Guys, don’t choose one school because it’s thought to be easier than the other. Don’t shy away from what you think is a challenge. Don’t be afraid to go to Berkeley because you think it might be hard. Conversely, don’t go to UCLA because you think it’ll be easier. Those aren’t good reasons to SIR to those schools.
Besides, how can any of you be certain that one school is easier/less competitive than the other? Something that I think many of you have forgotten to consider is that roughly the same kinds of students apply to these schools with very similar academic profiles. Why would Berkeley be significantly more competitive than LA? Or vice versa?
You guys have to critically examine some of the assumptions you make about these schools. You’ll find that they’re not well supported by the evidence.
It’s also worth noting that there are a lot of UCLA students here who are workaholics, who got 4.0 GPAs in community college or 4.5 GPAs in high school and many of them don’t fuck around with grades. Also, there are many of those same kinds of students who get burned out at UCLA and actually have to use counseling and psychological services because they feel their workloads are very demanding. If you think UCLA would be a good choice simply because you think it’s easier, you got another thing coming, and frankly, you might just be a little naive.
Do all of yourselves a favor and google “UCLA secrets.” Click the first link that pops up. It’ll be a facebook page that allows UCLA students to anonymously post their “secrets”, so to speak. Look through those posts. Many of them are about students who feel the workload is too much, and these are people who excelled in high school or community college and are getting burned out. Some of them wonder if they’ll even graduate or have high enough GPAs to be competitive applicants for jobs or graduate schools. This should quickly disabuse you guys of the notion that UCLA isn’t that competitive. It is.
In the absence of strong and abundant empirical evidence to the contrary, it really is best to assume that UCLA and Berkeley are roughly equal in terms of competitiveness, given the similar academic caliber of their student bodies.
With that said, don’t be afraid to go to either school. Just do your best and you should be fine. And seek out resources if you need them.
@Cayton I didn’t say UCLA isn’t but Cal is higher up there, in the top 20 in the nation as I’m sure you know. Its a better choice in the long run is all I’m saying
@boredandconfused That’s only true if you think your success is going to be determined by the prestige of your college, and even so the difference between the two isn’t that much. For most people, having gone to a prestigious college is helpful in the beginning of their careers when they have done nothing else to distinguish themselves, but over time it loses practical purpose. For some people it may be more important though.
@music1990 exactly, the prestige of the school can be a foundation to prove your skills and abilities when you have no other experience to show for. It can open a lot of doors in my opinion. Again, not saying that UCLA can’t, but Cal has the edge
@Cayton What do you think of my reasoning that I like UCLA’s major set-up better/think I’d enjoy myself (academically) more [for reasons I explained previously]? Assuming other things constant (rigor/competition/prestige), the only remaining and definitive thing is in the end I like LA’s major set up better. (although for smaller trivial things like atmosphere/weather Cal wins for me, but academic preference takes precedence and is what I prioritize).
On the prestige thing: note that all those rankings people commonly pull up are /graduate/ school rankings. Of course it’s not like undergrad rankings will differ dramatically; sure grad school ratings determine undergrad to some extent, but it’s important to keep in mind that all those figures have to do with a university as a graduate & research institution. In the end undergrad between LA and Cal doesn’t really matter (at least how I see it).
And @boredandconfused, you are right to some extent about Cal having “prestige” edge–that it’s recognized more internationally–but honestly it’s the practicality of your time at the school that determines your success (what you do in the school & make for yourself). A very corny and overused statement but it still applies; I know Berkeley graduates who work low-end jobs and Cal state graduates who work high-end jobs–it’s what they did during their time in college that set them up for future success. A degree from Berkeley is pretty moot if you graduated with sub-par GPA, little to no experience, no networking, etc. Not trying to bash on Berkeley but just making a statement that students take into account prestige a little more than they ought to without considering other equally (if not more) important things.
@boredandconfused
The difference in opportunities that the schools can offer prospective students is negligible in most majors. Of course, it might be a better idea to pursue engineering/computer science at Berkeley, and it might be better to go to UCLA if you want to break into the film industry/become an actor.
On the whole, there really isn’t any indisputable evidence that graduates of one school in general do better than graduates of the other.
Personally, I don’t think I’d be better off at Berkeley than at UCLA for my major, and the same goes for others in my major, in my opinion.
