UC Berkeley
The UC Berkeley is one of the most prestigious universities in the world , which one is hardly surprising when you see the impressive campus. It really has everything you can imagine: From impressive faculty buildings to parks, a bell / observation tower, fitness studio, a Greek theater to a football stadium with over 60,000 seats, there is really a lot on offer.
I myself took the Financial Statement Analysis course at the Haas School of Business , which dealt with investment banking tasks. The course is divided into 3 lectures and one discussion per week. The final grade consisted of 20% Homeworks (approx. 10 pieces in 6 weeks), 35% Midterm exam and 45% Final exam. The Homeworks mostly consisted of solving certain problems in Excel, which is why I would recommend taking the course only if you are already familiar with the basic knowledge of Excel. In retrospect, the course was really fun because it related to practical problems and it was quite possible to get a very good grade.
I only took one course myself, as I had already finished my studies and therefore do not get any credit for it in Germany. In addition, you can enter only one course with an Esta visa and do not have to apply for a student visa . Nevertheless, I think that two courses would still have been feasible. However, I would not recommend more than two courses if you want to see something of California during the session , otherwise the workload and the weekly hours will simply be too much.
Berkeley
Berkeley itself really fascinated me . I have never met such cosmopolitan, liberal and interesting people from all over the world as there. The nightlife is certainly not as exciting as it may be elsewhere, mainly includes a few student bars (such as Pappy’s and Jupiters) and there are also good frat and co-op parties almost every weekend.
If you get bored in Berkeley, you can get to downtown San Francisco in 20 minutes via BART (approx. $ 7 for a return trip) or in 40 minutes on the F bus (free with CalCard), which I also found wonderful.
Since many students, like me, had no classes on Fridays, we often rented a car over the long weekend and traveled around the country, for example Sacramento, Napa Valley, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and of course San Francisco. Those were definitely the highlights of my time in California and I would definitely recommend you to use the time to travel as well. Check liuxers to see more reviews from current students.
Accommodation
I stayed at the Ihouse myself and can fully recommend it because it is extremely practical. You meet cool people there every day, you have a wonderfully central location right on campus and you just never get bored! There is also something on offer for the comparatively high price, including a game room, a library and a dining hall. Here you have a certain number of Meal Points and can have breakfast, lunch and dinner and redeem a $ 40 (or more ?!) voucher at Ihouse Coffee. There are also excursions to destinations in the Bay as well as all over California , various events (e.g. coffee hours) are organized and you can get cheap baseball and football tickets as a resident.
In summary, I can say that my time in Berkeley will certainly always be unforgettable for me and I can really recommend it to everyone.
Tips
- Take care of your application and housing at an early stage .
- Take advantage of the Recreational Sports Facility offer (one-time $ 10 for the gym, exercise classes and access to all pools in Berkeley).
- Use the (extended) weekends for road trips in Cali, there is so much to see!
- Get in contact with other summer students in Berkeley beforehand, this makes the first few days there a lot easier.
- Make sure that your accommodation is not too far from the campus.
- Go to the viewing platform of the Campanile and enjoy the view over the entire bay (free with CalCard).
- Be sure to hike to the Big C in the Berkeley Hills.
- Also pack warm clothes, as soon as the sun is gone it can get really cold.
