I realized that time has gone by so fast as usual. Second midterms are right around the corner. I think for most of students have started to buckle down to prepare for these upcoming challenges. I think prioritizing seems to be the most effective way to accomplish goals and to manage stress level during midterm season. I hope while most of you are busy to juggle between studying and extracurricular activities on campus, keep in mind that planning ahead for your next semester's schedule can also reduce your stress level significantly. From my past experience, being wait-listed for some of your major core classes or the classes that you found yourself interested in could create unnecessary stress.
Before the date and time for your telebears phase I, be sure that you have a chance to meet with your faculty advisors and get your CCN ready. It is very important that you do not put it off until the day before your phase I, chances are your faculty advisers might be all booked or preoccupied with other obligations. Since we only have limited units for phase I, we have to make careful selection. For those of you who are freshman and sophomore, or if you are still in a process of completing some of your lower division requirements as a junior status, I recommend to sign up for lower division classes first in phase I, especially for those classes with a lab component. Be sure you can enroll yourself in both lecture and lab. Some of the highly impacted lower division science classes only have very limited seats for each lab section, although it might be acceptable to take the lab in another semester in some cases, I think it will be a better learning experience for you if you can take them co-currently. That will also eliminate the chance of putting you on hold for some of your upper division classes. For those of you who are junior and senior status, who are in process of completing your upper division core classes and fulfilling your elective requirements, you can sign up for the upper division core classes that are usually popular. I think you can also go ahead to sign up for your electives, especially for those are offered in another department and tend to fill up fast. In some situations, it is a better strategy to wait on some of the upper division classes if they are only reserved for major students. You can sign up for other classes tend to be more impacted in phase I , and then sign up for the rest of your upper division classes in phase II, since you will have a secured spot as a major student. But do keep in mind that, you should leave those time slots open for your major classes to avoid schedule conflicts and hassle of re-scheduling by the time when phase II comes. I think it might a good idea that you do notify your professors if you cannot enroll in your upper division classes during phase I , which are only designated to major students. Let them know you will be enrolled in phase II. I hope this will help out. If there is any concerns i have not mentioned, feel free to e-mail me or come talk to me during office hours. I will be holding my office hour every Tuesday, from 12-2pm, outside of 260 Mulford.
I know most of us just finished midterms and it seems like the semester just started but it's almost time to sign up for classes for next semester! Remember, it's never too early to start planning your future courses.
This is my first semester at CAL and I've only used Tele-Bears once. I don't have much experience to share in that respect so I've asked some of my fellow PALS and some others on campus about the most important things to keep in mind for registering on Tele-Bears.
I think the most important tip is to use your phase 1 appointment time to register for the classes you need and that you know are going to fill up quickly. It is a good idea to use strategy ahead of time and see which classes are popular prerequisites and make sure you get into them by signing up in phase 1 . Use phase 2 to enroll in classes that are less popular and you may not necessarily need for your major.
One student suggested enrolling in more units than you intend on staying in for the semester. That way if one of the classes turns out to not be what you expected or were looking for then you will be able to drop one class without having to scramble for units. Another suggestion was to enroll in a class even if you cannot get into the discussion section of your choice. In other words, enroll in another discussion section because the class may completely fill up if you wait list for the discussion section you want.
I hope this helps!
Midterm season is here in case you haven't noticed all the libraries getting full, and you're wondering how you should go about preparing for these test. Being a semi super senior, I have found these tips helpful.
Continue reading "It's that time again..." »
Midterms can be hectic and stressful for students, especially the first midterms of the semester when you are still getting used to a class and a Professor’s teaching style. So to better prepare you for upcoming exams here are some study tips to help you succeed in your classes.
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It seems like we just got back to school and yet midterms approach us so fast! I guess the best method to prepare for these upcoming midterms is to keep up with the material on a daily basis. It can be extremely overwhelming if you start studying in the last couple of weeks before midterms. Lately it has been hard to keep up with my work because I have been busy with other activities. Each week comes and goes by so quickly, you just cannot keep a hold of the time. Hence, it shows that time management is key to our success. Plan everything out accordingly if you know your schedule is hectic otherwise you will fall behind easily!
Can’t believe that first midterms are starting next week. I just don’t feel like school has started for a month already. I believe that there’s a lot of you feeling the same way too. I hope everyone feel well prepared, or at least not procrastinated till the last minute =)
Continue reading "Stress for Midterms?" »
My first semester was quite a memorable one. I remember my first day of class started with Chemistry 1A at 9 in the morning. I waited outside Pimentel Hall around 8:45am (yup, I was a noob and didn’t even know the concept of Berkeley time). Class didn’t even start until 9:15 because there was a class in there beforehand and it took a while for everyone to get out. How many people? So I walked in and so did 550 other students! It was a complete anomaly. However, the class size slowly dwindled after the first few lectures. Chem 1A was one of the most challenging classes I’ve ever taken at Cal. My advice for those of you taking Chem 1A is to 1) form study groups (at the Student Learning Center, the residence halls, etc., quiz each other a lot because it helps reinforce concepts in your brain, 2) attend your GSI’s or Professor’s office hours- I know there may be a lot in the class, but you’d be surprise the huge fraction of people who won’t attend office hours and 3) overall, don’t be afraid to ask for help because it is a challenging class and you want to do well (in any class for that matter). In addition to Chem 1A, I also took Sociology 3AC – Intro to Principles in Sociology, Asian American Studies 20A – Intro to History of Asians in U.S., and Math 16A – Calculus. They weren't so bad...; )
Continue reading "Fall 2004: My First Semester at Cal" »
Making new friends can be hard. Making new friends on a campus as big as Berkeley can be even harder. Coming in as a freshman from a small school in New Jersey, one of my biggest fears was not being able to make friends. It seemed like eveyrone knew at least a couple of people from their high schools, and it seemed like people already had their little groups that they hung out with. Since I didn't hit it off with my floormates, and I didn't know any other people in my building, I was desperate for other ways to find new friends, but I didn't know where to start.
Continue reading "Making New Friends" »
In reality, summer hasn't started yet (summer solstice begins on June 20, 23:59 according to Wikipedia and its source), but as for all of us, it started right after we took our last final. I hope that everyone survived and everything didn't turn out as badly as you thought.
Over at the Fresh Faces blog (I hope you guys are keeping up with it!), students are updating with what they plan to do and what they are doing. I especially like Joel's blog - I can't believe he has time to write everything! It's really awesome reading about his experiences in Korea.
As for me, I am having a blast at Washington D.C. Actually, I'm an intern at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History; how cool is that!?! It's has been an awesome, awesome experience; not only do I get to go on behind-the-scenes tours and see collections that the general public do not have access to, but I get to work on a research project with top researchers in their respective fields. Specifically, I'm part of the Research Training Program (otherwise known as RTP), Check out the website for more information. It's a really great program, and you get to learn so much and meet so many people...I can't believe the fourth week is almost over! Time really goes by fast.
Even though it's a bit late to be applying to internships (I probably should have given some tips as to where to find information about internships earlier last semester), it's never too late to find out about opportunities for future summers. The Career Center often sends e-mails - even though you might feel like they are spamming your inbox, try to skim over them and see what catches your eye. A lot of opportunities go unnoticed, mainly because most opportunities are passed by word-of-mouth. Truthfully, I wouldn't have known about RTP if I didn't know someone who participated in the program last year. If you have particular interests, try to ask professors that study whatever you are interested in exploring - they usually have a general idea of any programs or opportunities (because they get e-mails of these types of programs from other program coordinators). If you are interested in research programs, check out the REU site to see what opportunities they have. It takes a while to go through them, but you might find something you like.
Anyway, I hope all of you are having a good summer! Enjoy it while it lasts!
Classes has pretty much ended and now comes the dreaded and feared finals week. Many of us are probably starting to stress out about finals now since we haven't been studying the whole semester. If you're not one of those, finals week should be quite manageable, but if you're not, finals week can still be feasible to survive through. Here are some tips I thought were useful throughout my four years fo experience
Plan and organize: It might seem like a hassle to figure out your schedule and plan how to study, but it will most likely save you time and prevent and unwanted surprises. Take the time to look at your final schedule and plan out your study days, and work from there.
Taking a break: Know when your brain needs a break, studying constantly throughout finals week can't be good for you mentally or physically. But when I say break I don't mean going out to party or anything, more like something relaxing like watching a movie or going to the gym, so it doesn't completely take your focus off of your finals.
Sleep: Don't be crazy and study 24/7 We aren't robots and hence we need sleep. Sleep is an important factor in memory and learning, so make sure you get lots of it!
Efficient studying: Get off that instant messaging and turn off that TV. There are so many distractions to keep you from studying! We know what those distractions are, but most of the time we just let it through becuase we enjoy them Gain the willpower to simply tell yourself that you need to study, adn perhaps go to a place where the distractions aren't readily there.
Relax: try not to stress out, easier said than done. But if you plan accordingly and study efficiently, you shopuld be fine!
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