Experience Brilliance with BISP

The Bay Area is home to two of the world’s leading education and research institutions (UC Berkeley and Stanford), Genentech and Silicon Valley where a mild climate and diverse topography meet spectacularly.

Experience Brilliance with BISP

The Bay Area is home to two of the world’s leading education and research institutions (UC Berkeley and Stanford), Genentech and Silicon Valley where a mild climate and diverse topography meet spectacularly.

BISP Recommends…

Amy’s on a roll… down 4.0 hill!
Amy

Amy’s on a roll… down 4.0 hill!

4.0 Hill got its name through the tradition where students would roll down the hill once before the semester starts, in hopes of getting a 4.0 GPA that semester… it worked for me!

Jade finally tried all of the flavors!
Jade

Jade finally tried all of the flavors!

The Ice Cream Social, held every Fall, is a great way to interact with like-minded students over a cold cone of delicious ice-cream, great music and even better conversation, see you there!

Nikolai’s passion for the prehistoric
Nikolai

Nikolai’s passion for the prehistoric

I fell in love the moment I first stepped into the UC Museum of Paleontology, with it’s fantastic displays encompassing the history of life and diversity of the Earth’s biota… it’s hard to leave!

Thai shrimp dish
Rachel

Rachel’s Rec - try the Thai!

Berkeley Thai House is one of my favorite restaurants on the Southside of campus.

It's affordable, it's tasty, it has a nice outdoor dining area, and it was even where I had my graduation dinner as a Cal undergrad! Try the lunch special.

Photo of musician on stage at concert
Emily

Emily kicks back at Cornerstone

I love the energy of newly arrived students and CPMs as they meet, greet and eat at the BISP Welcome lunch at Cornerstone.

You can feel the excitement for the semester ahead, and the food is good too!

The field at the Oakland Coliseum
Jenny

Find Jenny at the Oakland Coliseum

If you want to see an American baseball game, there's no better place than the Oakland Coliseum, home of the Oakland Athletics. If you get a chance, go on a fireworks night, and after the game ends you can sit on the field and watch the fireworks directly overhead.

Buildings and the Campanile at UC Berkeley
Natalia

Natalia's favorite campus spots!

One of my favorite habits is to go for walks around campus to appreciate stunning architecture and beautiful nature. I like to watch the birds flying around Berkeley's campanile and I always try to find a new beautiful spot to sit down and eat lunch. Even if you do that everyday, you will never run out of options!

Clam chowder
Ricardo

Ricardo craves Boudin's Clam Chowder

This is a must try in your trip to the Bay Area, especially if you are fond of good bread and seafood. They have many restaurants around, but be warned, they are addictive!

Cup of coffee with a flower latte art design
Lucrezia

Lucrezia loves Caffe Strada

I loved the atmosphere as you could see people from all sorts of backgrounds deeply immersed in their work, and that really worked as a motivational factor for me. I would meet with friends there and chat about school but also life in general, with a lovely cup of coffee.

Illustrated map created by local artist Krystal Lauk
ILLUSTRATED OVERVIEW
A Bird’s Eye View of the Bay Area

Get a bird’s eye view on the UCB Campus and the wonders San Francisco and the Bay Area have to offer with this fantastic illustrated map created by local artist Krystal Lauk.