Frosh, spring admit, Nutritional Science, College of Natural Resources

Initially, I was reluctant to go to Berkeley because it accepted me only for spring admissions. I thought that I would miss out on many activities for incoming freshmen, that I wouldn't be able to make friends, and that I wouldn't find my niche in such a large school. I thought it would be better for me to go to a school that accepted me for the fall; but in retrospect, I'm extremely glad I decided to come to Cal.

Moving into the dorms was an uncomfortable process for me--it was difficult to bond with the other students on my floor. My roommate very quiet, and the other students on my floor had already known each other for an entire semester (some even longer). In addition, I was extremely shy, and I felt like an outsider in the place I was going to call home for the next four months.

Going to class was enlightening for me, and I began to feel part of a community. I started introducing myself to my classmates, and soon I was socializing with others who had similar academic and social goals. The friends I made introduced me to their friends--and so on--as the semester progressed.

Sports have always been a large part of my life, so I felt it was important to join the RSF (Recreational Sports Facility); I'm glad I did. From that community alone, I learned about a number of groups, activities, and resources that can help students like me pursue their personal interests. I later joined the Boxing Club, which I participate in to this day.

In one semester, I found out what it was like to live on my own, and I realized what a great place I would be involved in for the next four years.

--Siamac, Nutritional Science
From Sacramento, California
Previously attended Granite Bay High School

Frosh, spring admit, English

When I was applying to colleges as a senior in high school, I wanted to get as far away as possible from a competitive educational atmosphere.  I always felt uncomfortable with the level of competition at my high school, so my top choices were private liberal arts colleges in Southern California. I applied to the UCs because I didn't want to limit my options, and I wanted to ensure that I had choices close to home "just in case." When the acceptance letters came, I was shocked and excited to see that I had been accepted to Berkeley as well as some of the liberal arts colleges I had applied to. When I held the acceptance letters in my hand, I realized that I would never be happy far away from my sister and parents; suddenly, choosing a college was no longer much of a dilemma. I knew that I would probably desire a smaller, less competitive campus every once in a while, but being close to home at Cal would make it all worthwhile.

I was accepted as a Spring Admit. Unlike some of my peers, I chose to travel in the semester I had off. I spent most of it in Iran, and the rest of it in San Francisco, working. At the beginning of spring semester, I moved into the Unit 2 dorms. Though I was only an hour away from home, I felt nervous because my roommates were older than me.  I came from a high school where you cannot easily become friends with students older than you, and I was worried. However, my roommates and suitemates turned out to be incredibly friendly.  Even though they weren't sharing my first year experience, they helped me transition by being there for me, answering my questions, and guiding me.

In terms of academics, I felt completely adjusted. I was quite surprised that it only took me a semester to become comfortable with university-level coursework; I enjoyed my classes a great deal. The students in my English classes were not overly competitive, and I felt that the workload was a lot more reasonable than it had been in high school. The teachers and GSIs were incredibly intelligent and wanted to be friends more than authority figures. I felt like I had plenty of resources in the English department to answer my questions and provide me with guidance.

Because I moved in with sophomores and was a spring admit (who didn't do Fall Extension), my social experience the first semester was rough. I had not found my niche, and I didn't have very many friends other than those I knew through the Iranian community...and they too were older than me. The deeper I got into the semester, the more uncomfortable I was made by how well my peers had adjusted to social life at Cal. I felt lonely a lot of the time, but I always tried to make the best of it.

By the end of my first semester, I still had not found my exact place in the university's social structure.  However, I had been caught in the flow of the campus, and felt that I would find my way with time. Because of this, I wasn't very worried or upset, but rather encouraged to see what would come next.

--Shokoofeh, English
From Pleasanton, California
Previously attended Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton

Frosh, FPF, Peace and Conflict Studies, College of Letters and Science, Minor: Global Poverty and Practice

I actually decided to apply to Cal on the night I submitted the UC application fully expecting to not be accepted. However, I was pleasantly surprised, and slightly confused, to be admitted as a spring admit. Because I didn’t get a chance to attend CalSO during the summer, I didn’t know what to expect in the fall and beyond. I just knew everything was going to be a new experience and I was going to learn a lot about myself.

In retrospect I am very happy I chose to enroll in the Fall Program for Freshmen (FPF). The program provided me an opportunity to ease into my transition from a tiny high school to the enormous world of Cal. Some of my classes were more challenging than others, but my first semester schedule was extremely light in comparison to my overall workload in the last years of high school. In my free time I chose to begin to explore the campus resources, become involved with a few student organizations (STAND—an anti-genocide student coalition & the Amnesty Int’l Chapter), and reach out to my new peers in class and in the dorms. My first semester at Cal was a very positive experience for me and by the time it ended I was ready and excited to take classes on campus, especially within my major.

--Jacob, Peace and Conflict Studies, Minor: Global Poverty and Practice
Lived in Clark Kerr Campus at Cal
From Santa Monica, California
Previously attended Wildwood Secondary School

Frosh, FPF, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Despite living nearby, I never thought of Cal as my first choice for college. But after being rejected from my top two choices -- and waitlisted for my third -- I began to more thoroughly research the UC campuses that accepted me. I had a strange situation with admissions: UCLA's offer came with a $3000 scholarship, and Davis was offering free housing. Meanwhile, I got a semi-offer from Cal, letting me in as a "Spring Admit"--a term I had never heard before. It was a tough choice, but in the end I chose Berkeley over UCLA and UCD largely because of friends and family.

The immediacy of the Extension program (aka FPF, Fall Program for Freshmen) also contributed to my choice. I didn't want to miss a single day of college; I was too excited to start, and too anxious about being left behind. So Extension was my chance to get on campus in the fall and make the transition to collegiate academics as soon as possible. However, I was placed in Unit Two, which is a stone's throw from the Extension facility. As a result, I was rarely on the UC campus and only got involved in Cal Archery through a friend's reference.

Although I was not initially pleased with the scant number of courses I could take at Extension, the limited offerings did encourage me to spread my interests around. I still attribute my stargazing to Astronomy, as well as my interest in the human psyche to Psychology (I even considered minoring in Psychology for a time). Most importantly, the Extension professors are just as good as the campus professors; if anything, the Extension professors are far more approachable due to the smaller class sizes. The Extension program ultimately left me better prepared for the "real" Cal than I would have been otherwise.

I often believe I was lucky with Extension in many ways. Because I was able to save my campus experiences and involvement for spring semester, I had all of fall to focus on my floormates. I roomed with two other Extension students, and they really helped me get acquainted with the diversity on campus. Half of my floor was also Extension (though you wouldn't have been able to tell after the first month). Everyone on my floor was very amiable, and the extra four months I got to know them was worth coming in the fall, all by itself.

--Yuan, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
From Foster City, California
Previously attended San Mateo High School

Frosh, FPF, African American Studies, College of Letters and Sciences

When I applied to college, my top choice was the University of Southern California; Cal was nowhere on my radar. I only applied to Berkeley because it was on the general UC application, and I thought, "Hey, why not." I remember receiving acceptance letter after acceptance letter--I even got accepted by USC, which thrilled me. I only got two rejection letters, one from UCLA, and another by Stanford, so I thought for sure that I wasn't going to get into Cal. I checked online anyway and was shocked to see, "Congratulations! You've been accepted to the University of California Berkeley for spring 2006." My first thought was, "Oh my God, I just got into Berkeley!"...but then it registered: I got in for spring 2006.

Spring admission did not make sense to me; I had applied to get in for fall 2005. How was I going to kill a whole semester before college? My mom quickly called Cal, and they suggested that I look into the Extension Fall Program for Freshmen, which would allow me to take college classes taught by professors (just not Berkeley professors), and still live on campus in the fall. She was also told that I should sign up right away if I was interested, because there were a limited number of spaces available. We weighed my options: go to Cal in the spring, go to USC, go to community college for a semester and then go to Cal, or do the Extension Fall Program for Freshmen (FPF). In the end, we decided that FPF was the best idea.

As a black student applying for housing, I had heard about the African American Theme Program (AATP), which places African American freshmen in housing together (although you don't have to be black to be in the program). I applied for AATP, and was fortunate enough to be accepted. I was really excited to start school and live in the dorms, away from my family.

When the semester finally started, I was somewhat nervous about my classes and whether I could successfully cope with the academic rigors that are associated with Berkeley. Thankfully I was, and I survived my first semester with a GPA above a 3.0. I also got involved with community service; it was a requirement for living in the theme program, which was nicknamed the "Afro Floor." It was wonderful living on the Afro Floor with people who looked like me, especially on a campus where there are few black faces in the classroom.

Through FPF (the Extension Fall Program for Freshmen), I was really able to acclimate well to Berkeley. If I could do anything over, I would do more community service in the Bay Area and would be more involved in the Berkeley community. But all in all, it was a great experience.

--Holly, African American Studies
From Stockton and Oakland, California
Previously attended Bear Creek High and Skyline High

Frosh, FPF, Undeclared, Letters and Science

As a Spring Admit, I chose to attend Berkeley's Extension Fall Program for Freshmen (FPF). The smaller class sizes allowed me to receive more individual attention and--in effect--engage one-on-one with professors. And though I am grateful that I was able to come here in the fall through FPF, actually being ON campus this spring has made a significant difference. I feel that I am now truly involved in the daily, crowded dose of diversity that is Cal.

My two most difficult courses were Math 1A (Calculus) and Ethnic Studies 21AC...but for very different reasons. I spent over 15 hours per week (outside of class time) trying to understand the material in Math 1A. However, I ultimately felt that the heightened stress of the class was well worth it. I learned that I can overcome academic weaknesses; it was a perfect eye-opener to the rigor of Berkeley. Ethnic Studies 21AC was challenging in a different way. It forced me to think outside the box--outside of my comfort zone. Actually, it also turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.

Academics aside, I wanted to find something at Berkeley that would allow me to stay in shape and have fun at the same time. I have always loved dance, so I auditioned for The Movement student dance group and joined their hip-hop and jazz teams. Dance turned out to be a perfect environment to meet students from different majors and years who shared a common passion.

After first semester ended, I was both proud and shocked. It went by so fast! My first semester as a college student was already over! I earned three As and a C+, joined a dance group, accumulated a brain full of new knowledge, and even had some meal points left over. I feel proud to say I had a great first semester.

--Catherine, Undeclared
From Riverside, California
Previously attended Martin Luther King High School

Frosh, FPF, Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering

As an engineer, Cal was my top choice, and the school from which I never thought I’d receive an acceptance letter. When the letter came, I was ecstatic, despite the fact that I was a spring admit. When I was weighing my options, it was no contest – UC Berkeley, second in the US (and probably the world) in Mechanical Engineering, and first in Civil Engineering. I sure didn’t want to spend a semester’s worth of fun and learning at home, so I pounced on FPF (Fall Program for Freshman) as soon as I found out what the acronym stood for.

When I first got to Cal, everything felt normal, just like home, until my first real weekend when I realized, hey, here, I’m free! Which was fine and dandy until I let that go to my head and I started thinking more like there was no authority over me. At the time, I didn’t realize that with this great opportunity came a great responsibility to be my own authority.

Classes weren’t as difficult as people made them out to be, but they were time intensive. Math 1B, even though I’d already taken the same class, was still a bit of a struggle and moved at a fast pace. Classics 10A was a seemingly endless flow of information—endless names of people and places that just seemed to run together as time went on. English was a slower pace, but the research project that replaced the final probably took the most time I’ve ever spent on any one project. Teachers in FPF interacted directly with the students; there was a lot of hands-on help and each of them made ample time to talk with students. The load was certainly easier to bear knowing someone had my back should I have faltered.

Due to several interrelated circumstances, all of which I accept full blame and responsibility for, my semester didn’t go as planned academically. “College Life”, as I heard at student orientation is a monster 6-unit course with a heavy workload. However, I didn’t allow this minor sputter. Over winter break (which I spent mostly traveling thanks to the fraternity I joined) I was able to sort things out and realize what was important in life. I’m almost halfway through my second semester while writing this, with a much heavier course load and even more extracurricular obligations, but I have my priorities in order and I am succeeding as planned while loving every busy minute of it.

--Patrick, Mechanical Engineering
Lived in Westminster House, South at Cal
From Vallejo, California
Previously attended Colfax High School and Sierra College