<p>"...I can't believe you guys are hating on him for posting his opnion as the OP asked for.."
Most of andrewt post have been about how people at CAL dont like people with differing opinions, its a running theme.</p>
<p>BigBrother: First of, I never applied to Haas -- I never finished all the requirements before I gave up. I realized an MBA might be a better option. Secondly, I am a LIBERTARIAN.... there is a difference. Thirdly, being a fraternity brother has nothing to do with loving or hating Cal. There are as many Fraternity people who enjoy the place as hate it. </p>
<p>Secondly, hating on me for expressing my opinion is why people like Bill O'Reiley and Sean Hannity (as asinine and stupid as they can be) rail on you folks. Step back and look at yourself and ask as to WHY you love Cal so much if you attack someone for disagreeing with you. My mind is perfectly open, but I have differing opinions. Being "tolerant, liberal, and socially consciencous/PC" is not open-minded. Open-minded is willingness to accept others for who they are, and WHY they act the way they do.</p>
<p>I'll iterate it again, I LIKE Cal for its academic opportunities and I love my Fraternity, and it breaks my heart that I am going to be away from it for a year; HOWEVER, some aspects... which have made themselves abundantly clear here -on this board- are the reason why I am not particularly enamored with the place.</p>
<p>Look I got no problem with other opinions, I got problems with exaggeration. I've been here a year and I know +20 people who <em>love</em> it here. You've been here 4, and don't know a single one?</p>
<p>3 years, and I know people who LOVED it, but they've settled into contentment or just plain got tired of it. </p>
<p>Trust me, Cal gets old. I enjoyed it more last year, than I do this year -- simply because its become routine and classes have sort of blended into each other. It's gonna happen, trust me. Keep in mind, I did call myself the "bitter, jaded, old man" and there is a VERY good reason for that.</p>
<p>I'm simply here to dispense advice and scare off non-hackers. Cal is a lot of work, and I'm not gonna lie about that. They give us plenty of work, and it is VERY difficult -- but you know what? We're FAR better prepared than our peers who went to other universities. </p>
<p>I just get tired of people who **<strong><em>, *</em></strong>, and moan and hate on it because there are ugly girls, or because it's cold 80 days of the year instead of 75 like their used to, or gripe about the work. </p>
<p>If you have a legitimate gripe, like students cheating all the time, or people trampling your freedom of expression, whatever that may be, is completely different.</p>
<p>I apologize if I was a little harsh, but I don't appreciate being called out on my beliefs, affiliations and career goals. I get enough of that as it is.</p>
<p>Andrew just had a few bad experiences. It's unfair of him to generalize the whole school that way, though. I know a few people at Berkeley, and one that graduated and is in med school right now, and they are all incredibly nice people. But I still wouldn't generalize the Berkeley population as being incredibly nice and easy to talk to. I still believe the old saying that college is what you make of it.</p>
<p>I perfectly understand what andrew is trying to express. While the majority of students love Cal, there are a significant amount that do in fact get tired of the place after a while. What he has said makes clear sense to me, that although they advocate for open mindedness the reality is that if you dont agree with the liberal majority, people will bash you. It can be difficult. At first it may be exciting but after a while it gets a little old.</p>
<p>Yeah I apologize for my tone earlier, <em>but</em> I still think that the circles you run in- business, greek etc. <em>generally</em> aren't going to enjoy Berkeley as much as many other students.</p>
<p>True, there will always be people who hate a school. I'm guessing that Andrew probably was rejected to his first choice and was forced to come here.</p>
<p>And if you're forced to go to a school, chances are, you wont like it!</p>
<p>It's totally true that you have to find your niche, and find it fast. Once you knowwhere you belong, you'll love it. Evidently, Andrew never decided to look around.</p>
<p>That's not exactly how it happened... I did get into my first choice and was basically told I was going to Cal, like it or not.
I found my niche, but not until much later. I'll spare you the boring details. And with that, I'm OUT!</p>
<p>That explains it all. I guess.</p>
<p>Haters will always be haters.</p>
<p>Bubbles to be fair, he's not a total hater, even seems to like a lot of aspects of the school. </p>
<p>But for the viewers of this thread: if anything, the amount of defense Berkeley's getting has gotta prove that there are plenty of people here who think Cal's one of the greatest schools in the world.</p>
<p>If you graduate from Cal with an Economics, PEIS, Engineering, Haas, CS, EECS, MCB, Math, Statistics, etc... you will graduate and do just as well as anyone from a upper tier Ivy. The richest Asian person in the world, Masayoshi Son graduated from Berkeley undergrad in economics and was at one point worth $76 Billion, second only to Bill Gates. </p>
<p>If you want to change the world, and find yourself, and pursue your dreams with inspiration and freedom, then Cal is also the right place for you too. Mario Savio, a Cal philosophy major, founded the free speech movement at Berkeley which sent ripples throughout the entire world and changed history. </p>
<p>Not to mention long lasting friendships based on idyllic settings. </p>
<p>And everyone in between. </p>
<p>There is something for everyone.</p>