<p>hey guys i was admitted for spring 2011, just i'm having doubts about going to berkeley, its far away (i live in socal), seems to be too nerdy, not as many hot girls as ucla, and the city doesnt seem as nice and student friendly as ucla. i have seriously contemplated staying another year at comm college and reapplying to ucla, this time as a different major ( i chose not to go cause i picked a major i didnt like). I'm really torn because at berkeley i can do the major i want, but the city/norcal doesnt really appeal to me. i've visited twice, and while the school seemed okay, it seemed like ucla would be a better place to spend the next 2 yrs at. I know more people at la, its closer to home, honestly idk why i even chose berkeley i must be a prestige whore or something. I have a 4.0 and only need one more class to meet the requirement for the major i want to do at ucla, what do you guys think i should do? btw i was thinking, if i stay an extra yr at comm college and take the lsat i could see how i score and that way make a better decision about what i want to do in life( i want to be a lawyer but im not willing to go to a non top 20 law school). </p>
<p>Cliff notes
-got into berkeley for spring 2011, having doubts about wanting to go
-i really like ucla and have alot of friends going there/it seems like the ultimate college experience and berkeley seems like its too dirty/ugly chicks
-thinking about staying an extra yr and reapplying
-need opinions</p>
<p>Not a current spring transfer (was a 2008 spring transfer), but I’ll chime in…</p>
<p>Personally, I think you should transfer to a place you feel comfortable with. You’ll be spending the next 2 years there. The city of Berkeley is definitely not for everyone. It IS dirty, and noisy and home to some of the most annoyingly efficient meter maids in the country. As for prestige… UCLA and Cal are both amazing, world-class research universities. You wouldn’t be selling yourself short by choosing either one. </p>
<p>You probably shouldn’t be placing such a large emphasis on people you know and the physical attributes of the women on campus. If you intend to make it into a Top 20 law program you’ll need to dedicate quite a bit of your time to keep your GPA high (and this is a whole other level than anything you’ve experienced at cc). You’ll also want to get involved in undergraduate research (supervised independent, senior thesis, and apprenticeships). As a transfer, you’ll need this research to get stellar recommendations from your professors. Waiting another year could be a good option for you. Taking the LSAT would definitely allow you to decide if you’re capable of making the grade for that portion of your law school applications (I would recommend taking a prep course before you take it). A year off would also allow you to finish the prereq for the major you’re interested in. </p>
<p>Do what feels right to you. It sounds like you have a solid plan.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response man, i appreciate it. I’m going to go to calso and see the school one more time/check out the nightlife. Anyone else? I’d appreciate more opinions.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’d say checkout CalSO and see what you think. It’s ultimately up to you in the end, and you’ll know what feels right when the time comes.</p>
<p>-got into berkeley for spring 2011, having doubts about wanting to go
-i really like ucla and have alot of friends going there/it seems like the ultimate college experience and berkeley seems like its too dirty/ugly chicks
-thinking about staying an extra yr and reapplying
-need opinions</p>
<p>Okay, wonderful conclusions you’ve made about Berkeley. Obviously I’m being sarcastic. Berkeley is AMAZING. You’re going to public Harvard for Christ’s sake! Prestige and plethora of resources aside, Berkeley is full of a DIVERSE range of people (ugly, and NOT SO UGLY) so don’t judge. I’ve seen plenty of hot girls. and hot guys. And PLENTY of NON-NERDS. It’s not UCSB but you didn’t come here to make your eyes happy, and guess what, you already made your choice to come here. ALSO, there IS a social life here–I am actually ditching a couple of events in order to study for midterms. There are always frat parties going on every weekend, or other events if that’s not your cup of tea. </p>
<p>I loove Berkeley. If you already made your decision to come here, obviously you were fairly sure of coming here in the first place, versus going to UCLA. I say, follow through with your decisions. You’ll learn to love it here. Berkeley IS dirty but it definitely has its own culture. And you’ll grow here as a person and learn how to be independent (especially since you’re coming up here from SoCal). I love the atmosphere here. Everyone is very nice. GO BEARS!</p>
<p>thanks for your responses guys, i lol’d a little reading them. I know the purpose of college is to attain higher education, but it seems like your undergrad is the last time you will get to have fun in life, afterwards you go to grad school (i’m thinking law school) where you have to work like never before, then you get a job working like 60 plus hours a week trying to make a name for yourself. The thing with berkeley is that it doesnt seem like how i envisioned college to be, whereas ucla was almost exactly like how i imagined it. I still havent decided yet if i’m going to stay another yr in comm college and change my major and reapply, but i’m thinking about flying up to berkeley for orientation in a few weeks and checking it out over the weekend. I think i will know for sure by then, but right now i’m leaning towards ucla… it probably doesnt help that i visit my friends at ucla almost every other week lulz</p>
<p>Everyone encouraging this kid to go to Cal is seriously misguided…</p>
<p>I know you’re well intentioned, but when some guy says he doesn’t want to go to one of the top schools in the world primarily because the girls aren’t “hot” enough, you shouldn’t try to convince him otherwise!</p>
<p>The knee-jerk response is to defend your school, however, winning the argument that Cal is a great place would be a loss in that this kid would lower the average IQ by several points. Do you want people like this at Cal? I certainly do not.</p>
<p>My friend, LA sounds like the place for you.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t think the UC’s should accept community college transfers at all, but that’s for another post…o_^</p>
<p>@kitsuhiko: It takes all kinds to make a student population. He’s already in. He just needed to decide if it was right for him. His priorities were a bit misguided, but UCLA is also one of the world’s best research universities and he sounded like he had already made up his mind to reapply in order to go there instead.</p>
<p>I’m more concerned about a post you made on thread about neglecting to report your previous deficient OOS grades to Cal. </p>
<p>Hopefully none of your previous OOS colleges participate in the National Degree Clearinghouse (Berkeley does participate). If so, and Cal runs an audit on you for some reason, you will be rejected (if you haven’t yet attended), expelled (if you are attending), or have your degree revoked (if you graduated – even many years down the line). Here’s the website info. Definitely check it out:</p>
<p>If you are expelled or have your degree revoked you’ll be responsible for the repayment any loans, grants and/or scholarships awarded to you and you’ll find it difficult to transfer into another institution. It’s definitely a dangerous route to Cal. Still, I’m sure that others have successfully done it before you. But be careful about criticizing others by asking if we (Cal students/alumni) want someone like him at our school. The same question could be asked of you. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Another point that hasn’t been brought up. Just from my point of view</p>
<p>As a fall admit this last year i found the experience alot more friendlier especially with clubs and an abundance of fellow transfer in your class it wasn’t as hard meeting people as i thought it would be.</p>
<p>As a spring admit, it might be difficult to meet people. Since most clubs have already been running since fall and their membership for the year is pretty established already. Coming in as a junior a lot of the people there, that has been there since their freshmen year are already established in their cliques. Unless you are a very outgoing individual , you might feel kinda lonely on campus in the spring.</p>
<p>peter makes a point i forgot to mention, im going to be a junior spring transfer, thats pretty much as new and isolated as you can be. I only know like 2 people there, i’m pretty sociable, but even i don’t think i’ll be able to make any real friendships in my short time at berkeley. as for the kit whatever guy hatin on me, good luck in the future when they find out u lied on your application. I got my 4.0 by working hard,not by cheating the system. I asked my counselor at cal and he said there’s no way to defer my admission for next year and still reapply to ucla. it looks like im going to have to reapply, i’m tap certified so i should be good for la right? I have one pre req left for soc and have two of the 3 anthro pre reqs done so i could list anthro as my backup and have a good chance of getting in, right?!?1</p>
GO BEARS!</p>