Hi everyone. I was recently accepted into UC berkeley for the fall of 2017. My main concern with Berkeley is how difficult the classes are / the amount of grade deflation. I want to pursue an MBA at one point and I know that GPA is crucial for MBA admissions. I am also slightly concerned about how competitive of an environment it is. I’ve visited campus and liked the actual campus, but I’m still worried worried about success at Berkeley. Any opinions?
I think you’ll work hard, but maintaining a great GPA is achievable. Although Haas admission is competitive, you still have a 40% chance of admission to an undergraduate program that’s ranked second in the nation–tied with MIT.
Im more concerned about the social life and like the atmosphere. I don’t wanna not be able to make friends because of how busy everyone is and how studious the whole environment is.
D is a STEM major, her friends are STEM majors - all doing really well, and she’s done plenty, social wise. There are other schools out there (or programs within those schools) that are worse, but you never hear about them the way you hear about Cal. D values the opportunity she has been given to be going to Cal and is maximizing her educational opportunities by putting learning first. There are a lot of kids at that school doing that, so, if that’s what it means to be competitive, OK. I think the diversity and Berkeley culture balance out the academics rather nicely.
Also, isn’t it more like 30-something % of Cal sophomore applicants get into Haas?