And for everyone considering Berkeley

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>I’ve been stalking all my friends who got into Cal and UCLA out of high school to find out how their first years went. This is one of the more detailed replies I got about Cal and figured the info would be useful for those considering Cal. I graduated in 2008, so my friend’s a freshman. She’s also UBER smart, so your mileage may vary. Here’s what she wrote, verbatim:</p>

<p>I chose to go to Cal over UCLA mainly for the academic prestige. The business school at Berkeley (Haas) is really good. It’s also a nice distance from home.</p>

<p>My experience here has truly been amazing. I can honestly say that this past year has been the best year of my life. It will take a lot to explain it all, but I will try.</p>

<p>I’ve met a ton of wonderful people, and really have learned a lot from the diversity that is here (even though at times, it may seem to be dominated by a lot of Asians). People here are friendly in general, and they are nerdy. There is a general lack of care for appearance (I’ve noticed that a lot of girls don’t put on makeup, etc.) This could be a good or bad thing.</p>

<p>Also, people here tend to be very driven (though it tends to depend on the major too, but as a whole, people here are motivated and smart and passionate). Pulling a few all-nighters a semester is the norm. Sometimes, you will feel like the stupid one in your class :(</p>

<p>The workload is tough but doable. It’s just that when you try to have a social life, pursue extracurriculars, and be on top of your academics…you pretty much can’t unless you are SUPER on top of it in terms of time management or just don’t sleep.</p>

<p>…will write more later</p>

<li><p>Yes, I live on campus. Berkeley housing is on the whole, pretty decent. There is definitely a range in the quality depending on where you are. Let me know if you want me to go into detail about the specific dorms. Basically, I got really lucky in my housing and got a double mini-suite. I’m not sure how likely it is to get your preferred housing. Personally, I’ve gotten my first choice both years. However, I am not sure if that is the norm. Ehh. The roommate thing is pretty much hit and miss. Personally, I’ve had no problem getting along with the two roommates that I’ve had. However, there are people on my floor who don’t get along with their roommates.</p></li>
<li><p>The dorm food is not so good. There are a lot of choices, but none of it is super delicious, but it’s edible. You might like it the first few weeks, but after that, you get bored of it. However, there is a lot of dining options around Berkeley if you want to eat out :)</p></li>
<li><p>Class sizes really depends. The lower div lectures tend to be HUGE (like 100-600). However, the discussion sections are smaller (20-ish). However, a lot of the writing classes are smaller (~20).</p></li>
<li><p>[removed this part because it was specific to me and won’t help anyone else]</p></li>
<li><p>There is ALWAYS something to do here. Chances are you’ll be overwhelmed with activities and have to pick and choose. Clubs are practically begging you to go to their events. There are movie showings, random concerts, lectures by professors, comedy theatre, dance showcases, etc… There are also A LOT of dorm activities organized by the RAs. Also, if you’re interested in partying, I’ve explored that. There’s something going on every weekend at frats. This is one thing you don’t have to worry about. There is always something to do. And, if you end up living in the dorms, you’ll have random nights where you end up talking in the lounge with your floormates for hours on relationship issues or whatever. Those are fun :)</p></li>
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<p>In general, on the average, I would say that people are friendly, very opened to meeting new people, helpful, happy, passionate, but also tired (sleep for very little at night), overwhelmed, take a lot of naps, and whiny about dorm food and Berkeley vision (aka Berkeley goggles) – lack of hot girls/ guys. lol.</p>

<p>I came into Berkeley thinking that everyone will be overly competitive, stressed out, nerdy, socially awkward, hard working, ugly, etc, etc. lol
but… I’ve found that that’s not entirely true. People on the general is nerdier than the general population (I don’t really have a problem with that), and there are definitely the socially awkward ones, but a lot less than I expected. People here procrastinate SO MUCH! but really, people are nice and friendly, and it’s nice to talk to people who care about serious issues as well as the latest episode of The Office or whatever :)</p>

<p>Personally, I’ve had a blast at Berkeley, and I’m really happy that I’m here. However, I can see that it is definitely not for everyone. Some may feel lost in the huge public UC system, and you definitely are not babied here. However, there are a lot of opportunities if you go out and look for them.</p>

<p>I’ve also gotten involved in some extracurriculars (hall association and OASES, a club that goes and tutors students in Oakland). I have been doing okay with that and my classes and my social life. Sure, there have been times where I have been overwhelmed and pulled a couple all-nighters, but on the whole, I think that I can handle it. It’s very rewarding :)</p>

<p>I hope that this clears up some of your confusion. Feel free to ask more questions! I want you to make an informed decision and go to a college where you’ll have the best time and will be the right school for your needs/wants.</p>

<p>My finals are coming up and will end on May 19th, and I’ll be home shortly after. So, if you want, we can meet up and talk too :)</p>

<p>Also, since my finals are coming up, my replies might be late…sorry =[ (gotta study lol)</p>

2

<p>Thank you for your posts, very helpful. Have you decided yet? I will later post the letters I got from my friends. The decision-making process gives me a headache. I will probably drink a lot of Nightquil (to cease it) and fall asleep on the keyboard on June 1 and miss the deadline…lol I opened the Berkeley envelope today and saw a car-sticker, so I joked, “I am definitely going to Berkeley now”, but then UCLA envelope had one, too, so now I am back to “undecided”… lol</p>

3

<p>if you want to choose by stickers, the ucla one was bigger… so we should pick ucla. aahahahaa my goodness i think i need nyquil too.</p>

4

<p>Golden Bear vs Brown Bear</p>

5

<p>There was a car-sticker in Berkeley’s package? Man I need to re-check that thing.</p>

6

<p>They’re not stickers, they’re decals. Big difference, one is adhesive and goes on the outside, these go in the inside with water.</p>

7

<p>Ah I found it! It was inside one of the folder pockets.</p>

8

<p>Hahaha…well, I am more towards Cal now. I read somewhere on the pamphlet, next to the folder pockets, that “A UC Berkeley graduate was selected as one of 32 Rhodes Scholars from the United States for 2008. Asya Passinsky, a Phi Beta Kappa member who graduated with majors in the political economy of industrial societies and Russian language and literature, is the daughter of Russian immigrants and a graduate of Mission San Jose High School” I will start a club “Russian mafia” on campus lol</p>

9

<p>the decals don’t need water…</p>

10

<p>Good work FeeFee.</p>

<p>Looks like I made the right choice to pick UCLA… I did it for the food alone.</p>

11

<p>Yea Russiangirl 2008, UCB has some of the most competitive undergrad in the country, no surprise! LOL</p>

12

<p>Man, I don’t even know if I will make it to Berkeley. I got an F on my latest stats test and now I have to get at least 86% on the final to pull a C. Wish me luck.</p>

13

<p>T-Rav I hope you do well! SERIOUSLY THOUGH! GOOD LUCK!</p>

14

<p>Thanks. I’m going to study like I’ve never studied before! Nothing is going to stop me from making my Berkeley dreams come true. Plus, I have a friend who is a math graduate student and tutor, so he can help me.</p>

15

<p>I am confident you will get more, than 86% on the final :] Good luck!!! I almost forgot I have a test in my Differential Equations class today. :(</p>

16

<p>Thanks for the encouragement, Russiangirl2008. I will have to buy you a drink when we go to Berkeley.</p>

17

<p>Thank you, by “a drink” do you mean hot chocolate? (like i posted somewhere else…even though people assume Russians have vodka in their blood, I do not tolerate alcohol and do not drink alcoholic beverages) :wink: Where are you going to live (on-campus vs. off-campus)?</p>

18

<p>I am going to live on-campus, but I have no idea where. By “drink,” I did mean an alcoholic beverage. You will have to drink at least once in college, as long as it is responsible drinking.</p>

19

<p>I am going to copy my friend’s email, comparing Berkeley with UCLA:
"I’m not really sure how much my own experiences would be helpful in your decision. Its always very personal for everyone so what one person likes is not necessarily true for another person and as far as classes this heavily depends on major. Also I should mention that my experiences in LA were skewed because I was seriously depressed due to certain events before and like I said, I did not like LA as it looked to me like cars are more lively there then humans. there UCLA as a school itself is actually pretty good and comparable to Berkeley but I’d still place Berkeley higher as far as Physics. UCLA does have larger selection of classes but they’ve cut it down too starting this year (budget cuts effected everyone) and their unique HCS program (hcs.ucla.edu) that I was very interested in (and one of the reasons I did try going to UCLA as its only school in the west with something like this) was cut so that only one class seems to be offered per quarter.</p>

<p>Now I can also tell you that I know two girls who did not like UCLA and have gone back to community college to apply for Berkeley. Julia I met at Berkeley archaeology class and she got into UCLA from high school and then got to community college and applied to transfer to Berkeley; its rather difficult for me to be sure about her character, never could get to know her well enough. The other girl, Meghan, is very very similar to me, her majors are mathematics and philosophy. She got into both UCLA and Berkeley as a transfer in Fall 08 and originally really wanted to go to UCLA but seriously did not like it (and even more so did not like LA in general) after just one summer class in 08 - did not stay there for Fall and now trying to get into Berkeley (I can’t ask if she did and its really longer story as to why). I also know another girl, Revatti, who attended Berkeley (and finished after just one year taking 25+ credits/semester and in summer) and she said that she was miserable at Berkeley and wished she’d gone to UCLA instead; despite that we’re friends this girl is quite unlike myself (except for liking nature and certain nice/caring side, unlike selfish sides I see in most) and very friendly and very much a people’s person - she was doing women’s studies major and will go to law school in the future. To be honest you remind me more of her then of the first two girls, but its hard to judge like that. Also Revatti said that UCLA is more supportive but I did not feel it - I’ll just quote what she said:
“Welp, I’m glad you are doing much better. I hope you get into Berkeley, UCLA also is a great school, i feel they’re much more supportive than berkeley, so that is a plus, and berkeley is rated better, so there you have it. But to shine, help is great, if you’re miserable in berkeley, then what’s the point? I was a bit miserable, but I also feel it made me a better person, so no regrets.”</p>

<p>But all above probably can not be used as a good indicator how it could be for you, like I said its all very personal experience for everyone and I suspect most would be ok with either school. If you want my advise as to how to choose - go to each school for at least a day i.e. go to Berkeley, walk around campus, go and sit in some Economics class and possibly talk to students there. Then after semester is over at WVC, but fore deadline, drive to LA and again spend time on campus visiting relevant economics class there. I actually did just that and in fact drove and visited UCLA end of August 08, I then liked the campus - but there were really no relevant classes at the time to try get some experience. Then again Meghan did that too and also rather liked the campus but then came back after direct experience. What matters also is presense friends and I knew some people from Berkeley and nobody at UCLA.
Both Cal and UCLA are comparable as to how hard classes would be. Both have good and helpful and not so good professors, but so far professors I saw were just as approachable at either school. Like I said, in Physics student group was more present at Cal, but that may not be true for other areas. I also know bunch of people from Cal’s Anthropology department (I went to Honduras last year for archaeology field work class through Berkeley and had anthropology course at berkeley before too) so Berkeley would be my first choice because of combination of all the factors. Social aspect depends on if you’re looking for it or not. You’d probably get quiet space in both if that’s what you want, but you maybe more tempted to go to party at UCLA, especially if living in a dorm - depends on who you get to know there.
If you’re going for business career then UCLA would be slightly better unless its HAAS at Cal. But its often not the school that is a deciding factor in your career later. If its something like accounting/CPA, it’ll not matter as much and you’d still need to go to masters and they’ll consider you in a similar way from either school. And you really have a lot of factors to consider and should probably decide on more then just school ranking as Berkeley and UCLA are really similar and people would not look down on you because you’ve gone to UCLA rather then Berkeley.
At the same time, I like Santa Clara even though its suburbia but its in SF Bay Area and easy enough to get out into cultural city and there are forests/mountains/beaches nearby too. Now Los Angeles is another story, but it does remind me more of St.Louis with extremely large suburban atmosphere but multiplied 10x times where this is actually a city; but it does have cultural city places and mountains and beaches around too, so its not all that bad really. I visited Los Angeles like 5-6 times before for conferences or just to go to museums (great art museums), but I did not stay in the city and camped in Angeles Forest every time to get away at least for evening/night. This year I lived in Santa Monica for a month. That side of LA (including Westwood) is more ok really then in most other areas, but traffic is a nightmare - normally it would take me 15 minutes to get from where I was to UCLA but at times it was more then an hour and all just city streets and not even highways (which in Los Angeles is a big net and even more stressful to navigate). I also noticed how few bikes there are on UCLA campus (and how large car garages are) compared to what you may see in Stanford or Berkeley.
But if you live at UCLA you’ll hardly notice anything like that. Also public transport (bus, rail etc) is very good in LA, much better then in Santa Clara and I think its free or heavily discounted for students…"</p>