University of California, Berkeley

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Molecular & Cell Biology, I’m on the pre-med track
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Indonesian Heterosexual Female

Summary

I’m on a competitive dance team, I’m in the Oakland Asian Student Educational Services (OASES) where we volunteer at an elementary school in Oakland and help mentor students there, and I’ve volunteered at the Benioff Hospital at UCSF.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Indonesian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Public high school in Orange County, CA with about 800 students in the graduating class. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Molecular & Cell Biology, I’m on the pre-med track
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m on a competitive dance team, I’m in the Oakland Asian Student Educational Services (OASES) where we volunteer at an elementary school in Oakland and help mentor students there, and I’ve volunteered at the Benioff Hospital at UCSF.

Academic Experience

Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
Usually, as a pre-med student, you’ll have two labs per semester and labs can span from three to four hours per session. Then, there’s usually coursework and problem sets that depend on the class. The major graded assignments are exams. A lot of classes will also require attendance through clickers but it’s not a huge percentage of your grade.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
In my personal opinion, I don’t think Berkeley is a great place for pre-med. I came here for the ranking, and I don’t think that was necessarily a good idea because there’s grade deflation and it’s hard to get a good GPA. I feel like the resources are okay here and they specialize in research, which is good for students who are into that.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s pretty competitive. A lot of the classes are graded based on a curve so sometimes people won’t want to help you so they will get the better grade. If you get an average grade you’re going to get a B- or C+ and to get an A you have to get two standard deviations above the average. I usually work by myself but they do have programs here where we have free tutoring that is very helpful. They have that for all the general pre-med classes, so if you need help there are resources.
How accessible are your professors?
They have office hours and you can contact them by email. But, usually you don’t really talk to the professor because you have more access to the GSI [Graduate Student Instructor], so if you have any questions you usually just go to the GSI’s office hours. The GSI’s are pretty accessible and knowledgeable.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation student? Were there any resources that helped you adapt?
My transition was pretty hard. The classes were a lot harder than I expected them to be and it was harder to get good grades than I expected as well. Even if I did the tutoring, it was really hard to adjust. It was just an issue of work ethic and that I have to work harder to get better grades. But, I think the freshman transition here is pretty rough for everybody that I’ve talked to, not just first-gen students. Once you figure out how to study more efficiently and what the professor is looking for in exams, it gets better.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice so far?
I’m very happy with my choice. I’m still deciding between pre-med and pre-physician’s assistant, but the routes are the same for if you were to go to PA school or medical school.

Reasons to Attend

1) The type of people that you’ll meet here. There is a lot of diversity in your class and units that you live in. That is an experience that is cherished if you go to Berkeley.
2) If you like rigorous academic work, this is a good place because you’ll be inspired by your fellow students and what they accomplish. If your goal is to surround yourself with fellow competitive, then I believe you should attend here.
3) There are a lot of clubs that can enhance your experience.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) I feel like people think that because it’s ranked higher than other UC schools they are getting a far superior education, and I don’t think that’s necessarily true. If you would rather go to a place that’s closer to home or cheaper, maybe consider it because I feel like the education would be similar.
2) People are pretty unhappy here. You have to be mentally prepared to be here. You have to be the type of person who is okay with not being number one here. People are not as happy here because they struggle a lot and are not as smart as they thought they were. There is a meme page where people joke a lot about how depressed they are.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: I lived in a triple in the Units, which is pretty typical.
Sophomore: I live in an off-campus apartment with four other roommates because Cal doesn’t guarantee housing for sophomores.
How was transitioning from Orange County to Berkeley, CA?
It’s pretty much the same thing. Because I’m from Southern California, there is a small cultural difference, but it’s pretty much exactly the same.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
It’s not very safe here. We got a lot of UCPD notifications that somebody was mugged or something. I don’t have any personal events that have happened to me, I’m just more aware and try to be careful.

Social Opportunities

What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at Cal-Berkeley?
I like to go to clubs in San Francisco, we either Uber to take the BART, and also go to fraternity parties. To go to frat parties, you have to have a bracelet that you get through a brother. I tend to go out on Fridays or Saturdays.
As somebody who’s not in Greek life, what’s the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
They host parties, so it’s a big impact on my nightlife because it’s free if you have a bracelet. Other than that, it doesn’t have an impact.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
Usually, whatever clubs you’re in, even the cultural clubs, have house parties and apartment parties. If you don’t want to go somewhere that’s super packed, there’s usually an event going on that you’ll be invited to if you participate in any club.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
You get out as much as you put in. If you really like to party and go out a lot, you have to make an effort to join clubs and social groups that do that, it doesn’t come to you. I’m happy because I only go out one or two times on the weekend and that’s enough for me. You have to socialize because freshman year I was shy and I didn’t make as much of an effort to socialize with people and that came back to me when I didn’t have a lot of things to do on the weekend. If you put an effort into being involved and meeting people, then that will come out during the weekends.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
Through my dance team. Also, when you’re in the Units you usually get pretty close with your floor. People will leave their doors open so you can go in and talk with them. You also can meet people in classes if you try to talk with people.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
It depends a lot based on what group you’re in. Like, if you’re a dancer there’s a community called the Berkeley Dance Community, so the social life has been really good for me because there’s a huge community I can interact with because I’m on a team. For people not on dance teams, I’m not sure how they socialize. I think the social scene is pretty good because there are a lot of clubs on campus and I feel like you can find your own niche within the community.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
They mix very well. I don’t think anyone particularly cares what race you are or what sexual orientation you are. That might be because of the history of Berkeley and how liberal we are as a school.
How would you describe the Southeast Asian community at Berkeley? How strong is it?
I don’t really know. I know there’s a club specifically for that community but I’m not a part of that. In the dance community, there happens to be a lot of Asian people so I feel like there are a lot of people to relate to if you are of that ethnicity.
How do you like the size of Cal-Berkeley in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [There are about 31,000 undergraduates.]
I knew the size of Berkeley coming in. The community is really big and there are a lot of people here. But, if you try, you can find your own community within that, so I don’t think how big the school impacts me very much. I actually kind of like it because there’s a lot of diversity. You just have to be aware that the school is big when you come in.
If at all, how has being a first-generation college student impacted your social transition?
I don’t think it did. I’m fortunate to come from a well-off family, so I feel like it would differ for somebody who didn’t have the financial ability to go out and do things or join clubs. Also, being from Orange County prepared me to be with the type of people at Berkeley, so I think it maybe would differ for someone who’s from a different part of California because Orange County and Berkeley are very similar. The only way being a first-generation student has affected me is that I don’t have any personal role models in terms of studying habits or connections professionally.

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I have personal connections who graduated from Berkeley and went on to work at UCSF – that’s a typical route for people who major in Molecular Biology – so sometimes they’ll be part of the interview group and help me apply.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
The career office helped me with scheduling my four-year plan and catering my schedule. Sometimes they send you emails about events where you can talk to people and meet alumni, but I haven’t used that as much.
Have you learned any computer programs that will be helpful professionally?
For pre-med, you don’t have to take any Computer Science classes and I haven’t done any classes where I learned Excel. It hasn’t been necessary.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how responsive and helpful have they been?
I do get financial aid and they’ve been pretty good to me. They can be difficult sometimes because they’re hard to reach over the phone, like, I’ll call right when they open and they’ll already be busy. You have to go to them in-person instead of calling them.