<p>Hi guys, what would be a good way to prepare mentally for UC Berkeley? Like handling academic rigor, balancing social life, staying fit and healthy, and having fun. </p>
<p>I know in high school I procrastinated a lot and as a result I did not enjoy learning or school, and did not put in my best performance. I’m looking to turn this around at Berkeley. </p>
<p>College in general (Berkeley or otherwise) requires greater student self-motivation and time management than high school, when your day-to-day progress is much more closely monitored by teachers (and probably parents). If you read the book(s), go to class, do the assignments, and start larger projects early, then you will be in a much better position than if you do not do these things.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus - Okay, so basically college is blood, sweat and tears lol. In all seriousness however, how do (or did) you manage your time at UC Berkeley? Like I’ve got classes in mornings, afternoons and evenings, and a bunch of spare time in between. What do you do in this spare time? Go to extracurricular activities, study, etc.? </p>
<p>UC Berkeley will be the most rigorous academic and mental experience you will endure in your entire life. You need to toughen up, and don’t let any exam or test stop you from reaching your goals.</p>
<p>Time gaps can be used for studying (either on campus or at home if you live close) or extracurriculars, depending on when you do them.</p>
<p>Thanks for the answers guys.</p>
<p>Sleep enough. Trust me. This was one of people’s biggest mistakes in college in terms of time management. If you’re not tired or energized during the day, chances are you’ll be grumpy and unproductive. Also, you can move your schedule around. If you want to have time to do stuff at night, don’t take night classes and reduce the number of afternoon classes you have if it’s possible. </p>
<p>Now, with regard to preparing yourself mentally, just remind yourself that mostly everyone else around you is struggling. UC Berkeley is tough, not just academically but also in many different ways. You have to learn to embrace the challenge. You’ll be grateful for it, and will learn so much about yourself in the process. </p>
<p>I think that what helped me to get through my first semester was joining a Calculus adjunct course. It was nice to know that other people who just didn’t understand the concepts were suffering with me. Another thing, don’t come in thinking that you’re the best. Always be on the lookout for mentors and tutors! Ask one of your GSIs out to lunch, and bombard them with questions about their professional experience. Talk to students in different clubs about their passions and interests. You’ll learn a LOT from them. And even if you’re great at writing, request a writing tutor for your R&C class. It’s TOTALLY worth it. It’s hard to get out of Berkeley alive if you don’t ask for help. </p>
<p>@iloverunning - Wow, that’s a great answer. I have already scheduled my phase 1 classes and so far I have some in the afternoon. I suppose mornings would be ideal for having classes in order to have extracurricular activities and other things in the afternoons? I’ll keep that in mind for Phase 2. Thank you!</p>
<p>Extracurricular activities tend to happen in the evening. Morning classes would be useful depending on whether you are a morning person or not. I hated waking up to go to a 8am class. College students tend to sleep in into the afternoon or have really weird sleeping cycles. </p>
<p>@totalcaprice - lol yeah I’ve heard - just looking at the trends, afternoons/evenings clearly overrule mornings. But that may be a good thing… :)</p>
<p>Many people tend to feel sleepy in the early afternoon (in some places, that is the traditional siesta time). If that applies to you, avoid scheduling classes during that time.</p>
<p>Timing of classes is a matter of temperament. I most emphatically am not a morning person and 8am classes were the pits. That said, the notion about keeping caught up on sleep as much as possible should be highlighted. It’s best to enter the period before finals as rested as possible because with studying and papers you most likely will have some very late nights (more like very early mornings) and if your reserves are already low you will be trashed.</p>
<p>Most GSI’s won’t have time for lunch with you but do hit their office hours regularly.</p>
<p>i feel you, i need advice too, tbh i did horribly in high school (was like 50%ile in terms of gpa, high test scores though, but it was a prep school so everyone had that), honestly i was one of the worst students ever, i was late daily, almost never studied, turned in hw late all the time, and i never learned how to function academically
so i pretty much failed my first year at berkeley due to the fact that i missed so many classes and just continued my high school habits
i’m taking a semester off to really focus on this, going to a cc and habituating myself to waking up early and attending classes/doing hw and balancing that with my hobbies and things necessary to maintain good health</p>
<p>i had a major problem with energy in high school also. i felt like i required at least 12 hrs a night to not feel tired</p>
<p>It is not typical to need 12 hours of sleep at your age to feel rested. In addition to focusing on your study habits, you may want to consider a checkup to screen for medical issues and a visit with an on-campus counselor to screen for depression.</p>
<p>Glad I could help! Extracurriculars tend to happen in the evenings around 6-10 pm, although if you’re tabling for a club you may have to be free earlier in the day. I would schedule classes at whatever time you’re most alert. Many students prefer classes later than 8 am, because they want to sleep in or take time to prepare. I, on the other hand, am not an afternoon person. I tend to fall asleep in class around 1-4. Also, take into consideration a job. You may not want one for your first year, but if you need work-study, make room in your schedule for that! </p>
<p>By the way, try not to take too many back-to-back classes. I did that last semester because I wanted to keep myself busy, but instead, I was left tired and exhausted. </p>
<p>It depends on what type of person you are, but I found that balancing schoolwork and extracurriculars was really helpful. My brain could only take so much before I needed a break, and extracurriculars helped me manage stress rather than cause more stress. Also, the Student Learning Center is one of the best resources besides professors and GSI’s. I found a lot of my friends through SLC study groups. </p>
<p>You might find this blog post helpful! <a href=“http://■■■■■■/1ueCezr”>http://■■■■■■/1ueCezr</a> </p>
<p>Peggy Hsieh
Undergraduate Admissions Blogger
UC Berkeley Class of 2017
blog.admissions.berkeley.edu</p>
<p>Thanks for the answers guys, this is really helping me calm down and less anxious about how it’s going to be at Cal.</p>