Lauren West

Two falls. Two springs. One or two summers. That's all the time that transfer students have to get everything done as undergraduates at UC Berkeley. Is it really possible?

Like many cities in Europe, Edinburgh is an incredible mashup of old and new — in a magical way. There are McDonald's restaurants next to decades-old pubs and Starbucks locations beside real-life castles.

Something that many Americans seem to forget is just how old the rest of the documented world is. Our school is just celebrating it's a 150th year, which seems impressively old until you visit a tower that is older than your country.

Every year it happens: Sept. 1 comes and goes without the arrival of our coveted Hogwarts acceptance letters and each year it hurts a little more.

When preparing to go on a big trip, whether it’s for studying abroad or the next three-day weekend, knowing how to pack is key.

From that day, my mom knew she wanted to go to Scotland. It wasn’t until her mid-twenties that the opportunity presented itself in the form of a short trip with a good friend from church.

As a transfer student at UC Berkeley, it can feel overwhelming to start and realize you only have two years to do things in half the time as others.

Last year marked New Student Services' move away from the previous format of Cal Student Orientation, which involved a series of weekend orientations, to Golden Bear Orientation. The transition from CalSO to GBO has been somewhat of a challenge, as many of these goals take time to perfect.

The Bay Area is so uniquely special that it can feel like there's no place like it, but if we travel, we might realize that's not quite true.

It can be hard to know how to compete when you find out your professor is a Nobel laureate or your classmate got an internship at Google this summer.