"You will be okay, have faith in each other. These folks are not your competition, they are your friends. " - Alex, Team Ruby
"Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are valuable resources all around you :)" - Melissa, Team Sapphire
"You are going to get a lot of advice your first year. People love to give advice. However, understand how to weight that advice. Most advice isn’t just good or bad (although some is) but just more applicable to different people. When classes are recommended ask what the persons background is. If they say something like Physics 7A is easy then ask if they took AP Physics because if you didn’t your experience will certainly be different. " - Alvaro, Team Sapphire
"The beginning of the PREP 2020 program will be unlike any other class. The connections you all will make together will be constant.
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As students of PREP, you have so many valuable resources available to you. Don't be afraid to reach out and ask about what's available to you! "
- Chernelle, Team Emerald
"MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE OTHER PREPPIES! My PREP cohort is such a GREAT community and resource. From study-groups to self-help groups, PREP is such a beneficial community to be part of and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of it. My first year would not have been as great as it was if I was not a part of PREP. Moreover, prepare yourself for adversity. Engineering at Berkeley is rough, and you're most likely not going to get the grades that you want the first time around, but that's not the end of the world. I got a C- on my first Math1A midterm, BUT I earned an A+ on my second midterm! Doing well you first year at Berkeley requires making adjustments to your style of learning and studying and QUICKLY, but it is very doable. Be flexible, and don't be disheartened when you don't first earn the grades you want. YOU WILL BOUNCE BACK!" -Roberto, Team Ruby
"Don’t take more than two technicals in your first year! ATTEND EVERYTHING (in CS 61a you receive discussion points for attending discussion that can be applied to your midterm score. Introduce yourself to people in your courses it’s the best way to meet ppl that are in the same field as you and a great way to meet ppl to make a study group with. Don’t hesitate to ask for help, upperclassmen have literally saved my life on a couple of project questions. Utilize all your resources I love the SLC for math help , also take the adjust along with your math courses! You can always drop the adjunct before the add/drop deadline. If you find that the adjunct is not helpful and you drop it, most of the time you’d still be connected to the drive so you’d receive all their study guide materials!!!!! " -Farhiya, Team Sapphire
"Time management is very important when you're trying to reach for a goal. Keeping consistent study habits and properly managing your personal well-being is essential to progressing in your career here in Cal and for the future. Each week, I usually write a list of homework assignments with due dates and upcoming test days on a notecard and star those with priority to keep track of my work. I'm not good at using a planner so it helps me to organize my thoughts. Make sure to eat regularly and sleep at least 7 hours a day.
Join a club where you can really dedicate your time to. The aerospace minor required course list just came out recently. If you're interested in aerospace or rocketry, join the club I'm in. We're always recruiting. This past Spring semester, we recently launched our solid fuel rocket in the desert and we're in the middle of designing and testing our liquid bi-propellant engine. Check out our website and Instagram for more details. (Space Enterprise at Berkeley, berkeleyse.org, @seberkeley) " - Daniel, Team Emerald