University of alifornia, erkeley · 2020. 3. 4. · Part I: General Information Visa Application: efore applying for the visa, you have to submit your online NIF form to U erkeley

University of California, Berkeley

Walter A. Haas School of Business

Fall 2019 Exchange Report

Angus Cheung Wing Long

IS & MARK

Part I: General Information

Visa Application:

Before applying for the visa, you have to submit your online NIF form to UC Berkeley

International Office to receive the DS-2019. The DS-2019 will be sent to you by direct

mail. Once you received the DS-2019, you should apply for the J-1 visa as soon as

possible. Usually, you need to wait for two to three months after the application to

meet the US consulate. So, please make sure everything is on schedule!

Tips: Always check the email for the latest information from UCEAP, a complete guide

will be provided once you admitted to UC Berkeley as an exchange student.

Visa Guide: https://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/visa-application

NIF Details: https://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/students/nif

SEVIS Fee: https://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/immigration/sevis-fee

Visa Application: https://www.ustraveldocs.com/hk/hk-niv-typej.asp

Orientation Activities:

UC Berkeley offered a bunch of orientation activities (e.g. Golden Bear Orientation,

Haas Orientation) for students in mid of August. Some of these activities include

campus tours, parties, sightseeing and student induction programs, etc. I highly

encourage you to participate in all the orientation activities to make more friends, to

know more about UC Berkeley and the Berkeley community!

Golden Bear Orientation: https://orientation.berkeley.edu/

International Services & Activities:

All international students are welcome to participate in events organized by the

Berkeley International Office. Events will be held at I-house Berkeley. If you have any

inquiries, you can either send an email to the Berkeley International Office or meet the

International Student Advisers in person.

Berkeley International Office email: [email protected]

https://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/visa-applicationhttps://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/students/nifhttps://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/immigration/sevis-feehttps://www.ustraveldocs.com/hk/hk-niv-typej.asphttps://orientation.berkeley.edu/

Accommodation:

Finding accommodation at UC Berkeley is competitive. It is difficult for international

students to apply for in-campus housing. I-house would be your second-best option.

Other than the previous two, you can also try to apply for off-campus housing. I highly

encourage you to check the price of all the available options before applying for the

accommodation, because some of them are really expensive!

Available options:

I-house: https://ihouse.berkeley.edu/

The Berk: http://www.theberkoncollege.com/

Wesley House: http://www.wesleyhouseberkeley.com/

Telegraph Commons: http://www.telegraphcommons.com/

Casa Cedar: https://www.casacedar.com/

The Regent House: http://www.regenthouseberkeley.com/

Course Registration:

Course registration is easy at UC Berkeley. Some courses, especially the one offered by

the Haas School of Business, would reserve seats for EAP Students. To play safe, I highly

encourage you to find at least four courses of which seats are reserved for EAP

Students.

Courses Catalog: https://classes.berkeley.edu/

HKUST Credit Transfer Database: https://crtran.ust.hk/credit_instit

Teaching and Assessment Method:

The teaching and assessment method are similar to HKUST. Generally, for a business

course, it will include group project, individual assignment, presentation, midterm, and

exam. Students are expected to read a lot of readings each week and the workload is

a bit heavy.

Sports & Recreation Activities:

There are three sports facilities opened for students at UC Berkeley, which are the

Recreational Sports Facility (RSF), Memorial Stadium Fitness Center and Hearst Gym.

In addition, swimming pool and tennis court are also opened for reservation. If you are

interested, you can also join the physical education program where you can learn

different types of sports.

Sports & Facilities Details: https://recsports.berkeley.edu/facilities/

https://ihouse.berkeley.edu/http://www.theberkoncollege.com/http://www.wesleyhouseberkeley.com/http://www.telegraphcommons.com/https://www.casacedar.com/http://www.regenthouseberkeley.com/https://classes.berkeley.edu/https://crtran.ust.hk/credit_instithttps://recsports.berkeley.edu/facilities/

Finance:

Expenditure USD

Accommodation $7500

Food $1500

Academic Expenses $250

Transportation (within the Bay Area e.g. Uber and BART) $500

Miscellaneous (including souvenirs, sim card) $100

Travel (A trip to Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Washington

DC)

$2700

SHIP Insurance $1300

Total $13,850

*Note that the expense excludes the upfront cost (e.g. Visa Application Fee, Golden

Bear Orientation Fee and the Air ticket to San Francisco.) Also, you are required to pay

an 8.5% tax rate for everything you purchased. Remember to prepare more than

enough money for the exchange!

Banking:

Each year, a local bank will come to UC Berkeley helping students to create a bank

account. In Fall 2019, the Bank of America was the partner of UC Berkeley. After you

have transferred the money from Hong Kong to the US bank account, you can withdraw

the money from the ATM near the campus. My top three preferences on American

banks will be:

Bank of America: https://www.bankofamerica.com/

Wells Fargo: https://www.wellsfargo.com/

Bank of West: https://www.bankofthewest.com/

Social Clubs and Networking Opportunities:

There are over 1200 student clubs and organizations at UC Berkeley. You can get into

as many social clubs as you want depending on your interest, schedule, and talent.

Most of the social clubs required an interview (just to get to know more about you).

For consulting clubs and sports teams, they only admit students on a full-time basis.

However, you can still join the seminars organized by these societies.

Student organizations: https://www.berkeley.edu/campus-life/student-organizations

https://www.bankofamerica.com/https://www.wellsfargo.com/https://www.bankofthewest.com/https://www.berkeley.edu/campus-life/student-organizations

Health and safety:

Student Health Insurance Plan(SHIP) is mandatory for all exchange students. It covered

basic clinical services, hospitalization expenses, dental and vision services, etc. Safety

is a major issue at Berkeley. If you need a night walk at Berkeley, I would encourage

you to utilize the Night Safety Services (e.g. Bear Walk) or simply to call an Uber.

Student Health Insurance Plan: https://uhs.berkeley.edu/insurance/ship-benefits

Berkeley Night Safety Services: https://nightsafety.berkeley.edu/

Food:

Food in the US is relatively expensive compared to Hong Kong. The average price,

except for McDonald's, is around 10USD per meal. Therefore, I would encourage

students to buy a meal plan offered by UC Berkeley. Most of the dining hall at UC

Berkeley provide buffet catering of around USD 8 per meal. Besides, cook by yourself

is also a good option.

UC Berkeley Dining Details: https://caldining.berkeley.edu/

Useful Apps: Yelp

Transportation:

If you want to travel from town to town (e.g. from Downtown Berkeley to Downtown

San Francisco), the best option will be using the Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART).

Students would need to buy a clipper card before getting into the BART. However, if

you just want to travel around Berkeley, UC Berkeley will provide a Berkeley Clipper

Card for you and you will be free of charge for the shuttle bus services at Berkeley. For

a long-distance trip (e.g. from San Francisco to Los Angeles), I would prefer you to take

a domestic flight or a night bus.

How to buy a clipper card?: https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/getTranslink.do

BART Information: https://www.bart.gov/

Useful Apps: Uber, Lyft

Climate:

The climate at Berkeley is cold. The lowest temperature in winter can be down to 3 to

5 Celsius degree while the average temperature in summer is around 22 to 23 Celsius

degree. Winter is the rainy season at Berkeley. Besides, California is located in one of

the most dangerous earthquake zones.

https://uhs.berkeley.edu/insurance/ship-benefitshttps://nightsafety.berkeley.edu/https://caldining.berkeley.edu/https://www.clippercard.com/ClipperWeb/getTranslink.dohttps://www.bart.gov/

Communication:

I used the Mint Mobile Service in the US. It is a company that cooperated with UC

Berkeley in 2019 Fall. For a 3-month 12 GB plan, it costs 25USD per month with an

unlimited text and talks. It is recommended to have a US mobile number in case you

encounter an emergency. Moreover, most of the services in the US such as the Night

Safety Services are only available for tel.

Cautionary Measures:

There are a lot of homeless people surrounding the campus. It might be a good idea to

walk with your friends, especially at night. During the orientation, you will also learn

more about personal safety at Berkeley.

Packaging Suggestion

Visa & Passport Cash

(both HKD and USD)

Credit Card Air Ticket

Medicine 7-Days Clothes

Portable Charger Notebook

Stationaries Jacket

Thick Quilt or Sleeping Bag Gloves & Scarf

Other Useful Links:

CalCentral: https://calcentral.berkeley.edu/ (Berkeley Student Portal)

bcourses: https://bcourses.berkeley.edu/ (Canvas at Berkeley)

Berkeley Time: https://www.berkeleytime.com/landing (Explore good grade courses)

Confessions from UC Berkeley: https://www.facebook.com/berkeleyconfessions/ (For fun)

https://calcentral.berkeley.edu/https://bcourses.berkeley.edu/https://www.berkeleytime.com/landinghttps://www.facebook.com/berkeleyconfessions/

Part II: Monthly Activity Log

August:

Although it was my first time spending more than a

week in a foreign country, I found it easy to integrate

myself into the Berkeley community. It gave me a

feeling that people in the bay area were lovely,

talkative and easy-going. 2019 August was a month I

met my first group of friends in the US. Most of them

are local students coming from different parts of

America. We spent all the time together during the

orientation while one of the most impressive events

was the “Silent Disco”. We danced together and sang

along with the music. So much fun!

September:

The semester finally commenced. The workload of the

courses was relatively high compared to HKUST. I

needed to finish the assigned readings before going to

the class while most of the readings were 20 to 30

pages of a case study. It took time for me to adapt to

the new academic environment. In addition, after

getting out of Hong Kong for a month, I missed my

home badly. However, during this difficult time, I met

my relatives in the US. They took me to travel around

San Francisco. We went to the Fisherman's Wharf, the

Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts. Lastly,

they took me to the Hong Kong-style restaurant

located in the Sunset Area to cure my homesickness.

So warm and touch!

October:

During this month, I already adapted to the pace at UC

Berkeley and I enjoyed the lesson here so much.

Although the workload was still heavy, I learned a lot

from the professors and the schoolmates. At the end

of October, it was my first time celebrating Halloween

in a western country. The atmosphere was great in the

My GBO Groupmates

Traveling around San Francisco

Night Read at the Doe library

Cycling at Google, Silicon Valley

US. People would pay a lot of effort in decorating their

houses and making their costumes. I also followed my

roommate Edmond to his friend's house for a party!

November:

In November, it’s the best month of my exchange

journey. In one of my courses, I had a chance to give

an elevator pitch regarding my start-up idea to the

prime minister of Meghalaya. It’s a valuable and

unique experience. On 23 November, I went to watch

the big game (Cal vs Stanford). I was so lucky to see my

team defeating Stanford to break the Stanford nine-

year streak. It is a memory I will never forget. At the

end of November, it was the Thanksgiving Holiday. I

spent the time with Auntie Levia and her families. The

events were plentiful. We watched Frozen 2, we had a

hot pot together and we had a mid-night black-Friday

shopping. I was so satisfied.

December:

In December, finally, it came to the end of my

exchange journey. I met all my friends before I left

Berkeley. I walked around the campus for the one last

time. I packed my luggage in the dormitory I lived for

five months. However, my feelings were not as strong

as expected but this journey was definitely the best

experience in my life.

They are my schoolmates. I promised to post them in the report LOL

Thanksgiving Dinner

The Pitch to the Prime Minister

The Big Game at Stanford Stadium