What to Expect
Overview: Your Golden Bear Experience consists of of four major components:
- Golden Bear Advising: Covers campus academic resources, an introduction to your college, and how to enroll in your classes.
- Golden Bear Prep: Gives you a comprehensive overview of UC Berkeley and your overall transition to campus.
- Golden Bear Orientation (2024-2025): Golden Bear Orientation (GBO) is a program for new undergraduates that helps you: make connections with your peers, faculty, and staff; learn more about available resources and experience campus traditions; broaden your understanding of this diverse and dynamic community; and create a sense of community with your own orientation group and a trained Golden Bear Orientation Leader.
- Getting Your Bearings: After Golden Bear Orientation, you may participate in Getting Your Bearings, a collection of events sponsored by campus departments and student organizations, for newly admitted undergraduates. It starts on the first day of classes and lasts through the first three weeks of the semester.
How to Access Advising and Prep: You access these modules, including start and due dates, through your CalCentral account. Note: You do not need to register to take these modules (or for any part of the Golden Bear Experience). Simply follow the instructions in CalCentral.
What’s Required: You are expected to complete Golden Bear Advising and Golden Bear Prep online, prior to the start of the semester. During Golden Bear Orientation, attending Bear Pact and passing the Bear Pact quiz is mandatory and students who do not complete these requirements will not be able to enroll in their second semester of courses.