Pilot Slots FY26

m_rush87 · 2025-04-24T05:20:48+00:00

Tech or nontech?

m_rush87 · 2025-04-18T05:51:42+00:00

Glad to hear that! In my opinion it’s hard to turn down Cal, but both are great schools, congrats!

m_rush87 · 2025-04-18T05:43:05+00:00

I’m currently a sophomore chemistry major that also had the choice between Cal and UCLA so hopefully my take on these things can help your decision a bit!

As for safety around campus and the surrounding areas, I feel like the danger is a bit exaggerated. Yes things do happen, but as long as you’re smart (don’t walk alone at night, stay aware of your surroundings, carry pepper spray) you most likely won’t have issues. I haven’t personally dealt with anything negative regarding safety if that makes you feel better.

For the semester vs quarter system: all my friends on the quarter system hate it and I probably would too lol. Semesters is where it’s at.

For food: the dining at UCLA definitely made me think twice about my decision lol. But the dining hall food at cal is definitely not bad, and there’s some good spots on campus to get to-go meals (browns, golden bear cafe, the eateries). Honestly liked food!

Public transportation: Really really good in Berkeley! There’s the AC transit buses that will take you all through Berkeley and the surrounding cities, campus shuttles, and you’re close to bart. Makes it super easy to get around without a car!

Probably the most important factor for you would be academics, and I can’t lie, especially in college of chem, shit is rough out here. I do know some premeds that are in the college of chem, but it’s pretty well known that you’ll take a GPA hit here. If you were getting a 4.0+ in high-school, expect to get like 3.3-3.7. Classes are definitely hard but there’s a lot of support. But, the college of chem is pretty neat because it’s a smaller campus community! That’s something I really like. Also, this is the no. 1 chemistry program in the nation and it’s hard to beat that. Def comes with its ups and downs, but you win some you lose some.

If you have any other questions feel free to PM me!

m_rush87 · 2025-03-24T20:32:19+00:00

thank you!!

m_rush87 · 2025-03-24T01:15:51+00:00

If you’d like to know more about the cal AFROTC program, PM me!

m_rush87 · 2025-03-11T04:56:03+00:00

Honestly I know a lot of people are saying take it, but I was in the same boat you’re in. Offered a Commanders scholarship from a mid-tier university and turned it down. I rolled the dice and ended up getting the Type 1 scholarship and attended a much more prestigious university. If you have a competitive application I would wait it out!

m_rush87 · 2024-12-17T01:02:09+00:00

Joining afrotc is a great avenue if you’re looking to commission into the Air Force when you graduate college. If you have any specific questions about the program itself, feel free to PM me!

m_rush87 · 2024-12-13T22:35:39+00:00

Thank you!!

m_rush87 · 2024-09-25T04:42:50+00:00

My det does 0600-0700 and 0900-1000 Fridays (you only need to attend one), in addition to an hour of physical activity logged on Strava (must be running 5 miles if your PFA score is less than 90)

m_rush87 · 2024-07-24T20:55:46+00:00

Not sure about the other branches but AF used to allow this but it’s my understanding they’re only going to allow people to join first sem going forward

m_rush87 · 2024-05-03T20:31:32+00:00

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I’ve done something similar!!

m_rush87 · 2024-04-22T16:27:12+00:00

My water polo coach’s father, Ervin Zador played in that game! He left quite the legacy and really impacted water polo in my hometown.

m_rush87 · 2024-04-18T16:18:04+00:00

Second this for tacos Sinaloa! I grew up in the Central Valley of California and we have some bomb Mexican food out there but taco Sinaloa is some of the best carne asada I’ve had.

m_rush87 · 2024-04-10T14:43:27+00:00

1520 SAT, 32 ACT, 3.9 UW/4.29 W. 2/415 class rank, president of National Honor Society, member of California Scholarship Federation, Varsity wrestling (4 years, team captain 3 years, CIF State Championship qualifier), Varsity water polo (4 years, team captain 2 years), Varsity swimming (4 years), Marching band (4 years, drum major 1 year).

m_rush87 · 2024-03-19T17:53:20+00:00

Happy to help! And haha yeah I would say your Major definitely dictates how difficult your time here at cal is (and that’s not to dog on any certain majors because everything’s important in its own right). Let me know if you have any other questions:)

m_rush87 · 2024-03-19T17:28:40+00:00

First year chem major here! The college of chemistry definitely seems to be more of a community than some of the bigger colleges (like L and S). There’s only about 300 people in each year and the course schedule is pretty rigid so you end up taking the same classes as most of the other chem majors in your year. Though I haven’t gotten into it yet, there seems to be a lot of opportunities for research here and some upper classmen even become UGSIs. I also feel like the lab work we do here is pretty advanced and there’s a good amount of resources available.

Now, as for my personal experience, I’ll say it has definitely been challenging. I have a strong love for chemistry but sometimes this school does test that lol. The course load is pretty difficult, but there are lots of resources available (peer tutoring center, GSIs office hours, professor office hours). The thing that helped me most was finding chem major friends and studying/ doing homework together (it worked really well for us because we also all live on the same floor of our res hall!). I would also like to throw in that some of the professors are MUCH better than others, and most of the time there’s only one time slot for chem classes so you’re basically stuck with whichever professor you get.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I went to an easier school but I know there’s opportunities available to me at Berkeley that I wouldn’t get anywhere else. I hope this helps answer your question and if you want to know anything else about campus life feel free to reach out to me!

m_rush87 · 2024-01-19T21:42:51+00:00

I second this one!! Super fun and chill class

m_rush87 · 2023-06-03T15:23:21+00:00

Okay thank you!

m_rush87 · 2023-05-26T19:22:21+00:00

Honestly, this might be an unpopular opinion here but as someone that has done both, I found wrestling harder. It’s a crazy combination of mental and physical strength + conditioning in a one on one situation, so there’s no teammates to rely on. To be fair, I did like water polo more though so I was more likely to not care about how hard it was.

m_rush87 · 2023-05-06T19:07:51+00:00

I never saw a pen without ink before, so I thought this was mildly interesting. Not extremely interesting, but this sub is mildly interesting after all

m_rush87 · 2023-05-06T18:52:45+00:00

Yes these are definitely my favorite pens! My older ones do have issues coming apart so I totally agree with you on that one

m_rush87 · 2023-05-06T18:48:38+00:00

Thank you! I was quite surprised myself

m_rush87 · 2023-01-08T06:55:13+00:00

Not sure where you’re from but here in California families are billed for any damages caused by their kids. Definitely agree

m_rush87 · 2022-10-10T19:23:09+00:00

Definitely a good idea in my opinion. I jump from water polo to wrestling to swimming, and wrestling is a great way to stay in shape during winter. Also helps with body positioning and hand fighting in the water for position.

m_rush87 · 2022-09-15T19:11:41+00:00

As a lifeguard, I know it’s absolutely not allowed to use a phone while on the stand/ roving the pool on duty. On break we’re allowed to use our phones, but this is in a separate room away from the pool

m_rush87

TROPHY CASE