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| March's Featured College: University of California - Berkeley By: Stephanie Bolmer Who hasn’t dreamt of living in California? Swimming pools, movie stars. And for the students at University of California-Berkeley, it’s reality. Okay, so, maybe there aren’t any movie stars, but there are seven Nobel Prize and three Pulitzer Prize winners on the faculty. Along with over 500 other distinguished fellows and scholars teaching there, the faculty is the top in the country-- very impressive! And, sometimes, they’re even funny. Melody Wen, a senior Mass Communications major and art history minor, claims the coolest part about her alma mater is indeed the “amazing” professors. One of her favorites is Alex Fillipenko, who taught her Astronomy class freshman year. “One day he showed up in a black wet suit and little antennae with lights on the end hanging off his head,” she recalls. “He then proceeded to spin around really quickly, throwing candy to the class from pouches on his belt, all to ‘demonstrate’ how a black hole works.” If science isn’t your thing,Berkeley has one of the very best English departments in the country. Their main claim is engineering, though, having the second best program in the country. Although Berkeley is the top public university in the United States, keep in in mind that since it is a public school, it is much easier and less expensive for a California resident to be admitted. (Compare $25,000 per year for Californians living on- campus versus $45,000 for non-residents.) Only 9% of students are from out-of-state. They also offer some more unusual programs, like, American, Dutch, Celtic, or Scandinavian studies. Berkeley also boasts a college of environmental design, a department of nutritional science and toxicology, and the oldest linguistics program in the United States. The options are virtually endless. For those who like choice, there is another way Berkeley caters to you. Melody positively gushes over the cuisine available in the Bay Area. “Due to the large number of cultures and nationalities that are represented within the student body, there are a wide variety of food available near campus,” she explains. “For example, some of my favorite food spots include La Note (a French restaurant known for their brunch), Naan n' Curry, Thai Basil, Cheeseboard (a gourmet pizza place that also sells about 200 different types of cheeses), Love at First Bite (a cupcake shop), and a Korean food vendor known for their kimchi fried rice.” As far as on-campus dining is concerned, the school’s got you covered with a point-based meal plan that lets you buy what you want when you want. You can add more points whenever you want online and use as many as you want for guests. There is even a “Cal Club” program for reduced prices on bulk groceries, especially useful for upperclassmen living out of the dorms. For the first two years, however, students are guaranteed housing-- a brand new program starting this year. The 1868 marriage of the private College of California with the Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College, a land grant institution, created the University of California. Its architecture was designed by Emile Bénard, who came all the way from Paris after winning a worldwide competition to have free reign over the project. For the last 140 years, the University of California has been growing ever stronger, with many different branches founded throughout the state. Berkeley, the original branch, has remained the strongest of all. Today, there are over 24,000 undergraduate students, with an additional 10,000 grads, studying at Berkeley. The school is unique in that the Asian- American and Pacific Islander population is actually the majority group, composing about 40% of the student body. But, in some ways, it is just like any other university. Their Division I sports teams, the Golden Bears, draw tons of support, and with over 400 student organizations to get involved with, Berkeley is a place where you can find your niche. Check out their website at www.berkeley.edu to find out more. |
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