Berkeley 海外交流分享（English Version Below😘）

分享者：日喀则的黑翅膀😎

选课指导

在Berkeley，交流的国际学生选课优先权低于本校学生。

建议：选择尽可能多的课，防止自己的课没选上后无课可上。

选课模式不同于霍格沃兹，采取application-approval模式，并非所有申请的课都可以成功的注册，只有得到approval才能注册课程。

建议：需要在自己的application里写明自己之前上过的前置课程与知识背景，说明自己有足够能力掌握这门课，提高得到approval的概率。

化学系选课障碍较小，生物与电子信息在Berkeley的选课掉课概率较大。

学习体验

课程质量非常不错，教授上课非常有经验。

考试非常注重概念本身的考察，没有太多的考试技巧。

许多老师上课没有ppt，喜欢手写板书。

本科教育氛围佳，与霍格沃兹有很大不同。

建议：
上课认真听讲，勤做笔记，踊跃回答老师的问题。
多去授课教授与TA的office hour。
不仅可以锻炼自己的口语，加深对知识的理解，
也可以让授课教授对你更加了解，便于后期推荐信与暑研机会的获取。
中国学生的应试能力远强于Berkeley本地学生，
不必担心考试考不好。

实验室科研机会

Berkeley师生比非常夸张，实验室科研机会竞争激烈，再加上我们只待半年，实验室更倾向于招收能在实验室待更久的本地学生，所以向教授发进入实验室的email大多石沉大海。

建议：提前与自己的学术导师沟通，看看学术导师是否有人脉资源，提前联系海外学校的教授。

交友

如果想认识更多的国际学生，建议抓住刚入校几周的welcoming activity，与他们加联系方式。

衣食住行

校外租房可使用airbnb, apartment.com，建议明年4月份就可以开始看房，否则有可能找不到离学校很近的合适房源。

治安条件并无国内宣传的如此糟糕，虽然不如中国，但是只要不是在半夜，安全可以保障。

在学校食堂吃饭至少11$起步，建议自己烧饭。（好像只能买到平底锅，不太好炒菜，以煎为主）。超市物价也非常非常贵。

出行方式：地铁，公交，Uber

在美国，安卓手机（特别是非旗舰机）容易收不到信号，华为手机在美国寸步难行。

如果想买apple电子产品，建议在Black Friday那天在Amazon下单。

Berkeley周边娱乐设施也不多，建议在假期出去玩。

Berkeley与Stanford的Game强烈建议去看，感受超燃的比赛氛围。

Berkeley社团活动非常丰富，有些专业社团需要interview，大部分社团是没有门槛的。

Berkeley Overseas Exchange Sharing

Presenter: “The Black Wing of Shigatse”

Course Selection Guidance

At Berkeley, international exchange students have lower priority in course selection compared to local students.

Recommendation: Choose as many courses as possible to prevent a situation where you don’t get into any courses and have nothing to attend.

The course selection system is different from Hogwarts. It follows an application-approval model, meaning not all requested courses can be successfully registered for; approval is required to register.

Recommendation: Clearly state your prior coursework and knowledge background in your application to demonstrate that you are qualified for the course, which will increase the chances of approval.

It’s easier to select courses in the Chemistry department, but for Biology and Electronic Information, there is a higher probability of being dropped from courses.

Academic Experience:

The quality of the courses is excellent, and the professors are very experienced.

Exams focus heavily on assessing concepts rather than test-taking strategies.

Many professors do not use PowerPoint and prefer handwritten notes on blackboards.

The undergraduate academic atmosphere is great and very different from that of Hogwarts.

Recommendations:

Pay close attention during lectures, take detailed notes, and actively answer questions in class.

Attend professors’ and TAs’ office hours frequently. 
This not only helps improve your spoken English and deepen your understanding of the material 
but also allows the professor to know you better.
It can be helpful for future recommendation letters or summer research opportunities.

Chinese students tend to have stronger test-taking abilities compared to local Berkeley students.
There is no need to worry too much about exams.

Laboratory Research Opportunities

The student-to-faculty ratio at Berkeley is extremely high, making research opportunities in laboratories highly competitive. Moreover, since exchange students usually stay for only six months, labs are more inclined to recruit local students who can stay longer. Emails sent to professors for lab opportunities often go unanswered.

Recommendation

Communicate with your academic advisor in advance to see if they have any connections and can help you get in touch with professors at the host institution.

Making Friends

If you want to meet more international students, take advantage of the welcoming activities during the first few weeks of school and exchange contact information with them.

Daily Life

Housing: For off-campus rentals, you can use platforms like Airbnb or Apartment.com. It’s recommended to start looking for housing as early as April to secure a place close to campus.

Safety: The security situation is not as bad as it’s portrayed in domestic media. While it’s not as safe as in China, as long as you avoid being out late at night, safety is generally guaranteed.

Food: Eating at the school cafeteria starts at $11. It’s recommended to cook your own meals (note: it seems you can only buy flat pans, which are not ideal for stir-frying; pan-frying is more common). Grocery prices are also very high.

Transportation: Subway, bus, Uber.

Phones: Android phones (especially non-flagship models) often have poor signal reception in the U.S., and Huawei phones are almost unusable.

Electronics: If you want to buy Apple products, it’s best to order on Amazon during Black Friday.

Leisure: There aren’t many entertainment facilities around Berkeley, so it’s recommended to travel during holidays.

Attending the Berkeley vs. Stanford Game is highly recommended to experience the exhilarating atmosphere.

Berkeley offers a wide variety of club activities. Some professional clubs require interviews, but most clubs have no entry barriers.