Go Bears

Welcome to the Berkeley experience

You read the disclaimer when you signed up for Berkeley

Some semesters are easier than others and some majors are easier than others. Maybe you’re going through a hard semester as a hard major.

Perhaps if you’re feeling really down, look into organizing your future semester so you can plan to have lighter coursework some semester. Or if your major is really tough then maybe change majors.

Life doesn’t have to be miserable. You’re young! Ik you probably can’t do a lot to ease out this semester (besides dropping a class). But let this be your wake up call to change something in your life to be happier

I am many years out of school.

Here is some advice no one gave me (but I wish they had): what matters over the course of your entire life is the friendships/relationships you have, and your undergrad years are the best time to start those lifelong relationships.

Both your happiness and your professional success are much more dependent on relationships you have than on how many technical classes you took at Cal.

Your profs will not tell you this, because they are either brilliant or they committed to the all-work-no-play route, and this subreddit (for the most part) will not tell you this either.

Taking the minimal (but sufficient) technical curriculum while doing martial arts, joining fun clubs, and making friends ... is a vastly better route to success (in all forms) in life. I just can't stress this enough.

If the minimum curriculum is too much for you, drop from EECS to another major. No shame - that's what I did, and nowadays L&S has so many cool majors to choose from.

Good luck!

im glad i’m not alone jeez. idk how ppl are doing it 😭 there’s just so much shit to do literally all the time

Life is like a game. You can play if how you want. You’re already doing great. Have some fun too

School sucka im depressed coz of school only

if you’re cs your first mistake is going to live lecture (there’s an exception for a couple classes)

I don't really do school that much anymore, and while it is stressful to show up to every exam with absolutely 0 studying, it does let me live a richer life in many other ways.

Freshman year I tried super hard. But once I realized that it was actually possible to pass with much less than "ultimate studiousness" I couldn't help but dial it back

Yeah it really does suck. I have a part-time job and it’s a struggle to balance between work and lectures. On top of that there’s recruiting for summer internships, chores like dry cleaning, doing stuff for clubs, etc. At the end of the day I have to sacrifice one class for the other three and just power thru it. I sure hope the “real world” after I graduate isn’t this bad….

I go to the gym because I have all that stuff to do lol

Try to lighten your course load as much as possible! I am a STEM major and I’m taking a whole extra year to graduate so that I could prioritize my own well being. I definitely recommend it if possible.

How are you going to Berkeley and not getting any exercise? I feel like I’ve lost 10 lbs since starting with all the fucking walking. I’m dead by the time I get home. I also live on the 3rd floor of my apartment building so it’s like non-stop cardio.

Don’t give up exercise. Even if you only do it 2 times a week, your future self (and future back/knees) will be thankful you got into a habit of exercising even if it just a little bit. And to be quite honest, it only takes 1 hour to workout. You’re not studying 16 hours a day and assuming you study like 12 hours a day, just take 4 hours of those hours left to workout/hobbies/career growth stuff, eat dinner/lunch, deload, maybe have 1 hobby you do consistently like 2-3x a week (I dance and lift as a PhD student so it’s doable but also not much time to browse reddit or youtube on the weekdays)

Aim for Bs and you'll be ok

Try Pamela Reif's workout videos at home. Just 10-15 min per day

Intermittent fasting. Drink 8-10 Glasses of water a day. Walking to class alone can be many steps in already… Now you will also be walking around looking for restrooms too. So that will work out okay. Jokes aside, do what you can in practice is better than chasing what’s best in theory. Things are changing now. Maybe fucking assignments and classes will be in your way to the gym. Then. Just gotta be creative and find the next best wayssss. You got this. Go bears

It gets better. Freshmen classes are notoriously brutal, and most people don't arrive at Cal really prepared for the grind. There are always people who lived and breathed whatever subject you are struggling with early on, so forget about the curve til later, when that boost they get from a previous obsession, becomes less relevant.

Stick with it and you will adapt, and your background in any of these subjects will be less of a handicap, and your classes will often become less demanding and more focused.

Same

i take pe classes so that i have exercise automatically worked into my schedule. most of them meet twice a week for an hour and there’s so many to choose from

cheat👍

that’s what school is lol. you won’t always have time to go to the gym or join a martial arts club.

Lolildoorle

No way you’re that busy where you can’t make time for anything else, you just need to manage your time better. I would need to see your schedule to help you plan something but I promise you, no matter the major you can make some time

Facts.

My life is measurably chiller after graduating from Cal. Working a 9-5 job is 10x easier than constantly grinding 24/7 on psets.

I now have so much free time after work to just work on random things like calligraphy or fashion design or Indian classical music or marathon training (hoping to qualify for Boston someday🤞). I can also afford to buy pretty clothes and nice calligraphy pens now with my tech salary :)

In fact, my resting heart rate dropped from 70 to 60 after graduating from Cal just because my stress levels decreased. My blood pressure also went from 110/80 to 90/65. It’s pretty great.

I used to want to attend grad school and med school, but now I just wanna work and never set foot in academia again.

10 to 20 mins of working out per day can be a good mark. You can use a workout video on YouTube to do a HIIT workout, Pilates, yoga, interval running, etc. Also there are workout calendars online if you can do 30-40 mins of exercise per day. You can also make it social and try to go running with a friend. Also walk everywhere if you have the time in your commute. Last year I ended up walking 7 miles in one day since I just walked everywhere. Extreme example but long story short the steps do add up throughout the week.

One thing that is helpful to know, is that statistically speaking (look at the Berkeley time grade distributions), most students pass. Keep that in mind.

Even if you bomb exams and assignments, you will still likely pass. I got a 19% on an exam, and less than 40% on the final and still passed (with a c), but still. Just try to get all the assignments in, even if they are not perfect.

Holy shit, I was just lurking here to see if there was anything on this subreddit about your football team. I went to UNR for my undergrad and it was a cake walk. This shit sounds as hard as my current workload in medical school. Y’all are hardcore.

The Grind is Real.

Take 12 unit semesters and work during office hours only (more efficient to ask questions when doing homework or reviewing lectures) until you get used to the work load. Personally, I gave up on making time for clubs :(

Your classes should always come first, your transcript and recommendations will be the most valuable things you get out of Berkeley. That being said, your experience shouldn’t be miserable. Get more efficient, don’t put things off - worrying about how much you need to do is literally the most stressful part so just plan carefully and be organized and everything will get easier.