<p>I am an upcoming senior in high school and was wondering if accepted to both UCSB and Cal for ChemE which would be more beneficial to attend?</p>
<p>I know all about Berkeley and its prestige and I have visited the campus and I do like it. I have also heard negative things such as highly impacted classes and an overbearing amount of work. I know that ChemE is very difficult and a lot of work but is Berkeley's program that much harder than others and is it worth it?</p>
<p>UCSB also has a very good ChemE program just not as highly touted as Berkeley's. I've heard the work load is while still a lot not overbearing. I've also heard great things about professors there and how the classes aren't nearly as impacted. I would like to go graduate school so my worry is I will not get into a good grad school due to the lack of prestige.</p>
<p>Thanks for any help, I have read the early thread on this subject but I would like to hear some slightly more current info.</p>
<p>Doubt that the ranking or prestige difference between the two specifically for chemical engineering is that significant. However, note that the Berkeley chemical engineering department explicitly states that it prefers that undergraduates go elsewhere for PhD study, and believes that other top chemical engineering departments have the same preference.</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley, Dept of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering](<a href=“http://cheme.berkeley.edu/grad_info/faq.php]UC”>http://cheme.berkeley.edu/grad_info/faq.php)</p>
<p>As far as getting into classes goes, you may want to ask on the school-specific forums. However, both schools regulate the number of students entering or changing into the major or division, which presumably allows them to manage class enrollment and capacity to minimize the impact of “class needed for your major that is too full”. Note that Berkeley’s four year graduation rate is about 70%, among the highest of public universities, though four year graduation rates typically track admissions selectivity more than anything else.</p>
<p>As far as difficulty or workload goes, there have been various opinions thrown around… since most people do not take the same courses at multiple schools, impressions are usually based on one school. PhD students working as TAs for courses they took as undergraduates elsewhere may have visibility into both schools, although the viewpoint of a course as a student and as a TA would be different (general chemistry may seem difficult as a college frosh learning it for the first time, but not so difficult as a PhD student who has been immersed in chemistry and chemical engineering for four or more years).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. I knew about Berkeley’s grad school policy already and I do plan on getting a Master’s degree so I know if I did go there I couldn’t do grad school there.</p>
<p>I suggest you go to UCSB for a more lax undergrad experience and then try to get into Cal for grad school.</p>
<p>I am going to visist UCSB next week so I’ll see how I like their campus and then compare.
I do like how Cal is a Pac 12 school so bigtime sports, I know UCSB sports programs aren’t that big.</p>
<p>Ucbalmnus, did you go to Berkeley for chemical engineering? If so how long ago and what was your experience?</p>
<p>UCBChemEGrad would be the poster to ask about specific student experiences as a chemical engineering major. Or ask on the school-specific forums.</p>
<p>I’m a rising senior in chemical engineering at Berkeley. I have loved my experience at Cal. Getting classes has never been an issue for me, and nobody I know has had any trouble graduating on time. The classes are not easy, but it is definitely possible to get A’s in your classes, IF you make academics a priority. In my experience, what separates the A students from the B/C students is just effort… Kids who are not happy with their grades usually have only themselves to blame. </p>
<p>The things I love most about Cal are the research opportunities and the instant respect that I get when I spend time at conferences/other universities. I’ve worked in a research lab since freshman year and from the first day, I’ve been treated like a graduate student rather than as an undergrad. Berkeley professors do a great job of mentoring undergraduates, contrary to what a lot of people think. Yes, there are a lot of students at Cal, but it is likely that you’ll be one of the only undergrads working in your lab, so you’ll get quite a bit of faculty interaction if you want it. I’ve spent summer research time at Penn, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, and UC Davis. Everywhere I go, people are hugely impressed by Berkeley, which was particularly useful for gaining the trust of the PI’s that I’ve worked for. </p>
<p>You can PM me if you have any specific questions…</p>
<p>Thanks a ton singh2010!!! That was very informational. It’s good to know that you get the grade you deserve and it is possible to get A’s. It’s cool to see Cal’s reputation is actually that high.</p>
<p>I just visited UCSB campus and I loved it! I loved the vibe I got on campus, it was very similar to Cal’s. I like the spacing and it had a lot of bonuses such as the rec center. The engineering buildings were very nice also. Overall I really had a great experience while on and off campus. I think I like it better than Cal’s.</p>