A novel campus

Sarah Morrison found a lot could be learned from her year abroad at university in California

• Sarah Morrison
• , Monday 8 September 2008 16.38 BST

Arriving at UC Berkeley’s campus on my first day of my year abroad, I could not have felt further away from home. The sprawling grounds, freshly painted white buildings and sun-speckled green gardens were a far cry from Edinburgh’s grey, 1960s tower blocks that characterise its George Square campus.

Upon entering the regal gate that marked the start of university grounds, I was engulfed in a sea of tables, placards and banners, as well as deafening cries of “Join our club”, “Attend our conference” and “You can save the world”.

As I fought through the throng of student societies, clubs and activists that used this area as a daily meeting ground, I noticed an unusual thing: not only were students up and awake before the usual midday start that I had been used to in Edinburgh, but their enthusiasm and energy was contagious.

As an English literature student at the University of Edinburgh, I had been lucky enough to take up two additional subjects in my first two years. That, for me, was the real draw of the Scottish education system, which offers more breadth than its English counterpart. While I had to choose my degree at the age of 17, I had been able to speak Spanish and discuss philosophy, while reading Chaucer and Shakespeare at university.

However, this freedom was limited to certain courses, and classes in the science department were strictly off limits for a literature major. Conversely, American students call university, “school”, and have to take a wide variety of subjects in a range of departments before they are allowed to graduate.

As a student who loves literature, but sees little connection between my degree and a practical job, this freedom was unbelievably exciting. As Americans literally shopped for courses, from peace and conflict studies to astronomy and Asian studies, I found a passion amongst students that I felt had been somewhat lacking in my third year contemporaries in Edinburgh.

The ability to choose the layout of your course means that degrees become personalised and very few students graduate with the same class history. This create-your-own-major model will certainly not suit every student, and I did have international friends, for whom this was a point of contention.

Certain classes at UC Berkeley were not as detailed or challenging as many of the ones I took in Edinburgh, and professors were prone to spoon-feeding students in a manner that could occasionally seem condescending. Emphasis is certainly on opinion and self-expression and historical or critical theory is often actively discouraged. Due to the size of the student body, smaller tutorial classes were something of a luxury, but there was something about being taught modern poetry by a Pulitzer Prize winning Beat poet that made sure even the most cynical of students turned up to class.

When discussing the American university system, there is, of course, the question of finance to consider. For an international student to study full-time at UC Berkeley, the costs can be staggering and make top-up fees pale in comparison. While Californian students have to pay less than an out-of-state applicant, the fees are still considerable for the majority of UC Berkeley’s community.

However, during my year abroad, I met very few students who took their education for granted, something which cannot always be said of my experience at Edinburgh. The majority of students at UC Berkeley take a full course load, run extra-curricular clubs and work to fund their education. This does leave less time for daytime TV, pub visits and the general “relaxation” time that characterises much of British university culture, but surprisingly, I did not miss it. Attending lectures, doing homework and being continuously assessed might seem daunting to the British student, but I found that once more was expected of me, I actually wanted to do more.

Now I am back on British soil, I am often asked if in hindsight, I would choose to spend my entire university experience at an American university. My answer: it depends on what university and where. Just as British universities differ considerably from place to place, I realise that UC Berkeley was unique. But, despite this realisation, I do believe that the American and British attitudes to university are strikingly different.

While British universities offer a challenging environment for students who are inherently driven, they can make it very easy for others to sit back, relax and leave hard work until later. This mentality is just not acceptable in most American universities and certain British students might just benefit from giving this alternative approach to education a try.