<p>I'm torn b/t the two! Although Cal has better prestige/more opportunities, etc, SD has an environment(campus, socal, vibe) that can't be beat. I feel like I would be happier at SD, although I would miss the opportunities and stronger education Cal can offer. To people who have been accepted to both, what is your motive to choose Cal?</p>
<p>I would think Berkeley would have a better campus vibe than SD. (nicknamed UC Socially Dead) Cal also has Div 1 sports compared to Div 2 for UCSD.</p>
<p>@AndrewL, if you don’t go to UCSD, it’s probably not wise to make comments perpetuating stupid rumors.</p>
<p>really, unless you are doing one of those few majors that are better at UCSD, Berkeley would overall be much better.</p>
<p>@ucsandiego915: well this is both opinion based since the OP did just make a claim that UCSD has a better environment.</p>
<p>however, i will give some more finer details on the social aspect of ucsd based on what my high school friends have told me. overall, my friends do agree that ucsd is socially dead. one of the biggest problems is that there is no greek life on campus and going to frat parties usually require you to take a bus far off campus. then, there’s also the single rooms and suite-styled housing in ucsd that promote isolation. people in suites tend to just hang out with their own suitemates instead of going out and meeting an entire floor. single rooms also have the same negatives as suites as that isolates u a bit from the rest. these are some points that deter social interaction within the campus. but, before ucsd people start flaming me and telling me that they have a blast despite these points, i want to say that these are just things that make social interaction harder than if there were nearby frats or dorm styled housing. of course if you have the personality then these obstacles would mean nothing to you, but overall the small bumps still slow down the social life as a whole.</p>
<p>^I agree. Everyone I know at SD is jealous of Berkeley’s social scene. Even the UCLA people hate the fact that they have no frat row and have to take buses to real clubs/parties and have to pay to get in. And they usually have to pay separately for the alcohol which is much harder to access underage than in frat houses here.</p>
<p>@demoz, since I am in a sorority and I have the opportunity to party 6 or 7 nights out of the week, I find it very offensive that you say there’s no greek life. Once again, if you are not involved, you can’t judge.</p>
<p>And I wouldn’t want to live in the slum known as Berkeley anyway, no matter what social scene there is. Sorry to be blunt. no need to flame, that’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>He’s not “judging”, he’s repeating what his friends at SD have told him. And by the way, my friends there tell me the same thing, so I’d take a liiiitle less offense.</p>
<p>ok so Cal, in general, has a better social life than SD has, but what about the happiness at berkeley? I remember searching these forums, and people seem to be very unhappy. Happiness is a major component for me in my selection of Cal or SD :/</p>
<p>Did you get accepted into the happier campus choices, like UCSB or UCSC? Those would seem much happier places than hair-thin differences between the more competitive schools (SD, LA and B).</p>
<p>The gripes that people have about Berkeley mainly revolve around the administration and bureaucracy, not the social life, city, or academics. UCSD has comparable administrative problems and I don’t know how their course sign-up system compares to Telebears. I can’t imagine it’s much better considering that Telebears sucks because of the sheer number of students.</p>
<p>Have you visited both campuses? The few times I’ve visited UCSD, I got the impression that Berkeley is a much more lively place. The UCSD campus is much more spread out and they need to bring a bit of the city into the campus itself by building things like the Price Center. Aside from the relatively small ASUC gift and bookstore, you won’t find shopping opportunities on the Berkeley campus because you can walk one block across the street and find tons of restaurants and stores encompassing the main campus. At SD they have a considerably bigger bookstore and food courts on campus, which is perhaps convenient but also more limited.</p>
<p>I like the Berkeley atmosphere a lot more, but you should pick what suits you best.</p>