<p><em>sigh</em> Why does everyone always think Cal is stressful? All these stories always get blown out of proportion. Life at Cal is not stressful unless you have terrible study habits and no self-control.</p>
<p>People generally say that grad schools don’t care where you went for undergrad. While that’s often true, it definitely does not hold for many cases. Many departments at top grad schools are heavily biased toward undergrad schools that excel in that department as well. For instance, I was at Stanford’s Comp Sci Ph.D. Admit Day (I’m not the admit, though, hehe), there were only a few schools represented: Berkeley, MIT, Stanford, CMU, and Cornell. There were only a couple of people not from those schools. What do those schools have in common? They all have excellent undergrad CS programs.</p>
<p>But perhaps its correlation, not causation. Maybe students who choose to go to academically rigorous schools are more motivated and will perform well enough to go to a top grad school. Perhaps they have more access to resources and better renowned faculty to get letters of rec from (these recs, after all, are immensely important for grad school admissions, especially for doctorate programs).</p>
<p>One last thing: it’s ridiculous to say that there is no difference between a Cal and a Davis degree, because there is a HUGE difference. People looking to enter the job market after graduation are especially likely to experience the bias that many employers have for “better” students from “better” schools. Of course, this varies a bit from field to field, but it’s generally true.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and what happened to people wanting to challenge themselves? I think that you can “find yourself” better if you’re pushed to succeed, rather than if you just sit around all day and find yourself bored by the lack of challenges in your environment. What happened to people who want to go to school to learn all they can and benefit from motivated, intelligent classmates? Or does everyone just go to college because they have to get a degree and get on with it? That’s called having no personal integrity.</p>
<p>^rant?
I may be ridiculous but I want to live in an environment that Iactually enjoy. I grew up by Berkeley and I HATE it. No, rather, I LOATHE that area and the constant smugness that suffocates the area along with the stench of human excrement floating in the nearby creeks and drainage systems. I am tired of the elitist arguments that people who don’t go to U.S. News and Report subjectively ranked top schools are worthless. Lets be frank then, If we judge on that measure than Berkeley, which ranks 20 or 21 would be beyond the pale. Maybe some of us don’t want to go to Stanford’s CS grad school? Have the elitists thought of that? I think the people who are stuck on rankings and such are some of the most boring on this forum. </p>
<p>BTW if we just “wanted a degree” wouldn’t that be confusing us with University of Phoenix and Devry students? We will be challenged at Davis in a nice park like setting. I personally like that there is a healthy and fit vibe at Davis. I see people exercising, moving, and relaxing outside. Berkeley? Students were rushing to get home to their dorms. I guess that is “academically stimulating”. . .hating the area so bad you have to stay holed up in your room all day. I guess that is your definition of “integrity”.</p>
<p>I want to go to Stanfurd for CS grad. It looks like I’ll have to bust my butt at Davis and get some awesome research and internships under my belt to compete. </p>
<p>cenire If you have more anecdotes please share. I need to understand the odds I’m up against.</p>
<p>As someone who has attended UCSD, was offered admission to Berkeley, and currently goes to Davis, I strongly believe there is no difference in academic quality. And there is very little difference in the “value” of one degree over the other, as they are all highly respected.</p>