<p>I've gotten into to both Berkeley and UCLA but i can't decide which school is better. I know before Berkeley would have been the superior school hands down. but ive heard that recently Berekeley's academic prestige has decreased somewhat while UCLA has become a better school with better students...not to mention the much better weather</p>
<p>" ive heard that recently Berekeley's academic prestige has decreased somewhat while UCLA has become a better school with better students"</p>
<p>Then you should probably go to UCLA.</p>
<p>6 in one hand, half dozen in the other. Berkeley does have the heavyweight rep over UCLA, but they're both great schools.</p>
<p>For two years UCLA had a lower acceptance rate than Berkeley but Berkeley's is lower than UCLA's once again....at least it was last year...i haven't checked out the preliminary admissions data this year for either schools yet. However, Berkeley has ALWAYS been more selective because Berkeley's applicant pool is stronger (for example, many top international students, out of state students, and nerds in general apply to Berkeley but not UCLA because of Berkeley's reputation). </p>
<p>But in the end, i'm sure the quality of education at UCLA is the same as it is at Berkeley. Visit both schools then make a decision. If you can, check out North Berkeley/ Berkeley Hills....visiting just the South/West will give you the impression that Berkeley is a depressing place.</p>
<p>^^^^Hey, I live in south berkeley!</p>
<p>what's your major,
if you are engineering or business. go to berkeley definitely</p>
<p>im bioengineering and i have a regents and chancellors scholarship...so i guess that would push me more toward berkeley</p>
<p>wow, bioeng? don't they only take like 20 a year?</p>
<p>but yeah, i'm kind of in the same boat you are... kinda leaning towards LA though. when i visited, everything just clicked. i'm a displaced socal kid in texas, so naturally LA feels comfortable. i'm going to berkeley later this moth. if i don't get the same impression, my decision will be easy. visit the campuses and see which one fits you better.</p>
<p>As a fellow texan I think UCLA would be better for you since it has an honors program, and I believe the student body will be more relaxed and nice. The weather will also be much nicer.</p>
<p>the main reason ucla has a lower acceptance rate is because it is the most applied to school in the nation (lots of out of staters apply attracted to the LA lifestyle). i would not use that as factor when deciding which is a better school. i've said it before and i'll say it again, people should choose the school you feel most comfortable at and whether its ****water state or harvard you have to realize you are spending the next 4 (or more) years of your life there</p>
<p>Yeah, UCLA would have a much higher acceptance rate if it had the same number of applicants that Berkeley has. But it should be noted that the two schools have different admissions processes and focus on different aspects of the application.</p>
<p>I don't think that the weather is that different between LA and Berkeley. It's by no means the same, but it's not that different. Maybe I've been away from so cal for too long, but <em>shrug</em>.</p>
<p>If you think UCLA is better for you, then go there.</p>
<p>go visit both campuses and see which one you'd like to spend the next 4 years at. there's really not too many major differences between the two besides campus environment, and you really cant go wrong with either. </p>
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I don't think that the weather is that different between LA and Berkeley. It's by no means the same, but it's not that different.
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<p>are u kidding me? haha it's VERY different! i guess if you're comparing berkeley vs. los angeles vs. east coast then there's not much of a difference between berkeley and LA. but if you spend enough time at berkeley and enough time in LA, you'll notice the weather has its noteable differences.</p>
<p>i'd choose UCLA. in terms of academics they should be around the same. while berkeley is ranked higher, i think UCLA's location makes up for it. compare sunny lovely westwood to the relatively dreary gloomy berkeley!!</p>
<p>It's usually not dreary and gloomy. Sure, it is more often than UCLA and Westwood, but this year is particularly bad (I've heard the worst in years), and the weather is often amazing (high 60s, sunny, cloudless). There is more rain than Westwood, significantly more, but it's not usually as bad as people make it seem. </p>
<p>And no, kfc4u, I'm not kidding you. Somewhat different. And "the East Coast" is kinda hard to compare, considering there's the cold North and the humid south.</p>
<p>When you are considering the weather for UCLA, remember the "air quality factor" and the thick layer of SMOG hanging over LA; not as bad at UCLA as at USC (the heart of LA where it lays low and extra thick.) The bay area temp is more moderate and a little more rain (more like 'sprinkles') but Berkeley has never seen SMOG, just FOG. Big difference. Smog is brown and fog is white and okay to breathe. I've lived in So Cal most of my life and am anxious to trade the smog for the fog, sprinkles, and slightly cooler weather at Cal.</p>
<p>I love waking up at 5am and taking a deep breathe of fresh air at the San Pablo reservoir (crew).</p>
<p>i would say the smog problem at UCLA is not as bad as the rest of LA. it gets MUCH better as you move towards the coast. most of it collects in the "bowl" in the middle of the city.</p>
<p>unlimited...are you on the lightweight crew or heavyweight--i think--crew?</p>
<p>Are you on the freshman crew team? (Do I know you?)</p>
<p>Go to Cal. I remember when I was trying to decide, and my friends who got into UCLA but not CAL were all bragging about how UCLA would overtake CAL as terms of prestige and selectivity. That was 10 years ago. Its not going to happen. Rightly or wrongly, people perceive CAL as having a brighter student body. When people walk into my office and see my diploma, they ask "UCLA?" I can't tell you how many times I've responded to that question by saying "No, Berkeley," and have seen eyebrows go up.</p>
<p>Berkeley has always been and will always be the bigger name. Better caliber of students. Rock-solid international reputation. </p>
<p>UCLA's numbers are deceiving, because southern California's population is huge. More people apply there because there are more people there. At Cal, the breakdown is roughtly 50-50 south-north, whereas at UCLA it's more heavily local. Other than geography, UCLA is also perceived as more accessible, thus more applicants.</p>
<p>If you like UCLA's environment much better, then by all means go there. On this subject though, UCLA is much more of a commuter school. Cal is much tighter in that sense, it's a compact pedestrian campus. Berkeley/SF has better food and better cultural activities.</p>
<p>Personally, I think that leaving southern California for college will do you good. You will still be around 10,000+ southern Californians (and In&out burger joints;)), but the change of setting will be refreshing for you. And SF/NorCal really has its charms (Tahoe, Marin, Napa, Carmel, Big Sur, etc)</p>