Blog of the Peer Advising Leadership Program, College of Natural Resources, UC Berkeley

April 7, 2009 7:27 PM

Cal What?

Deciding to go to Cal was not a difficult decision for me. The other schools I had on the table were UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Santa Barbara. That’s it. At the time I was only familiar with UC Davis because my sister went there; and Berkeley because I heard it was the number one school in the world next to Harvard. I didn’t get into Harvard, nor did I apply there, but when I found out I got into Berkeley I was like, “Oh s%#!$!”…I was overjoyed.

The other schools didn’t matter to me anymore. In fact I didn’t even bother looking into these other schools. IN FACT I didn’t even do any research when it came down to applying to colleges. Cal was IT. To be honest, I did this choosing thing spontaneously, without much thought or expectation. I didn’t even visit Cal before I made my decision. I just FELT that Cal was the school I had to go to- like a calling, if you will.

I was in Hawaii for my beloved Grandpa’s funeral at the time I sent in my intent to register at Cal. It felt a little emotional for me. Being with my relatives and family at the time really helped influence my decision to choose Cal- to go to college for that matter. Being among the first in my family to go to college, let alone to go to a prestigious one like Cal, I felt truly privileged.

In the back of my mind, I expected Cal to be a whole new environment from my hometown Modesto, CA. That was kind of what I was looking for when making my decision. No offense to Davis and their cows.

If you’re a small-town kid like me looking for a new adventure, to break out of a shell, to experience new ideas and perspectives, to find your passion, Berkeley’s definitely a place to be. I will truly miss the experiences I made here come May when I finish my degree in Conservation and Resource Studies.


Dale Dualan | Permalink | Comment on this article | Comments (0)

Comments (0)

There are currently no comments.


Post a Comment

Your Name:

Your Email Address:

Comment:

Categories

Links

The PAL Website

Peer Advisor Profiles

Advising FAQs

The College of Natural Resources

UC Berkeley

Recent Posts

Some suggestions on how to tackle the issue of scheduling class and graduating on time

Midterm Breather and Getting Prepared for upcoming Exams

My personal way of how to stay on track

Switching into CNR vs. Telebears

Tips for planning out your best fit spring schedule

TELEBEARS IS HERE! Spring 2010 advice on classes?

Ready for Spring 2010? Recommended classes offered only during spring

Why I chose to become a CNR Peer Advisor

Places to Study

Health and Wellness Tips

Monthly Archives

October 2009

September 2009

August 2009

June 2009

May 2009

April 2009

March 2009

February 2009

November 2008

October 2008

September 2008

June 2008

May 2008

April 2008

March 2008

February 2008

December 2007

November 2007

October 2007

September 2007

May 2007

April 2007

March 2007

February 2007

January 2007

December 2006

November 2006

October 2006

September 2006

May 2006

April 2006

March 2006

February 2006

December 2005

Syndication

Subscribe to this blog's feed