<p>I've been accepted at both berkeley and williams and I'm having a lot of troubling deciding. I'm from ca and I like the idea of experiencing a new place and I also think that williams is probably the better school, however, I love cal too. </p>
<p>any comments/ideas would be helpful</p>
<p>Seems like you just have to decide. You already know the differences, and you probably couldn’t find two more different schools.</p>
<p>I can tell you that my S’s next door neighbor and best friend frosh year was from CA, chose Williams, and has had a wonderful time there. Out of the twenty kids in his entry, three or four were from CA.</p>
<p>Yes, they are totally different.</p>
<p>If you want classes taught by professors (instead of TAs), if you don’t want to fight for your classes, if you don’t want to wait in long lines waiting to talk to a guidance counselor, then go to Williams.</p>
<p>If you hate snow and living in a small remote town so much than it outweighs getting a fantastic, personalized education, then UCB is for you.</p>
<p>Just go on the Berkeley threads and see the complaints. And the budget cuts are not going to make it any better. Our D was accepted to UCB, but she has no desire to attend based on what I’m talking about.</p>
<p>I went to UCLA. I always felt like a number. I never got to know a single professor or administrator. They just don’t have the time to care. </p>
<p>Other than sunshine and the name (and possibly cheaper tuition), I see little allure to UCB or UCLA.</p>
<p>Wow, I’m in the same boat.
My problem is the Berkeley is very ‘prestigious’ in India(from where I am), and nobody’s heard of Williams.
But, I can’t stand the thought of being a number. I want guidance in college, not cut throat competition. Waiting for the Ivies tonight. Otherwise, it’s definitely Williams.
Just have to convince my parents now :P</p>
<p>WILLIAMS. I was in that same boat last year, and honestly, I have no regrets. I, too, am from California. Since I can remember, Berkeley was always what I was told to aim. Now that I am at Williams, and hear my friends from home complain about the budget cuts and about the UC system in general, I am so grateful for Williams’ ability to run so smoothly. Also, it’s true, by going to a big school like UCB, you run the risk of being nothing more than just another face in the crowd. Here at Williams, it is nice to experience the accessibility of the staff and professors.</p>
<p>Also, as a California kid myself, I can tell you that it is is nice to have the opportunity to experience living in a completely different place. Williams is remote and isolated, but honestly, it is not that bad. There is always something to do. I’m never bored. Go williams!</p>
<p>When it comes to receiving your degree from Berkeley, unless you have many friends in our own department or unless you’re a Gold Medal finalist, yes, you will feel like a number. But going to college is not all about that particular day, the experience of being a Cal student is anything but about being a number. </p>
<p>The dorms are the first place you make your friends, then in class and then on Sproul Plaza, where will you will be canvassed by myriad organisations. If you’re a go-getter, you can make a name for yourself. I was often in the local news, and also featured in the national and international news - Berkeley gives you that platform. </p>
<p>As far as developing relationships with professors went, I didn’t have trouble in that department either in any of my three years at Cal. All you have to do is read the material, think of pertinent questions and then visit the professor’s office hours with a positive attitude. And bear in mind, Berkeley’s professors are ranked year on year the best in the world. </p>
<p>I’ve lived in West Europe, South Asia and on both coasts of the USA. The people in the SF Bay Area are the nicest people I know: very laid back, generous of spirit and curious. </p>
<p>If you want good weather, nice people (they aren’t uppity or bullies), a rich intellectual environment, school spirit, a highly active student body, access to the top names in their fields and a brand name that is recognised the world over, choose Cal.</p>
<p>cal is amazing… if youve never been to williamstown you should visit before you go. regarding campus/environment/life berkeley wins hands down, there’s just no comparison</p>
<p>regarding student faculty ratio and personal attention williams wins</p>
<p>williams is a solid school but make sure you know what youre getting yourself into. many have described the campus feel as “suffocating”, and i know many students that transferred to other schools just because they couldn’t stand the environment there (even with its superior qualities)</p>
<p>berkeley is very well known worldwide (in asia/europe) and every cal student i’ve met absolutely loves it there… definitely give it fair consideration. the bay area is also beautiful, it is literally from a dream! the brand is also very recognizable if you’re thinking post-grad</p>
<p>Keep in mind that for whatever reason polka will always speak negatively of Williams in any comparison whatsoever. Hardly anyone EVERY transfers from Williams, in fact, Williams has just about the highest graduation rate, year in and year out, of any college in the country. Far, far, far, FAR higher percentage of folks leave Cal than Williams. So I can’t imagine that polka knows MANY people who have transferred from Williams, unless he / she makes an affirmative effort to track down each member of the extremely small cohort of people who leave the school each year. The school is a small school in a rural environment. But it is hardly a “suffocating” place for the vast majority of students, most of whom are very happy with their Williams experience. Of course, there will always be a FEW disgruntled people at ANY school, but Williams is about as, overall, a happy environment as I have ever experienced. People are generally very upbeat and enthused about their peers and the school, and the alumni are as dedicated and devoted as any you will find.</p>
<p>To me, unless you REALLY want to be in Berkeley / a big university setting, this is a no brainer. Williams’ undergraduate academics are simply far superior, particularly in light of the massive cut-backs at Berkeley. Why fight to get into overenrolled lectures when at Williams you can have lunch with your actual professors whenever you want? Why be one of tens of thousands of people fighting for an increasingly small pool of resources and attention when at Williams every student has a chance to make a major impact on campus? If you have to ask the question, that to me means you don’t have an obvious, overwhelming preference for the Berkeley environment, and if that is the case, I’d take any top 5-10 liberal arts school over Berkeley, in a heat-beat. The UC system is, sadly, heading in the wrong direction, with no signs of imminent reversal.</p>
<p>My son goes to a large well known top 10 public school. He gets a very good education there and, at the time, he thought he wanted a large school. However, there is no question in my mind that my Williams daughter gets a superior education. But, such a rigorous education is a good fit for her and I suspect, if my son had to choose over again, he would have preferred a smaller school despite the fact that his school is much more “well known.”. In addition, the state budget cuts that effect the university has me worried and concerned about the continued quality of education at his school.</p>
<p>Ducking in from another forum…</p>
<p>TheMom has worked for UCLA for more than 30 years and our D went to a nearby LAC (better than Williams but one which half the populations is not eligible for, nudge nudge) and we’ve become big fans of LAC’s for undergrad. </p>
<p>Berkeley is a terrific place for graduate school but for undergrad, my vote would be for Williams without a second thought. Only downsides: it’s pretty remote/insular and it’s a bit too “jock-y” for my tastes.</p>
<p>Parent of junior-in-HS here. Two anecdotes:</p>
<p>(1) As a disillusioned freshman at Harvard, I was told by an upperclassman that if wanted a great education, I should have gone to Williams, Swarthmore, or U. Chicago. </p>
<p>(2) I got my Ph.D. in Berkeley. I lived and worked in the Bay Area for 15 years. I liked California, but had the impression that many kids who grow up there can’t conceive of living elsewhere. I think it’s important to broaden your.horizons while you’re young.</p>
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<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, I’m looking at UCLA, Berkeley, Williams, and UChicago. I’m finding this to be one of the hardest decisions possible, much harder than many of my friends’. </p>
<p>My preconceived notion was the Williams and UChicago will both do a better job at getting me into grad/prof school and UCLA and Berkeley would not do such a great job.</p>
<p>A major obstacle I’ve found here is that getting the “A” at Williams (of UChicago for that matter) is next to impossible. Does anyone know about that?</p>
<p>No, an A is not next to impossible at Williams, but I suspect it’s harder than UCLA and graduate schools are aware that a Williams B is different than other schools. The nice thing about Williams is that it’s not competitive but cooperative. Students work well together and D usually has a study group to work with. It’s what got her through several classes.</p>
<p>OK, it didn’t seem like the competition was too cutthroat to begin with. How do you think the academics at Williams compare to those at UChicago?</p>
<p>i know some of the athletes at both, and the Williams experience is significantly better than Cal for an athlete, better resources at Williams. And in the sports I’m talking about, better coaches as well. The Cal resources have almost disappeared for a lot of sports relative to what a private school offers.</p>
<p>And Cal’s “reputation” in India etc as someone mentioned above has nothing to do with the quality of its undergrad program. You can actually attribute most of Cal’s international fame to a guy who’s been dead for a log time, Ernst Lawernce…who was truly a genius!</p>