 One thing I wish I knew before I came to Berkeley was how great our major advising system is. I personally didn't know what major I wanted to pursue between political science and economics. And when I found the political economy major, I went to go see a major advisor, and they really helped me out. It's more to college than just academics. I'd highly suggest exploring the campus, trying new restaurants in the city, and meeting as many people as you can. One thing I wish I knew before coming to Berkeley is how much research it takes to find housing in the area. So research, research, research, and I would recommend looking at all options as soon as possible. You don't actually need all the stuff that you think you might. I'm pretty sure I only used about a quarter of everything I brought in my freshman year. So don't pack your whole closet, don't pack your whole room. You'll be just fine keeping it minimal. One thing I wish I knew before coming to Cal is how important it is to put yourself out there and be open to new opportunities. Try to make friends with those around you, your dorms. They're the easiest friends that you could possibly make. They live right next to you and they'll really help you get through the years at Berkeley. One thing I wish I learned before coming to Berkeley is that if you think it's hard waking up before 8 a.m. for high school, it is a hundred times harder waking up for your 8 a.m. in college. One thing I wish I knew before I came to Berkeley was about the math adjunct classes, which are one-unit classes. You take conjunction with your actual math class and they're offered for most lower division math classes and they make it easier to hone in on the key concepts and overall just get a better grade in the class. One thing I wish I knew before coming to Berkeley is taking advantage of office hours. Professors and GSIs just really like to have people to talk to and they'll answer any question you have and it creates a relationship with the professor so you can get a letter of recommendations later on. One thing I wish I knew during my first year at UC Berkeley is how important the clubs are because in the beginning of the year all you see here is the Greek life as your only social option but the clubs just have a later sign-up date. One thing that I wish I knew before going to Berkeley was knowing what Berkeley time was. Every class, meeting, or event will start 10 minutes after the schedule time just to give you time to travel to and from different parts of campus. Berkeley time will save you when you think you're running late. One thing I wish I knew before college is to always make the trip to office hours when I needed help. Walking through Sproul Plaza once it hits noon exactly is really scary. Imposter syndrome. It's Berkeley you know these are going to be some of the smartest kids you'll ever meet in your life and it's really easy to get caught up in that so it's very important to realize that you're here to go at your own pace because it's your education that you're paying for. The professors are people too and you shouldn't be scared of them. Going into office hours may seem daunting but all the professors on campus are super genuine and truly are passionate about their students' success. You can get kind of cold especially during the morning so make sure to pack a heavier jacket. Try everything, explore all the opportunities and possibilities you can and most importantly be yourself. Focus on mental and physical health just as much as academics. Internship recruiting season starts really soon so make sure you hop on that. It's okay to not know what you want. It's okay to be kind of a decided. One thing I wish I knew my freshman year was that Stanford smells bad. You should meet as many people as possible. It is totally okay to change your major and not know exactly what you want to study. Berkeley offers decals which are fun, one-unit courses that current UC Berkeley students teach. It's totally okay if you don't know what you want to major in yet. Get out of that mindset of being shy and be really open to meeting people. You should set up your Berkeley email as soon as you get it. People are always going to be studying. Don't let that don't you. Create your own schedule and follow it. One thing I wish I knew before I went to UC Berkeley was how to play beer pong properly. There are thousands of clubs to join. Don't limit yourself. Try something that you didn't think you'd want to do. Never underestimate yourself and know that you can accomplish more than you think. One thing I wish I knew before coming to Berkeley would be to how to play my day accordingly in order to feed all my study time, practice time, and get enough rest and study time for every day. Everyone is in the exact same place as you. Don't be scared. Just put yourself out there. Introduce yourself. Say hi to a bunch of new people. You've nothing to lose and everything to gain. Take advantage of all the freshman seminars and decals that are offered. Believe in yourself just because it's like Berkeley. It can be an intimidating environment but just work hard. Believe in yourself and like you should be fine. One thing I wish I knew before coming to college was that it didn't matter what time I scheduled my classes because half the time I was going to stay home and watch the recorded lectures anyways. Be open with every single person you meet. One piece of advice I wish I knew before coming to Cal was to not take yourself too seriously. As much as colleges were studying academics, it's for learning about yourself. And one piece of advice I would give to incoming freshmen would be to take interesting classes outside of your major. One thing I wish I knew before coming to Berkeley was how much you walk. My first semester I walked eight miles a day. It may take some time but eventually you'll find your community. Go to Station Burger. It's south of Clark Hur. It's like the best burger in Berkeley. Not many people know about it.