<p>Let me be the first one to tell you that no one hated on UC-Berkeley more than I did last year prior to matriculating. I was very certain at my chances at HYP and considered Berkeley a mere "safety." But lo and behold, you won't find a bigger fan of Berkeley than me. I thank God that I wasn't accepted to these schools because in all likelihood, I wouldn't have enjoyed the experience as much as I'm enjoying the Cal experience. I am doing well in my classes, have made great friends, and have a bevy of opportunities from which to choose from. I love the location, the attitude of the students, and the school spirit present on campus. I too had once considered Cal a lowly school for ivy league rejects, but attending Berkeley has opened my eyes to all the unique opportunities available at Berkeley. Go ahead and give it a shot. While there is a chance that you might not like Cal immediately, I know I didn't, I have learned to grow, love, and respect Berkeley as one of the greatest universities in the world. And quite frankly, I proudly call it home!</p>
<p>If it makes anybody feel better, I know people who really wanted to go to Berkeley for graduate school, but didn't get in, so had to 'settle' for an Ivy graduate school. For example, I know people who really wanted to get into Haas for their MBA, but didn't get in, so settled for getting their MBA at places like Yale or Cornell. {You can look at the MBA rankings to understand why this would be considered 'settling'}. And that is certainly true of doctoral programs. I know people for which the Berkeley PhD program was their first choice, but didn't get in, so they ended up at Harvard or Stanford.</p>
<p>"but aren't Berkeley's honors math courses more rigorous than MIT or HMC classes? i'm planning to try it out."</p>
<p>I don't believe that. Check out the curricula and the problems. Mudd and MIT courses in math are, I believe, just as rigorous, if not moreso.</p>
<p>I believe that Harvard has the title of most difficult math course, and MIT is second. I remember them saying so when I visited.</p>