<p>I've heard a lot that the Berkeley campus is pretty run down and "ghetto." I also know of several people that turned down Berkeley for LA.</p>
<p>Considering Berkeley's prestige, (from my observations is a step higher than LA) is the environment of Berkeley really that unattractive for many students to turn down Berkeley for LA?</p>
<p>People have different tastes and values as to what matters the most. Environment, campus physical appeal, location(bad neighborhood) wasn’t the deciding factor in me choosing UCLA over Berkeley, or UCLA over USC. If I could have afforded to attend either Berkeley or USC, I would have opted for either one of those two.
If what matters to you is prestige, moreso than environment/location, than go for Berkeley. If an overall environment etc is what matters to you then go for UCLA. I think those who want a more well balanced college experience for UCLA because what it offers. From what I’ve heard(and i don’t know if you’re a male) the girls at Berkeley are not as comparible to those at UCLA and USC. And that could be a buzz killer for some. For others it doesn’t matter. It just really depends on what is the MOST IMPORTANT for you. For me it was the best bang for my buck(without getting to into debt) and that was UCLA .</p>
<p>The campus itself is not rundown or ghetto. People may interpret the surrounding area as rundown and ghetto. Yes there are homeless people and peddlers. It has a grungy feel to it I would say. I can definitely see it not being everyone’s style. If you plan to live off-campus, the apartments range from deplorable conditions to pristine and clean. Living can be very expensive around Berkeley. My advice would be to spend at least a couple days in Berkeley before making your decision.</p>
<p>The campus at Berkeley is not rundown, at all. In fact, the campus is comparable, if not more beautiful than UCLA. It is the surrounding area, which is not ideal, that manufactures the assumption that UC Berkeley is old and decrepit. </p>
<p>In regards to picking one or the other, it honestly depends on your own values. </p>
<p>For myself, I considered other factors besides academics, because the quality of academics is so comparable at either institution. More specifically, I attempted to evaluate which school would be able to offer me a more well-rounded experience. When I visited Berkeley, I was impressed, but I did not feel the same sort of energy that pervaded UCLA. Berkeley seemed more constricted, and I felt the emphasis was placed upon items or things that were collectively less important to me. Conversely, at UCLA, I sensed an excitement, a latent enthusiasm that catalyzed a strong sense of attachment and belonging in myself. From that point, I knew that I could be, and would be, very happy if were I to attend UCLA. </p>
<p>Thus, my values coincided with the atmosphere that I discovered at UCLA. I wanted my college experience to be expansive, and I was not certain that Berkeley could offer that to same extent as UCLA. I produced my judgments based mostly on my own innate feelings, however. Perhaps, if I were to gaze upon various statistics and the like, I would discover that Berkeley offered everything that I percieved it did not. Yet, sometimes it is better to follow the whim of a deep feeling than subject onself to the pressings of cold, hard logic and I am extremely confident in the rightness of my decision.</p>