<p>I know that most of you would never even dream of passing up Cal to go to a CSU so you will probably think I'm nuts for this thread...
Basically I am a social work major and I am really confused on where I want to go to school. I have visited Humboldt state twice and am completely in love with it. I love the area around the campus as well as the small town it is in. I love that it is a small campus and the fact that I'll be staying in brand new on campus apartments on a floor with students who are all 21+. I really like how their social work program is set up and that if I get my masters there right away I can do an accelerated one year program.
I feel that I have a pretty decent chance on getting into Cal and although I really enjoyed my campus visit I just didn't feel the same way as I did when I visited HSU. Obviosly Cals social welfare program will be far more superior and open more doors than HSU, as well as just having a degree from Cal will open many doors. Obviously I still don't know if I will get in, I'm just tossing and turning in bed and trying to make pros and cons list. If anyone has any input (or if you know of any social welfare majors) please lend me your help.
-Victoria Felt
I also feel intimidated by the thought of going to Berkeley. Yes I am a smart girl but I know in a place like Berkeley I will not be at the top of the class. I plan on attending law school and I know in a previous thread someone said it would be better for your law school app to accel at a mediocre school than just get average grades at Cal...</p>
<p>I don’t think your crazy at all. You really should be picking your college based on where you feel the most comfortable and have the most opportunities for furthering your education, not on the reputation (or notoriety) of the school. If you prefer HSU, you’ll do well there and pick up a good education because you like it there, whereas at Cal you might end up in an adversarial relationship with the school.</p>
<p>If Cal’s reputation is important to you, you can always brag later that you could get in. :)</p>
<p>go where ur heart desires, what ever floats ur boat, different strokes for different folks.</p>
<p>Well said jane, but Victoria, you should seriously revisit Cal and give it a couple more chances before a big decision like this.</p>
<p>I have many friends who think things like, “What if I had gone to …” “Blank” is almost always a stronger school (prestige-wise). </p>
<p>You should definitely go where you feel comfortable, but just take everything into consideration when deciding between the 2 of them. You don’t want to regret anything.</p>
<p>You should seriously revisit Cal.</p>
<p>I went to a school that I liked based on the same factors you’re using for HSU over Cal. It was a big mistake and I had to leave and go to CCC just to transfer to a UC. I found a LOT of ignorance in the student body and heard horror stories of truly ignorant professors (standing up for racism and and econ professor saying child labor is correct!!!)</p>
<p>Beware… There IS a difference between the schools and that difference will eat away at you much more than any sorta campus/dorm/“this campus feels right” sorta thing.</p>
<p>I’m being pretty blunt because I really want you to reconsider. I don’t want others to have to make the same mistake I did.</p>
<p>And, btw, you’ll do fine at a better school. Especially if you’re hoping to enter the field of law, don’t shy away from competition. You CAN and WILL do well if you have the confidence and work ethic to do so! So have that confidence and just be organized, prepared and willing to concentrate on your school work. You’ll do great and you’ll be looking at much better law schools than you would be looking at otherwise.</p>
<p>I was, to a lesser degree, in a similar position as you. I was choosing between the midtier UCs and Humboldt. I went to Humboldt for running camp during the summer of Sophomore to Junior year, and I was absolutely in love with the place. There is no doubt about it, to me, it was easily the most beautiful campus in all of California (that I visited at least). </p>
<p>That being said, I actually ended up choosing UCSB. Humboldt had no sort of reputable engineering program at all, and that was my field of study. </p>
<p>Basically, academically, I love UCSB. Its a highly underrated school when it comes to academics, I’m learning a ton, yet still feel like I can succeed. </p>
<p>However, I feel like I would have fit in much better in the social atmosphere of Humboldt. </p>
<p>And that’s really all it boils down to. Humboldt will probably be a better fit for you in the social and environmental sense, but if you got into Berkeley, odds are you’re smart enough to be up for the academic challenge. Nobody on this board can make the decision for you, that’s just my personal take on it.</p>
<p>I definitely am planning to visit Cal again. I am planning on going to Cal Day, is this a good idea or do you recommend I visit again during regular school hours? I won’t be able to do a mid week visit until after or right before decisions come out being that I am in school M-Th.
I think that if I am accepted I will make a big pros and cons list and go over it with my brother. He is definately helpful and knows me (as well as my study habits) better than anyone. I actually just found out after talking about this with him last night that he had been accepted to Berkeley as a transfer Psych major yet decided to go to UCSC.
At this point I have no idea where I’ll go. For the last two weeks I had been thinking about nothing besides wanting to to go Berkeley. Thanks for everyones input!</p>
<p>I’m at Berkeley right now. I think some of the other advice you have gotten has been really good. Please be aware that Berkeley’s Social Welfare program does NOT lead to a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). It’s just a BA, with a major in social welfare. I’m guessing the two degrees are quite different and if you want to be a social worker, getting your BSW/MSW may be just as important/impressive as getting a BA from Cal. I think Cal’s Social Welfare school is much more research based and not as practice-oriented as other social welfare schools. That can have pros and cons. If you just want to get out there and start practicing social work, then I would seriously consider Humboldt. It sounds like you want to go to Law School, however. I think going to a rigorous school like Cal may actually look good on your Grad School application: If you come here and get all good grades then Law Schools will know that you can cut it in a competitive academic environment. Law school is no walk in the park and I think Law School admissions committees want to see that you can manage the workload.</p>
<p>Also, if you are interested in research in your field at all, consider Cal: There are so many amazing professors here that are doing important research in social welfare/sociology/psych here. Coming here, you will also be able to take classes in other top-tier departments such as legal studies, psych, sociology, etc. It’s gotten harder to get into classes with the budget cuts and all, but I still think you’ll be able to take classes outside of your department with some really great researchers. The grad students here are also all really amazing and sometimes undergrads help them on research projects. At the very least, they are available to help answer your questions, as are professors during office hours. The different departments are also always holding interesting colloquia/symposia and guest speakers, if you’re into that.</p>
<p>I don’t know Humboldt well enough to say anything about it’s academic opportunities, but I do know there are many amazing academic opportunities at Cal, even if it can sometimes be difficult for undergrads to take advantage of them. It helps to be a “go-getter”-type in a big school like Cal, so that is something to keep in mind. There are plenty of “chill” people here (it’s such a big school that you get all types of people), but I would say people tend to be somewhat more proactive and ambitious overall.</p>
<p>In terms of the social environment, there are smart and there are not so smart people here. Overall, I would say that people here are much more dedicated to their studies than they were at community college. You will be in classes with students who want to go to the best law/social welfare/med/policy grad programs. I think that that is a plus. Most students want to do well because they want to go to a good grad program. There are resources, clubs, sororities/frats all geared towards that. I don’t know how much that will exist at a place like Humboldt.</p>
<p>P.S.: Did you apply to UCSC? I think it has a lot of the qualities you like in Humboldt and is a more academically prestigious/research-based school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. First of all Santa Cruz is not somewhere I’d ever want to go. I don’t live too far and have been there tons of times and while it is fun to visit it isn’t for me. One thing I love about Humboldt is they still do have a decent NCAA D-2 athletic program (I love watching school sports…).
I know that the programs are completely different for both schools, either way I’d be really into both programs. I have read some of the Grad Social Welfare Magazine and really am interested in a lot of things the grad students are working on. (I particularly would love to see changes made to the aging out of foster care system). Also I love that you get to take classes at Cal in many different areas. I was first really considering trying to do their legal studies program and I know that I can take grad requirements in this area (hopefully). I looked at the list of the elective classes we can chose from and saw tons that I was interested, Humboldt though also has a great program and I would have the opportunity to work in the social work field for half of my senior year abroad… Basically both will be great options. Also Cal is only about an hour away where Humboldt is like 6+.
No one commented on my visiting again… if I should just go to Cal day or go again during the school week?</p>
<p>Don’t spend too much time thinking about this now… wait till decision comes, who knows, there might be no forks in the road after all.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have really explored both programs, which is great. I would definitely visit both schools again. </p>
<p>I can’t really answer your question about Cal Day vs. regular week trip. I think both will have different advantages vs. disadvantages. Cal Day will not be a “typical” cal experience, obviously… I don’t get the feeling that too many students will be taking part but it seems like the campus will be really crowded/lots to do and explore. Don’t know, haven’t really ever been.</p>
<p>If you go on a regular weekday, you’ll probably get a more “normal” Cal experience. Why don’t you visit during the week and try to sit in on some classes. Go to schedule.berkeley.edu and look up some classes that have at least 70 people in them. Just go – You won’t be noticed, I promise!</p>
<p>“standing up for racism and and econ professor saying child labor is correct!!!”</p>
<p>Professors can’t have opinions.</p>