<p>Hey guys, I need some help finding a school that's similar to Berkeley in academia and ranking( not simply for the ranking but acceptance rates, test scores, professors, and overall excellence). I've lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for my whole life and love the liberal/hippy feel of the area as well as the temperate climate ( we basically have no seasons). My dad went to Berkeley, all my older friends go to Berkeley, and my friends and I hang out in the Berkeley downtown area all the time-which is why I don't want to live here for the next four years of my life even though I LOVE it here. I mean, I would literally be five minutes away from my house if I went to UC Berkeley which would drive me nuts. So much for the college experience. :p
So if any of you could recommend a school on the East Coast or somewhere that has an incredibly liberal feel but is not a LAC, that would be great!
I've been looking into Ivy Leagues and was wondering how diverse and liberal they are. Are there a lot of privileged/spoiled student at Ivy Leagues? I've been hearing a lot about Dartmouth and Princeton's college scene... </p>
<p>Could you provide us with your resumé, please, and does this mean snow or heat is on the table?</p>
<p>There are lots of good schools like Berkeley to consider but you’ll need to see if your interest also match their academics. Places to consider, University of Washington in Seattle, university of Colorado, boulder, Brown University in Providence, Carleton college, Haverford, these are just a few quite liberal schools. There will be spoiled kids and great kids wherever you go. You just have to find your people.</p>
<p>I think you would find that your high school life in Berkeley is different than your college experience would be if you matriculated at UC Berkeley.
I would second the University of Washington suggestion-easy flight from the Bay Area and a similar feel on campus.</p>
<p>University of Vermont although it’s much smaller, more isolated, whiter, the students are much less accomplished, and the research expenditures on campus are but a fraction of that at Berkeley. </p>
<p>The University of Wisconsin - Madison might also be a possibility but the weather is much less amenable than that of Berkeley’s. Likewise,the University of Michigan has a similar storied legacy with respect to activism, excellence in academics, and a great town although it seems that the activist spirit which can still be found at Berkeley has subdued at Michigan. There’s also the issue of high OOS cost. I believe Michigan costs more than $52,000 a year to attend while Wisconsin costs almost as much. </p>
<p>Have you also considered UC Santa Cruz? I’ve been to all the UCs, and it seemed only second to Berkeley in terms of the off campus liberal vibe (although Davis came a close third).</p>
<p>Brandeis may also be worth considering. It has a long history of activism on the part of its students, is located in a suburb of Boston (very short walk from the bus to take students into the city), quite liberal, and has smaller intro classes than Berkeley. The downsides are the weather, the size (~5,000 students total), and potentially the cost. Tufts is also a popular choice among Brandeis applicants, and indeed I’ve known two students who chose Tufts over Berkeley (I live in SoCal so both were out of easy driving distance).</p>
<p>If you have the stats to where Berkeley is a low match, you might also want to consider Harvard, U Penn, Columbia, Brown, and Washington University of St. Louis. </p>
<p>Thanks for the helpful suggestions! I’ll definitely look into University of Washington and Michigan. Really appreciate it. 
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<p>I certainly empathize as someone who lived in the area for a long time. Also my daughter who was raised in SF but went to HS in LA and really wanted to go away for college. And did, it bothered me a bit but she went to Brown when she got into Berkeley too. And she really like it. She also went to grad school at Univ of Wisconsin which is a similar atmosphere in that it is a big sprawling major research university dominating the scene in a liberal small city (not so much the rest of the state) with a lot going on in terms of music, street fairs etc. Similar to U Michigan which you should def look at. The East Coast state schools are not quite up to the level of the Berkeley and Michigan. </p>
<p>Are you sure your parents are going to be happy to pay OOS rates for a school that may not be quite as vaunted? What about UCLA? My dd also applied to SD and SC. But keep UCB on your list so you have the choice come spring your Sr year.</p>
<p>Any private school is going to have more wealthy and privileged students of course. If you think they are spoiled or not is case by case basis. They also give a lot of aid. I think Yale and Brown may be the most liberal bent but they are basically are.</p>