<p>so i was talking to a few of my friends who got into cal spring last year and ended up picking ucla. anyway, theyre real bitter and say that they know people that regret picking cal because it has a very “dreary” atmosphere. personally, i have loved the campus on my visits, but i was wondering if anyone who actually attends the school can say if they are happy with their choice. thanks!!</p>
<p>Majority of people here are happy with their choice (including me).</p>
<p>Dunno what they're talking about. Sounds like a case of sour grapes to me.</p>
<p>I love it here, and I have yet to find someone who regrets coming here. Go Bears!</p>
<p>yep, most ppl are happy</p>
<p>that's good to know :)</p>
<p>I'm personally glad to be at Berkeley.</p>
<p>I chose Berkeley over Wharton, Cornell and UCLA.</p>
<p>Berkeley was the best experience of my life. If I could live the ages of 18-22 at Berkeley over and over again for the rest of my life on repeat, I would jump at the chance.</p>
<p>Some people do, Cal isn't for everyone -- but they really do make you feel like it is a perfect fit no matter who you are at CalSO. I think that's one of the fallacies of the Student Orientation program. Not only do they tell lies and urban legends about the school, they create a false sense of security that can be really damaging for some students when shattered. </p>
<p>Most people can find a place at Cal, and almost anyone can find a group to fit in with, but there is still a significant number that don't feel like they belong there. It's unfortunate, but it does happen. Most people do stick it out for the degree though. Personally, if I had it to do over again -- I probably would have gone to USC, but Cal is nice enough I suppose.</p>
<p>On the dreary atmosphere thing, Cal can be rather dreary, especially if you don't have many friends or haven't found your "place" so to speak. I hate the discussion of "places" though, it has so many negative connotations in my mind -- ya know, the rhetoric of "knowing your place". I digress, Cal can be very cold and uncomfortable if you don't find your niche right away. But I do know a lot of people (about 20-25) who ABSOLUTELY hate it and at least 20 more who vascilate between hatred and annoyance. I have yet to meet anyone who absolutely loves the place. </p>
<p>My RA first year summed it up pretty accurately though: "You won't like Cal unless you agree with it." You'll find out what this means soon enough. But my personal feeling is this: Unless you are going to a parochial school or a service academy, you shouldn't have to -agree- with the prevailing feeling to feel happy or comfortable. Another thing I fault the atmosphere here for.</p>
<p>Just in addition to my previous post: Considering I know only about 200 people, 20% not liking it is a pretty significant number. This, however, is not a cross-section of the whole school.</p>
<p>You gotta keep in mind there's also a strong selection bias going on. Keep in mind that Berkeley's yield rating, meaning the % of those students who are admitted who actually choose to attend, is only around 40% - which means that about 60% of Berkeley admits choose to go elsewhere. Obviously that 40% who actually choose to attend consist of people who disproportionately prefer Berkeley, as compared to the entire admit pool.</p>
<p>There is also a component of 'restricted options' at play. Let's face it. A lot of people (not all, but a lot) choose to attend Berkeley for no other reason than that Berkeley was the best (meaning most-prestigious or however else you define 'best') school they got into. For those people, had they gotten into a better school, they would have gone there. For example, let's be brutally honest here. A lot of Berkeley students would rather be going to Stanford, MIT, or Harvard, but didn't get in. Again, I'm not saying that everybody at Berkeley thinks that way. But I think we can all agree that a lot of people at Berkeley do. </p>
<p>Hence, what that means is that those people are indeed happy with the choice they made, because they were never given the choice to go to one of those other schools. If they had been admitted to those other schools, they might have gone there. So for these people to say that they are happy with the choice they made does not really capture the entire dynamic of what is going on. They might be happy with their choice, given the choices they had. But that doesn't mean they're entirely happy overall with what happened. </p>
<p>None of this is to say that Berkeley is a bad school for undergrad. Indeed, Berkeley is quite a good place to go for undergrad. However, we also have to realize that there are other good places to go for undergrad too</p>
<p>I've known over 800 students at Cal. Probably about 800-1000 students who are all part of the AGC, KSA, CSA, VSA, and Christian organizations. </p>
<p>I have met one person who didn't like it there. She was a new york transplant that felt like her mission was to discover the "secrets" of berkeley and ship them back to NYC.</p>
<p>Other than that, everyone I know loved it here and we reminsice about it all the time still on xanga, aim, friendster, etc...</p>
<p>but something like that occurs at every college, where students didn't get into their #1 dream school.. unless maybe you at harvard or stanford. even at the lower ivy's, probably a significant amount of students wanted to go somewhere else as well</p>
<p>You haven't met anyone that loves Berkeley? That's a bad sign. I don't fully trust you, though, no offense, since all of your posts are negative.</p>
<p>Oh, I'm sure people love Berkeley -- I just haven't met them, or those that did settle into contentedness with it. I wouldn't say very many, if anyone, out-and-out loves the place and thinks its the be-all, end-all of existence. I'm sure that is true of ANY school. And indeed, Undecided is right. See, you are learning -- this is one of the most important things people do here and you already have the potential. That's a good step. I see too many people who aren't willing to learn outside of the academic circle. If this seems rather cryptic, just wait a year or two. You'll understand.</p>
<p>And let me add, I do enjoy Cal for the academic opportunity, but I don't particularly enjoy the atmosphere, nor the attitudes of a lot of the students toward certain issues they would best leave themselves out of. But this place is what you make of it. Don't worry and just have fun.</p>
<p>Undecided87, obviously some of it goes on at every school. </p>
<p>The difference is really in degree, no pun intended. No school is perfect and no school can make every one of its students happy, but that doesn't mean that there aren't things that can be done to improve the situation. And one of the greatest knocks that Berkeley has always had about its undergrad program is its cold and impersonal nature. Now obviously not every undergrad thinks that Berkeley is that way, and not everybody is bothered by it. But it's been reported by enough students enough times over the years such that by now it is a well-understood feature of Berkeley. A lot (not all, but a lot) of Berkeley undergrads get the feeling that Berkeley doesn't really care about them - that if they do well, good, but if they don't, oh well, too bad, there's always another batch of students who'll be coming in next year. </p>
<p>Now again, that's not to say that Berkeley can't be a worthwhile place to do your undergrad. It just means that you should understand the Berkeley atmosphere and culture before you decide to come. Berkeley is not for everybody. While some people come to Berkeley thrive on the atmosphere, others wither. You need to determine for yourself what kind of person you are and whether Berkeley is right for you.</p>
<p>Sakky, what is your relationship with UC Berkeley?</p>
<p>andrewtdx admitted in his earlier epic post that he was a frat boy, a haas reject and a republican. In the crowds he must hang out in, I can't imagine anyone <em>loving</em> Berkeley. It should really be a miracle someone like that likes this place at all.</p>
<p>Andrew made a very bad choice when he decided to go to college. You see, if you don't like being around open minded people who are filled with passion then you are going to hate Cal. Andrew must hide under trees all day if he's never met anyone who loves Cal. Andrew, I love Cal, so there you go. Now you know someone!</p>
<p>Two people, even.</p>
<p>...I can't believe you guys are hating on him for posting his opnion as the OP asked for...</p>