Jasmine Tang

Speed?

It was too fast, I think.

I don't actually remember what day I got to Berkeley. I just had a few days off from my summer internship at Fermilab and was just spending time with my family. I spent a few days visiting my grandparents, talking to my aunts, reconnecting with my friends and spending time with my family.

My family helped me move up to Berkeley, and then I had to say bye to them :') My mom was crying and my dad, for the first time, got out of car and hugged me. I think they were (and still are) very proud of me :') My older sister also got me a box of presents, celebrating my getting into Berkeley, which I think is very sweet :)

It was crazy fast. I blinked for 1 second, and suddenly I went from talking to my friends about how crazy I got into Berkeley and that "I can't believe we're actually here." to running around to discussions, labs and libraries to study for my midterm.

Here I am, 2 months later, drowning in 3 technicals, 2 DeCals, and some side projects. I think I really moved too fast. I wish I had slowed myself down a bit.

How was it to your CC?

I think there's a certain limit that the education at CC can give you. I think I was a bit bitter on why none of my CS classes at my CC can transfer to Berkeley, but I think I get it now.

The contents at Berkeley (or any top CS school) really move very fast. I came into Berkeley expecting to understand every lecture and always be on top of homework. But I think things work a bit different at Berkeley.

There's discussions, labs and homeworks. There is also assigned readings (that you should absolutely read before class) for each day of lecture.

Some classes like CS61C will just have too much content to be covered that you kinda just get the general idea and philosophy of the knowledge from the professor. You are then expected to follow up by going to labs, discussions and then doing homework.

Mindset

I think there is something to said about a transfer going through a class at Berkeley for their first time.

For me, the mindset change was very real. I went from being passive to being proactive in my education. Coming from Vietnam and from my local CC, the homework and questions were simplistically configured in a way that is self-contained from the lecture where you can just solve for them right away from the hint that they give you.

But at Cal, I was caught off-guard a bit by their new homework style. Things are not that simple, and the homework are always created to push you forward a bit. They will always require some components that you'd have to come up on your own to solve it. The instructions will not always be clear; they'll sometimes be a fuzzy, and it's up to you to experiment and figure it out.

I was struggling figuring out the labs and the homework, just trying to code for all the tests hit green. Otherwise, it's back to reading the specs and watching lectures.

And somehow, the mindset enabled me to do things, and build things, and to just get out of my own comfort zone. In CC, I was always trying to apply myself but there just seems to be a mental obstacle between me and my goals. I was sometimes overthinking things and then ending up either not doing it or totally forgetting about it. Often time, I also gave up...

Now, with the mindset change, I am actually doing things. I am building things, reading the docs, watching tutorials, and experimenting with things. I am very grateful for these classes that I get to experience.

Need proofs? This website/blog you are reading right now is the product of it :)

"What would you do differently?"

I think I would slow down a bit, and relax. It was my first semester and I think if I had stopped for a bit to ponder and contemplate of my goals and what Berkeley has to offer, I think I would have a much better time taking my classes and doing my projects.

Prologue (just like how CS61C do it haha)

I am writing this to provide an experience for prospective EECS/CS transfers to Berkeley and for myself, to look back and see how far I will have come :)

Have fun reading this blog; I'll see you around. And enjoy your stay :)