Berkeley

I reached the Berkeley BART station 30 minutes before schedule. As i wondered aimlessly trying to figure out from where to catch the University Shuttle I realized that i don't have much time in hand - I was also not sure how long i have to wait for the shuttle so i decided to walk towards the HAAS Building. As i was half-through to my horror i realized that i am walking from one corner of the campus to another. As i started to walk briskly i started to sweat profusely - damn!! I should have figured this out before but it was point of no return. I ran out of breath as i reached the HAAS building and the reception. I was instructed to sit in the sofa and wait for my HAAS ambassador. After a good 10 minutes wait he arrived. So we started talking about where i am planing to apply and why i am interested in HAAS. He was an international student, looked very friendly and readily answered my queries.

As i approached the class, there were bunch of students waiting outside the class. I expected that a few would accost me and get acquainted. Anyway, I went inside the class and was given a corner chair - I was the only one visiting. It was a case-study class so i was lost. After a few minutes one of the students gave me a copy of the case - it was related to the biotech industry. I was surprised to discover that none of the classmates had biotech experience in a class of around 60. And the case method was very different from other schools, the professor already had the reports from the students - so he was just calling them to state their opinions. I didn't find that energy maybe because it was almost at the end of the day. Though the professor was humorous and making funny comments - the class was drooling on.

The class didn't have an AC and was small. It seems that the entire HAAS building does not have any AC [ though people will argue that you don't require an AC in CA.] There were few fans in the corners. I also felt a little claustrophobic as the class was small and i saw people sitting on the stairs. Though it is good to have a casual enviroment - I would have preferred a bigger class.

After the class was over - same thing - no one bothered to get introduced to me. Anyway as my ambassador walked with me [ he was genuinely friendly] he gave some insights into HAAS. In some of the classes you can sit with the engineering students and exchange ideas. The international student body was facing issues as most of the big tech companies were not hiring international students. I think this is a dilemma in most schools - not only Berkeley. So, we talked in length about the industry - that next year the opportunities would be more etc. etc.

Somehow my experience was not good - maybe i was in the wrong class at the wrong time. Don't get me wrong - HAAS is a great school - but the student body is not as well-knit as other schools. Academically, HAAS is good or as good as any other Top 10 school.
The one thing which attracts me most to Berkeley is the ROI - I just need to shelf annually 15,000 dollars [ as i am a CA resident.] and get a decent education. But in the end the experience matters - I won't deny that.

Berkeley topped that with TOEFL. I just have to give TOEFL for Berkeley - hence i have postponed my application for Dec. 12. Every school has its pros and cons - Berkeley has too.