Dear Newly Admitted Class of 2020,

Welcome to PEACE’s Guide to Cal! As a student organization dedicated to fostering a cooperative and non-competitive environment at UC Berkeley, PEACE provides free tutoring in a large variety of classes and has a lot of resources on our website (which you are on right now) that we’d like to share with you. You can find all the information you will need to make a final college decision or figure out what you want to do once you get to campus, whatever situation you may currently be in. We hope that our tips and advice based on personal experience will help you. Click on the following topics to be linked to pages on our website with more information.
​To start off:

WHY CHOOSE CAL
Debunking Common Berkeley Myths​
Competition at Cal: How competitive is it really?

OTHER

• Easing your Financial Burden in College
• Don’t forget to Call your Parents!
• What to do in your Downtime between Classes
• Free Software provided by Berkeley 

Want more? We have a lot more advising blogs on our website right here!

Q: What clubs/organizations should I join that will make me look good for medical schools?
A: The first thing you should note is that clubs in college are not the same as clubs from high school. In high school, you only had to meet once a year and do one fundraiser. In college, most clubs require you to meet at least once a week. And most clubs host more than one fundraiser. Make sure the club you choose is the club you want to dedicate your time to since you also have to keep up with your academics. And try not to worry too much about which clubs will make you look good. Join a club because you’re interested in it. Medical schools want to see what your non-academic interests lie, not because you joined for the sake of joining to make yourself look good.

Q: What resources should I use if I want to go to graduate school (not medical school)?
A: PEACE offers a variety of insights from their advisors. Some who are interested in Mathematics, some who are interested in Molecular and Cellular Biology, etc. These advisors can provide you with sample schedules that may help you in your path to graduate school. The most common piece of advise throughout any major is to keep your grades up, but most importantly keep your interest up. Yes grades matter (and PEACE can provide tutoring to help you with your classes), but your research and your passion is even more important. Don’t let the difficulty of your classes steer you away from what you love. 

Q: What makes PEACE different from other academic services & resources?
A: While there are other tutoring and advising services offered by the school, they are often limiting in flexibility and availability. For example, most other services are accessible only during certain hours during the day. This means students must stop by the offices in the middle of their busy class schedule. With PEACE, students are paired with a tutor and from there, the tutor and tutee are able to communicate directly to schedule to meet at a time and place of convenience for both parties. This allows students seeking help to be supported at any time of the day/night without being restricted by certain hours of operation.

In addition, with thousands of students and only a handful of college facutly advisors, it can be difficult to schedule an appointment and get personalized information based on your needs as an individual. Much of the advice given is very generic and broad, which may not be very helpful if you’re looking for information that is specific to your situation. PEACE offers numerous resources and advice through the blog articles on the website that are written by PEACE advisors who are students themselves. Our advisors give practical, honest advice from their own personal experiences as a Berkeley student. PEACE also welcomes students to ask specific questions so that our advisors can provide the most support on a case-by-case basis.

Q: How big is the PEACE community?
A: PEACE is always expanding. Not only are we constantly gaining more new tutors, advisers and students, but we are also expanding PEACE into other universities. Recently, we have set up a chapter of PEACE at UCLA, where they too will begin to offer PEACE services. We hope to continue expanding PEACE and impacting more students in a positive way.

Q: Can I apply to be both a tutor and an advisor?
A: Yes, absolutely! Although each position has its own set of requirements and responsibilities, it is entirely possible to hold both positions as our organization provides lots of flexibility. Keep in mind that each position does has a separate application and interview process that needs to completed though before you can officially become a member of the PEACE community. The links for the applications can be found under the “Contact Us” tab on the PEACE website with the headline “Join Us.”

Q: What would be required of me if I tutored for PEACE?
A: Tutoring for PEACE is an experience that is as rewarding as it is manageable. In order to complete your obligations as a PEACE tutor, you must complete 3 requirements. Firstly, you must tutor at least one individual per semester. Secondly, you will have to create and submit two practice questions along with answers in order to contribute to PEACE’s practice questions database. Finally, you will be required to attent at least one Tutor Development Day so that you will be aware of PEACE’s tutoring and general organization culture.

Q: How can I be even more involved with PEACE?
A: Each semester, PEACE recruits new members to its board to help manage the various operations that go into making PEACE the great organization that it is. The board offers both intern and director positions across responsibilities from tutor development to finance to marketing and outreach! If you want to find out more, feel free to contact any of the current board members of PEACE, and find out when the next recruiting opportunities are!

Q: How can I stay updated on what PEACE is up to?
A: The best way to keep up with PEACE is through our website (peacetutoring.com) and Facebook page (@Peace Tutoring)! Learn more about and access all of our services on the website, and explore the “Contact Us” tab if you are considering joining us or utilizing the services we offer. Our webmaster continuously updates the website in order to reflect any upcoming events, fundraisers, and announcements that PEACE has to offer. In addition, monthly newsletters can be found under the “About PEACE” tab. Looking for a quick refresher about what we’ve been up to? Check out our Facebook page to see all the highlights, such as our featured Tutors of the Month and advising blog spotlights.