<p>Yeah, UCSD is better too. Most of the other UC's are pretty good, not quite as large and they don't attract as many gpa whores.</p>
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<p>Yeah, i actually wanted to go to UCLA over Berkeley,well until I realized I didn't like LA, but I really liked the campus and everything else. My dad made me choose between the 3 schools that gave me Regents scholarships, and Berkeley though. So UCLA was never an option.</p>
<p>And so I chose Berkeley over the other UCs that gave me full-rides, which I somehow don't regret though, partly because Berkeley is a bigger "name" than the others.</p>
<p>Regarding UCSD and Berkeley, I met a transfer from UCSD here who said she disliked UCSD because it's in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>I don't think the academics are better in all honesty, despite it being a good university. However, I could not stand a campus in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>"The academics are just as good and the atmosphere is better"</p>
<p>Make that your mantra. Say it 100 times a day. One day you will convince yourself.</p>
<p>Nah, no offense, but it's like saying Berkeley is better than Stanford. While for graduate programs it may definitely be true, I wouldn't say that's true for undergrad.</p>
<p>Hence, saying UCSD is better than Berkeley is ridiculous.</p>
<p>It depends on what you want to do. UCSB has a program where they throw you into research right away. If you're planning to going to graduate school anyways, a more personal campus where you can meet profs is better.</p>
<p>Overall, I'd say the Berkeley experience based on "academics" alone is foolhardy and retarded. Everything else about Berkeley sucks and the academics are just trickledown effects from the grad program.</p>
<p>Are you talking about UCSB or UCSD? </p>
<p>Well whatever, I rejected the Regents to UCSB and I rejected UCSD which offered a partial scholarship to come to UCB because of the academics. </p>
<p>Maybe I should go beat myself.</p>
<p>I dunno, I don't think you'll have a good time once you get more experience, it seems that anything can and will happen in Berkeley which is not usually a good thing. I would suggest you make the most out of it by being persistent and just finding a professor who will mentor you. Thats the only advantage berkeley has over the other schools.</p>
<p>I thought all the professors were hippy/commie/leftist/homos? How could you possibly find a good right winger to take you under his wing?</p>
<p>I am actually a second year at Berkeley, and so far I've enjoyed my second year more than my first. This year I started talking to my GSIs during OH and they are really likeable people. Some professors are okay, and others aren't. My second and third semesters I had a bout of apathy about school, and now I'm trying to care again, so I'm actually going to every lecture and trying to get more involved. What you make out of Berkeley really does depend on the effort you put in.</p>
<p>Given of course at Berkeley I won't ever make as close friends as I did in high school, and my boyfriend isn't here, it's alright. It's not THAT miserable.</p>
<p>"What you make out of Berkeley really does depend on the effort you put in."</p>
<p>Isn't that true with everything though?</p>
<p>Its more true of berkeley because they don't give very good advice counserlor wise and its pretty hard to naturally impress professors (I have only done that in classes of less than 50 which was liek 3 classes here) with so many other people adding to the noise. +with more people the tests are "easier" or "dumbed down" relatively so if you do well it just shows you did all your work or paid attention, not that you're particularly smart.</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> It's easy to impress these people if you talk to them and they are interested in what you say. Every GSI and prof I talk to has acted this way. Most of your criticisms are probably more true of Berkeley's science classes/departments than humanities/social science, so do your best to differentiate. I find my philosophy and rhetoric lectures help immensely, and the physics one last semester did, as does my music class. My midterms don't seem dumbed down, as people come out of the class saying how hard it was, how they're going to switch from letter grade to pass/not pass. Which is it, guys? Can it be both dumbed down and arbitrarily graded hard? I don't get that. They seem generally contradictary.</p>
<p>And feel free to give cross acceptance rates of UCSD vs Berkeley. i'm sure some kids choose UCSD over Berkeley. How many? Show me some statistics.</p>
<p>No statistics, but my friend chose SD over UCB because he received Regents from SD.</p>
<p>it can bothb e arbritary and dumbed down.</p>
<p>IF its dumbed down, anyone can make a 100 because it just tests basic stuff and won't create a normal distribution. If its arbritary it will be graded without a consistent criteria which is often the case.</p>
<p>And the humanities is hardly a consistent barometer of the academic life. It seems you're in one of the non-competitive majors that nik pointed out in another thread. Not everyone can afford to throw away their major.</p>
<p>It seems that lately, UCSD is drawing more and more UCB and UCLA undergrads away. I knew a few people who chose it merely based on the 6 college design and quality of the research programs.</p>
<p>Oh, and location location location.</p>
<p>Philosophy isn't competitive in the sense that mcb might be, but please don't fool yourself- I'm not throwing away my major because I'm not memorizing biological factoids. Philosophy majors do quite well with themselves in general. Your law classes next year will be full of them, and no, it's not because the major grades easily. On the contrary, it does the opposite. And they'll be every bit as smart as you are, science major.</p>
<p>You complain about everything. Seriously, everything. They use consistent criteria, you just might not like what it is. Sorry, GSIs and professors are generally consistent in their grading practices, whether or not you think their criteria make sense is a different story. On the other hand, there is a certain percentage of grades that are allowed to be given out according to campus policy. Even if most people got 100% on a test, it would be scaled so that many would not get A's.</p>
<p>I don't imagine the humanities as being some consistent barometer, but I do imagine that you're talking about the SCIENCES. Differentiate when you do, for the sake of being accurate and fair. What's the percentage of students majoring in the humanities vs. the sciences? Yeah, a huge chunk is in each. If your jargon generally doesn't relate to one chunk, mention that.</p>
<p>I sense a ron-burgundy-esque alley fight coming on.<br>
"Science major"</p>
<p>^^^ good one. Thats by far the best insult ever. </p>
<p>ever.</p>
<p>Depends a lot on your GSI. Some don't have a lot of structure to their thoughts or teaching and thus makes it harder to see what they want. And I took both MCB (early years) and poli sci and econ later years so I've taken soft and hard. Poli Sci is probably the "easiest" as in you do your work and you'll get an A. Wheras MCB or Econ you can do your work and still do badly.</p>