<p>If it's not too late go to Brown. I'm a student at Berkeley and I cannot stand it here. What you said about the physics department might be true but it is not worth it. "Good" departments at Berkeley DO NOT EQUAL GOOD TEACHING. And you have to deal with the crazy curves of intro science classes and what that does to students. I wouldn't bother with this if it didn't sound like you were a perfect match for Brown.</p>
<p>I suggest you read some of the comments on this site as there are alot of informative posts. <a href="http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/UCB_comments.html?page=2&d_school=The%20University%20of%20California%20--%20Berkeley%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/UCB_comments.html?page=2&d_school=The%20University%20of%20California%20--%20Berkeley</a></p>
<p>I agree with most of what was posted below. Especially about the student body. YES there are some amazing kids here, but it is hard to interact and form bonds with people due to the huge campus size and everybody finding an apartment after one year.</p>
<p>"I spent 4 years of my life here and regret the experience as a whole. There were some good days. The weather is nice most days and there are places nearby to seek quiet solitude. There were some excellent professors here and good TA's that cared about students, but in general Berkeley was not the college experience I was expecting, especially for the price I paid as an out-of-state student.</p>
<p>The worst part of Berkeley is the student-student interaction. Many, if not most of your peers are pretty low quality. Berkeley has the 11th most selective student body according to USNews but this statistic ignores the huge numbers of transfer students which get in on a much lower standard than average admits. For the most part, you will meet many weird, obnoxious people that it defies reason. FOr example, my roommate the first year was obssessed with boy bands and played the music obssessively 24/7. My 2nd roommate was a passive aggressive engineering freak who cursed up storms the few times he did speak. After joining many clubs, I've met nothing but mostly bubble heads or conceited, self-involved jerks only interested in improving their own resume.</p>
<p>Yes, they are nice people, but in general you will not have opportunities to do things with them enough to really get to know them. The semester is only 16 weeks or so long anyways and there is no continuous dorm system to develop relationships like at other schools.</p>
<p>The 2nd worst part about Berkeley is the academics. For the 40k a year my parents spent, I got huge, impersonal classes taught by teaching aides and filled with people, who from their comments in discussion, did not do the reading or seem particularly enthused. There are smart people and professors at Berkeley but they are very diffused and it is rare that you will ever have the opportunity to meet with or work with a top professor. That being said it is just as rare to have a professor evaluate your work anyways so there aren't any doors opened by coming to class anywyas. It seems liek a general crapshoot and suckup fest to network with professors and most of the professors aren't that interested anyways. Who can blame them really? Many of the student I've met barely belong in a university period, much less someplace with Berkeley's brand name, and professors are probably weighed down by their research obligations, helping their first-rate grad students to be bothered with some mediocre college student who needs a rec for med school.</p>
<p>I hated my experience here and wish to god I had had the foresight to not come here in the first place or at least transferred before it was too late. Berkeley is a waste of time and money."</p>
<p>Having said this, if you are still considering on going definitely take a Decal your freshman year. This are student taught classes about random topics like Harry Potter and Cult Films and they are a good way to meet people.</p>