the widest range of scholarships to choose from and you can try narrowing your search to show scholarships reserved for freshman only :) 

Sorry I couldn't be any more help on this one! 

Best of luck! 

From,

K 

Anonymous said...

do you know how I could land an internship/lab research job? I don't know any of the professors, and I've never done any kind of research before... how am I supposed to stand a a chance against other applicants? do I just email someone, or go up to berkeley labs...??

Dear Anonymous,

This is a tough question with a lot of different answers. First off, you have to start somewhere right? :) And some professors (not many) understand that. For students just starting research, I would recommend trying URAP (although a bit tedious) since you'll be in an applicant pool with students in similar situations, and the professors would have come across students with no research experience more than in other cases. If that doesn't work, I would suggest going through researchers' (not just berkeley professors- this can be anywhere- hospital, SF, etc) research/labs and emailing tons of people with a statement of interest- don't make it too generic- make each email unique to the research/lab. Let's say this too doesn't work. Then over summer, try to find smaller research facilities to work in, such as a state school near your hometown (that's how I started off)- if they don't accept you due to lack of experience, tell them you would just like to shadow them or you're willing to wash the dishes- little experience is better than none :) - even working in a hospital lab as a volunteer would add to your lab experiences! 

Hope this helps! 

Best of luck- Let me know how it goes! 

From,

K 

On A Delay

I have recently moved into my apartment at Berkeley and am still waiting on our wireless internet to get connected. I deeply apologize for the lack of responses this past week, but give me a few more days and I promise to post as soon as possible! 


Thanks so much for your patience :) 


From,
K 

Dear Reader 9

Alice said...

thanks for replying so quickly! I'm really impressed by all your info, and it did help. :) So, I'm in the textbook-buying stage, and I still had a couple questions about the supplies we need...

- I've managed to get a chem textbook for cheap, but I don't know where I can buy the OWL code for it. My friend said the edition of the textbook doesn't matter much, but that the OWL code is essential. where can I find that?
- What's the lab manual required for Chem 1AL?
- Do I have to buy the lab notebook suggested by the Cal bookstore, or would one of my own work? (it's a really nice, lab notebook I've used in previous science classes... does it matter whether I've used about half of it or not?)
- and lastly, does Math 16A and 16B use two separate textbooks?

thank you, again; you're a saint!

Dear Alice,

You're welcome! 

-Yes, the book doesn't matter too much- i think i opened mine about three times the whole semester- but the OWL code is important since the professors assign homework and quizzes online via OWL. I believe some people bought the OWL code separately on the OWL site (http://www.cengage.com/owl) but you might want to try the student bookstore and see if you can buy it there. Since you'll have a week or so before you'll need it (homework is due once a week), I suggest waiting till class starts and asking the professor to be sure, since you want a code that has 'Berkeley' as one of the schools listed. 

- The lab manual is a thin book that has all the experiments listed- it's what you'll be using in lab to do all your experiments.

- As for the lab notebook, you'll be turning in carbon copies of your data/work at the end of every lab and the notebook suggested by the school is the best for that purpose. If your notebook has tear-out carbon copies and you really want to use it, then ask your GSI first just in case :) Otherwise, it does not matter how much of the notebook you've used :) 

-The math 16 series books are two separate textbooks- pretty thin and not too expensive (once again, buy a used one if you can) 

I hope this helped! :)

-K 

On Leaving the Nest

As summer draws to a close and the school year comes crawling closer, nerves will start to kick in for many and excitement for most. I know I probably mentioned this a thousand times in my previous posts, but I'm going to mention it just once more  :)

A week or so before my first year of college started, my nerves completely abandoned me- so much so that I kept thinking 'Why didn't I just go to a community college and stay at home?' I was scared of leaving my home, my friends, my family, of being in a foreign place without the comfort of my parents' shadows where it was so easy to forget about my problems and take refuge in the fact that I was still a kid- in other words, I was scared of growing up. Of course, like other kids, I wanted to get as far away from my parents as possible and live independently- no curfews, no chores, no annoying siblings. But at the time, I would have gladly taken those things over having to leave my familiar lifestyle behind. I was scared of not making any friends, having terrible roommates that I wouldn't get along with, of failing my classes, not getting into medical school- basically all the things that could go wrong in college were integrating themselves into my future. Pessimistic much?

The last night I spent in my room, I spent with tears streaking down my face, making my pillow all too wet to sleep on. I felt like such a loser for being so scared of something that everyone went through eventually. Morning came and it was time for me to pack up everything and head out. Surprisingly, no tears came as I was leaving my house, just a dull heartache.

I got to berkeley, said hi to my roommates, unloaded my things, and spent the day walking around campus. When it was time for my parents to leave, I am embarrassed to admit, I was a complete mess while my parents were way too composed for my comfort (later I learned that my mom broke down while cleaning out my room when they returned). As I was walking back to my dorm, I looked around me without feeling so scared for the first time- after all, the hardest part was behind me (or so I thought)- and I took a deep breath and thought 'I'm finally a college student'.

You know the rest from there- roommates, classes, an occasional SF outing. Turns out, there was nothing to be afraid of. I visited home regularly and found nothing changed- except my sister took over my room- and I looked forward to going back to berkeley every time I was away. So to those who are feeling slightly scared and nervous about starting college, just remember, you're about to start an incredibly exciting part of your life- a part in which you will learn more about life, the world, and yourself than all the previous years combined. So work hard, stay safe, and most importantly, have the time of your lives :)

-K  

Dear Readers 7 & 8

Anonymous said...

Hi! I love your blog! You really provide in-depth answers to people's questions. :)

I hope you don't mind me asking if you could recommend any awesome premed clubs

Dear Anonymous, 

Unfortunately, I can't help you on this one :( 

I sought to join a few clubs at the beginning of the year but I couldn't find one that suited me. However, I know AMSA is probably the most popular club among the pre-med/health students. Sorry I couldn't be more of a help! If you haven't already, check out this link- 

 https://career.berkeley.edu/health/CalClubs.stm

I hope it helps! 

-K 

Alice said...

Hi K! this is such a helpful blog, and I'm so glad you actually take time to answer questions. that being said, I was wondering (since I read that you took the math 16 series) if you have any 16A or 16B books for sale? Or if not, where did you get yours/where do you recommend getting them? thank you!

Dear Alice,

I sold my books to my roommate after the year ended, but you can get the books at Ned's, which is right across the street from campus (by Sather Lane- I got both of mine there) or at the university bookstore (downstairs). I recommend buying the used ones- after a while, it doesn't make much of a difference whether your book is new or used ;) 

Hope this helped! 

-K 

Dear Reader VI

Dear K, thank you for your quick reply! Your answers helped me tremendously. :) I just have a few follow-up questions, if you don't mind: 1) Pertaining to your answer for #1, I thought you get a separate grade for Chem 1AL because the lecture doesn't have to be taken concurrently with the lab? I don't know if they changed it this year, but I'm pretty sure (and hoping) they did. Are the labs difficult and time-consuming? 2) How exactly are office hours run? Is it one-on-one between you and your professor or is it an open discussion between you, your professor, and other students who show up? I was assuming it may be a line outside your professor's office in which students enter one after another, but I may be wrong. 3) Would you recommend getting started on research for your first semester? I was planning on getting this lab position, but I'm not sure if it would be extremely time-consuming. I'm planning on taking 13 units, though. Once again, thanks for your help. I hope you're having an amazing summer, and good luck next semester~!


Dear Justin,


You're very welcome :)
1. You're right, they changed chem 1A this year with lecture being 3 units and lab being 1 unit. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. When I took chem 1A, doing well in lab added bonus points to your grade (although doing poorly deducted points) and so it helped my grade a lot. The labs themselves were not that bad, although a bit long at times- it depends largely on your GSI. Most labs won't take the full 4 hours to complete- I usually finished after 2 hours or so on average, but then again, it depends on your GSI. The experiments were rather simple in concept but sometimes difficult to obtain the 'right' results ;) I believe you only have to do around 2 formal lab right ups for 1A but i'm not too sure. The work after the lab (answering questions and discussions) only took about 1-2 hours on average. Once you start lab, you'll see how your GSI grades and how strict he/she is and can put in the effort accordingly :) 
2. During office hours, the professor meets in a classroom with all the students who wish to attend at once. The professor will usually take questions from the students and lecture on it. When a midterm is coming up, they'll take questions from previous practice tests so you can see the kind of answers they're going to expect on the real exam.
3. As for lab, I would suggest waiting at least a semester before starting. I feel like it's important to get well adjusted to the environment and rigorous academics before taking on something as time-consuming as research. However, if you already secured a research position in a lab, then talk to the professor or postdoc you'll be working with to work out a schedule- a lab position is an opportunity you don't want to pass up easily and with 13 units, it shouldn't be too hard to do :)  


Hope this helped! Have a great rest of the summer and see you in the fall! 


-K 

Dear Reader V

Hey there! I love your blog; it's been very helpful! I just have a few questions since three of the classes I plan to take this year are the ones that you took in your first semester. 1. Do you have any tips in particular for Chem 1A and Math 16A? I have Stacy and this new prof for Math. 2. How theoretical is Math 16A? Is it basically plug-and-chug or are the questions much more conceptual like Math 1A? 3. What textbook did you use for Psych 2? I have Rosner, and it doesn't mention what textbook you need on bearfacts. Thank you so much!


Dear Justin,


Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad I could help :)

1. For chem 1A, the best thing to do (in my opinion) is to sign up for SLC study groups and go to professor office hours. When I took chem 1A, although I had Stacey as a professor, I went to Professor Arnold's office hours. I noticed that he would go over topics in particular that would come up on the midterms and so I was able to get a few extra questions right just because I went to his office hours. The SLC groups are there to reinforce lecture material and will help you grasp the concepts better. The iclicker points count for your grade (some didn't think so at first) and in chem 1A, every point counts so stay on top of those. Do well in lab since those points count toward your grade as well (in ochem/bio/etc, the lab grade is separate). I would also recommend doing a lot of past exams but they didn't help me too much since the exams were kind of unpredictable and extremely conceptual ( do them anyway ;). Just a warning: the lectures will seem quite easy, but they'll be looking for ways in which you applied the lecture material on the exams. Math 16A, depending on who you have, is a breeze. I never went to lecture since the practice midterms my professor posted were just like his actual midterms and I took AP calc BC in high school so I already knew the material :)


2. Math 16A, from what I remember, is mostly plug and chug. If you took any calc in high school, it'll be like that all over again. Math 16A will teach you basic derivatives/integrals, and other easy calculus concepts- nothing to worry about.  But then again, I had a really easy teacher... ; )

3.You got lucky with Rosner. A few people I know took psych 2 after hearing how easy it was with Rosner and found out that it wasn't so easy for them with different teachers. I don't quite remember what book I used for psych 2 but I don't think you'll need to use it too much. Most of his exam questions (which is all multiple choice and non-cumulative) are taken from his slides- which is just the abridged version of the textbook.  


I hope this helped somewhat and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask! 


-K