<p>As a public institution, Cal is doing an amazing job. I have hired Cal grads and I appreciate the quality. If you want improvement, fight for it. Participate in campus organizations - convince the administration and your classmates - don’t give up. That’s what we do all the time at work - some battles we win and some we loose. Both non-profit private schools (like Stanford, Harvard, MIT, etc.) and public schools provide education at a lower cost to the needy and in the case of top private schools, to the URM (which UC system is prevented from doing). But, the rest of us (as a parent) pay the full ride for our kids. But, it is an amazing level of education that you get here with such broad based curriculum in most of the US schools, even Cal. It doesn’t get its reputation of being one of the top universities in the world for nothing. With the internet and itunes-U and all kinds of resources, you have the world at your fingertips compared to the world we had for fuddy duddies like me. At work, we have to learn all by ourselves all the time - the only place spoon feeding is needed or required is factory production line so that the chain is efficient and not broken.</p>
<p>See look at flutterfly_28, an obvious lack of reading comprehension. Proof positive that Cal is not doing its job.</p>
<p>I really don’t feel like Cal is open to change. A lot of the interests are entrenched, and I just don’t have the time to get involved to the extent that I would like to be.</p>
<p>School is not work. School shouldn’t be work. I don’t care about what happens at work. I know what happens at work. If I wanted to work and learn on my own, I would have continued working and learning on my own.</p>
<p>Look who just lost their credibility! I wish we could upvote and downvote on this site. Everybody but trolls and sakky, go join the Berkeley subreddit!</p>
<p>lol @ lost credibility. So we can just make statements without backup now? That is how the internet works I suppose. The fact of the matter is that a large number of Berkeley students feel the same way I do. And the characterization of the school as dilapidated, crime-ridden, anti-social and hostile to undergraduate persists. You can attack people who feel this way but you can’t deny the existence of a real problem.</p>
<p>Good luck with your next step, MortimerC as you mentioned that you are graduating this year. Hope you do well and forget the bitterness about Cal over time. As you are graduating, you must obviously be a little older and are able to judge the good from the bad compared to the freshmen that are entering college life for the first time. As an older guy, I just wanted to provide a perspective that comes with age (and the resistance to change that comes with it). It is good to have discussions about this on forums, but none of it will result in change. Change comes thru participation. I do not live in Berkeley nor am I studying there and so my ability to promote change is a bit limited, but hope you will fight for changing all the negatives you see.</p>
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<p>I never realized that the only people who are welcome to post on this discussion board are those whose postings that flutterfly_28 happens to approve.</p>
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What were YOU expecting college to be? You definitely were not a ‘fit’ for a large public university. I have gone to one of the top colleges back East, and believe me, for the higher tuition, you still get large class sizes, TAs, small dingy dorms and yes, the blackboards (personally I prefer them). A lot of this stems from unrealistic expectations.</p>
<p>And I hate to stereotype, but you said you have worked before …so assuming you are in college as an undergrad and you are not your typical 18-19 year old, older students have a really HARD time to adjust.</p>
<p>And perhaps you need to get out of the typical bay area/CA bubble to check out some of the big college campuses back east and you will be glad you are paying in-state tuition for the same stuff.</p>
<p>They have come up with a list of small colleges that supposedly change lives. [Colleges</a> That Change Lives | Changing Lives, One Student at a Time](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/) Some people who are not upto the bigger colleges, can thrive here. But on the other hand, there are the usual disadvantages of small vs large (in terms of opportunities).</p>
<p>One’s trash is another’s treasure.
Back in 2006, my son picked Cal over MIT for his Ms/PhD work. On May 12 my wife and I are going to his Ph.D commencement. It was the best choice he ever made. Now with a 1.5 million Angel funding he received for a startup he co-founded with his friend last year, he will be a very busy young man. Remember! Every thing happens in UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>Congratulations! Ph.D. and a startup - best of the achievements in both the worlds. We visited an Ivy this spring where our son was accepted and he was sure of going there. Instead we were blown away by what we saw in Cal on Calday. He has decided to go to Cal instead. </p>
<p>To the OP: It is tough that you chose Cal and you don’t like it here. See if you can transfer out. If that is not possible, then grin it and bear it - you will do very well in the real world after that. And also try hard to change the environment. But, doing nothing would also mean that it was just a venting of feeling, but not real pain - and that is fine as well.</p>
<p>And Berkeley makes headlines across the country every time !</p>
<p>When Occupy Cal happened, it was on national news (CNN etc). Did you try to google the new automated dorm. Every website and news across the country is reporting it. <a href=“http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57425120-71/check-out-this-fully-automated-dorm-room-in-berkeley-of-course/[/url]”>http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57425120-71/check-out-this-fully-automated-dorm-room-in-berkeley-of-course/</a></p>
<p>The thing is Berkeley continues to be in the news and is always a force to contend with from the outside.</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley lab receives $10 million to fund ‘big data’ research - Los Angeles Times](<a href=“http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/31/business/la-fi-tn-berkeley-lab-receives-10-million-to-fund-big-data-research-20120330]UC”>UC Berkeley lab receives $10 million to fund 'big data' research)</p>
<p>[U.C</a>. Berkeley gets $60 million for theoretical computing - San Francisco Business Times](<a href=“http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2012/05/01/uc-berkeley-60-million-computing-theory.html]U.C”>http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2012/05/01/uc-berkeley-60-million-computing-theory.html)</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley College of Chemistry receives $3.5 million gift | The Daily Californian](<a href=“http://www.dailycal.org/2012/02/29/uc-berkeley-college-of-chemistry-receives-3-5-million-gift/]UC”>http://www.dailycal.org/2012/02/29/uc-berkeley-college-of-chemistry-receives-3-5-million-gift/) </p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.dailycal.org/2011/12/22/uc-berkeley-alumnus-donates-15-million-to-campus/]UC”>http://www.dailycal.org/2011/12/22/uc-berkeley-alumnus-donates-15-million-to-campus/]UC</a> Berkeley alumnus donates $15 million to campus | The Daily Californian<a href=“at%20least%20one%20alumni%20loves%20Cal”>/url</a></p>
<p>Having been in Wheeler/Tolman (that is where the summer classes are held), honestly it was just your typical class rooms…wasn’t expecting shiny 5-star corridors.</p>
<p>Congrats to the PHD student!</p>
<p>I want to be clear. I am not bitter about attending Berkeley, it’s a great institution, but it has it’s problems and it’s not for everyone. For the cost, it was probably a good decision to attend. I did get into an east coast school that many would rank ahead of Berkeley, but the California lifestyle, family and money all swayed me towards here. I don;t exactly regret that decision per-se. I’ve been able to fight for some great opportunities here. It can just be annoying sometimes is all.</p>
<p>lol @ the Stanford hate - you bears are so cute. ;)</p>
<p>Seriously though, threads like this are pointless - all they prove is that Berkeley, just like every other university, is not for everyone, which is an obvious truth that we all know. Some should stay away from Berkeley (including the OP), while others should run full-speed to it. This is true of every other university - yes, including Stanford.</p>
<p>Discouraging students from attending simply because you (the OP) didn’t like it is absurd. Even with the rising costs of tuition, I’d wager that Berkeley is still a lot of bang for your buck.</p>
<p>Oh boohoo, how sad. I feel so sorry that you even have the chance to come to Berkeley… not. School is school. Dont discourage other students to not attend Cal because of your whiny opinions. College is what you make out of it, and obviously you havent really tried to make yourself more comfortable with it. There are so many great opportunities that you could take on to change your perspective. Just thought I’d throw my opinion out there too.</p>
<p>Berkeley student here. The Berkeley vs. Stanford thing boils down to the Big Public vs. Small Private thing. </p>
<p>Everything is a little easier at Stanford: more attention from professors, smaller classes, less people competing for internships and research, better food. Basically, fewer students competing for the same resources. And the student body is more diverse - Berkeley is a California school, by and large, whereas Stanford is an international one. Lower acceptance rate, too, which means you get some superstars/actors/children of famous people.</p>
<p>Obviously, that’s awesome. And I totally would have gone had I gotten in. The flipside to this is that Berkeley is very, very competitive, and if you do well here, you’ve done well in one of the difficult environments you’ll ever find yourself in. It’s a crucible of sorts, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Berkeley students have every opportunity Stanford students have: there’s just more people competing for them. And it feels pretty good when you get that job, or scholarship, or research position, that you know you had to beat out 60 other people to get.</p>
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<p>I certainly agree that the Berkeley students who do well will enjoy plenty of opportunities.</p>
<p>But my concern has always revolved around those students who don’t do well. What about them? Sure, it feels terrific indeed to know that you were the 1 guy out of 60 to win the job, the scholarship, the research position. But what about the other 59 guys - what happens to them?</p>
<p>these kinds of posts are hilarious. berkeley is the best public school in the world. don’t get confused about that. another thread on this site is some dude who is considering going to UCR instead of UCLA or Cal. hahahahah. oh well. loony tunes.</p>
<p>“Haha @ comparing Berkeley campus to Stanford. we really need to let the inferiority complex go. Stanford is a much prettier, much safer campus.”</p>
<p>Lol. Maybe if you like artificiality and Taco Bell.</p>
<p>Aside from a couple awful buildings (looking at you Evans), Berkeley is a pretty stunning campus architecturally. Some natural areas are pretty breath taking too- just off the top of my head, the grove/path by VLSB, the bridge/creek near Haviland, creek under sather gate, path through faculty glade. The campus has a relaxed park feel that is unappreciated because it is so different from what most people expect from a university.</p>
<p>^ Yes, walking through faculty glade with the Campanile peeking above the redwoods and the sound of Strawberry Creek is a life long memory for me.</p>
<p>the city of oakland looked really …um…poorly maintained though ^</p>
<p>Why is every other top university located in a good, pretty and well run city…the crappy city berkeley is in makes me sad :(</p>
<p>I think most people think the stanford campus is prettier including me.</p>