University: University of California Berkeley
City: Berkeley
Country: United States
Continent: North America
Field of study: journalism
Study type: Summer Sessions
First of all: Summer Sessions in Berkeley was one of the best decisions of my student life so far. It was really worth paying that much money for.
Preparation:
Now in detail: In February I decided to register for the eight-week session C. The prep time is not from bad parents. Visa, finances, flight and registration and and and… In my opinion you should register early enough to avoid stress. The registration via MicroEdu went smoothly and I felt I was well advised. After registering, I booked my flight. TIP: You’ll save a lot of money by booking multi-stop flights with Delta. Paid from Dusseldorf to San Francisco, then from LA to NYC and from there to Dusseldorf only 750 EUR. I would also definitely recommend that you follow the session with a trip through California and to New York. Really worth it. I arrived in SF a few days early and took a look around the city. Was quite good, because it allowed me to get used to American life. (ADVERT: The Renoir Hotel in SF is super central and not too expensive. From there you could easily take the BART (train) to Berkeley (about 25 minutes)). By the way: San Francisco is the most beautiful city on the west coast, maybe along with San Diego – and that doesn’t change the bums and homeless people that can be found in large numbers in SF and Berkeley. CONCLUSION: EVERYTHING GREAT San Francisco is the most beautiful city on the West Coast, perhaps along with San Diego—even the bums and homeless that abound in SF and Berkeley don’t change that. Visit mcat-test-centers.com to get information about University of South Australia.
Arrived in Berkeley I spent one more night in the Summer Visitor Housing (Summer Visitor Housing Berkeley $59). Then I moved into the Residence Halls. CONCLUSION: Great room, nice Chinese roommate, great food and lots of great people. The dorms are only about 3 minutes from the campus and 1 minute from the canteen. With the food points you get, you can easily eat 2-3 times a day. The food is varied, there is salad, sandwiches and everything your heart desires (including the bakery counter). The room is really big enough, you have internet and you can call home easily and cheaply via Skype. There is also a computer center where you can surf the internet or simply print out your papers. Furthermore, weekly events such as games evenings, Trips or parties (without alcohol) organized. It is also relatively easy to do laundry in the dorms for around $1.50. CONCLUSION: EVERYTHING GREAT.
TO STUDY:
At the University of Berkeley I chose two courses: in session C I took the Mass Comm course, in session D I took America Media and Global Politics. It’s not bad at all that my second course started later. So you had a little more time to get used to it. Both courses were quite labor intensive but interesting all round. The lectures are totally different compared to Germany – somehow much more interactive. The Berkeley campus is beautiful. Many old buildings and somehow – compared to Germany – there is always a light scent of elite in the air. For my first course I had to write five papers of 5 pages each, my second course consisted of smaller research tasks and three tests. Overall, I was very happy with my choice of course.
Leisure TIME:
The best part of the free time was probably the trips to LA, Las Vegas, Santa Cruz, Golden Gate etc. We always have that in our group consisting of a Belgian, an English, a Spanish, an Indian, a Korean and a Colombian (yes very international), organized. Rental cars should be booked through Enterprise and bag the student discount. That’s actually relatively cheap. Otherwise, we’ve been to SF a few times or enjoyed a few beers in Berkeley Town, although it has to be said that Berkeley isn’t exactly the party place. Overall, you should also be aware that it is not hot in Berkeley, but rather North Sea weather. If you are looking for a beach holiday, you should rather go to LA or San Diego. Although it is warm but you always have the fresh sea wind around your nose. A little tip for a trip: SAUSALITO. Just google it.
FINANCES:
Together with my one-week coastal trip and a week in New York, the ten-week fun cost me around 6500 EUR, which is to be expected. I got a credit card from Deutsche Bank for the time being, because it’s free for the first year and you can get cash for free from one of the numerous Bank of America ATMs.
Finally, a few TIPS:
- Definitely go to Las Vegas and LA.
- Take a coastal trip to LA
- Google Cellion and make cheaper calls to Germany from your cell phone.
- Book a multi-stop flight and take New York with you
- Bring a sweater
- divide the papers for the courses correctly
- live in the Residence Halls so that we can also meet Americans
- Gobble up an XXL salad at the Intermezzo salad bar on Telegraph Ave in Berkley
- Book cars through Enterprise with a student discount and full insurance coverage.
- Swim for free in the pool above the football stadium.
