Hey guys, I may apply to Berkeley as a Junior transfer next year. I am a rising sophomore studying business at Indiana University who is from CT. I have only been to California once in my life, but the idea of living in California both during and after college is definitely intriguing. However, I am afraid that it will be a big culture shock. What is it like going to school in California? Is it a good area to live and work in after graduation? I am hoping an OOS student can share their experiences. Thanks!
- As an OOS student, you don't have priority for transfer. It is very competitive.
- Can you afford the colleges? The UC's don't provide financial aid for OOS students. Expect to pay $60K per year.
- The culture shock would be in learning how expensive it is to live, study and work in California.
@“aunt bea” I am completely aware of the competitiveness of the transfer process and I can afford the schools. With that said, none of that is important to me unless I discover it’s a good fit. I guess what I’m trying to ask is how different is Cal and it’s students from the east coast? Would someone from the northeast have trouble fitting in with the student population?
The California “culture” is very laid-back.
You shouldn’t have any problem making friends. In California, everyone is usually from “somewhere” else.
@aunt bea has hit a home run on all fronts: many people here are from “elsewhere” - you should have not problem fitting in. If you plan to study business in California, I’d suggest setting your sights on trying to transfer into private. As has been said, you will be very low on the Cal food chain to transfer in. Getting into Haas will be even more of a challenge. Hate to discourage you, but those are the realities.
@Undercrackers Thank you! I appreciate that honesty. How does competitiveness of transferring into say USC compare to the UCs?
@CTkid47
SFBay Area is great and as has been pointed out many here are from somewhere else but I secondthe expense issue. While parts of NE are expensive, the SF Bay Area and socal are very pricey. Look into the particulars of what transfers students are guaranteed as far as housing etc.
good luck!
I do know that the UC system’s first priority is kids from California community colleges (over 90% of transfer admittances).
Breakdown of transfer students at USC:
49% - California community colleges
28% - colleges outside of California
8% - California private colleges/universities
8% - Cal State/University of Cal
7% - international
Privates in general tend to have more flexibility in their policies for transfers (they don’t have a mandate to educate mostly California students, for instance).
You make it sound like “California” is just one place. In reality, California is as large, and as geographically and culturally diverse, as the Northeast. So there is no simple answer to your questions. It depends on what part of the state you are talking about.
What’s it like studying, living, or working in the Northeast? Is it all the same whether you are in Manhattan like NYU, or near Lake Ontario like URochester, or in the north woods like Dartmouth, or in the suburbs like Villanova? Probably not, right?
In the same way, it’s not going to be all the same if you are near Silicon Valley like Stanford, or in Westwood like UCLA, or with hippies and surfers like UC Santa Cruz, or near the farmlands of the Central Valley like UC Merced.
@tonymom Is compensation inflated to account for the cost of living in the SF Bay Area? Would you be able to live there with an “entry level position”? Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.
@Undercrackers Thanks! That is really helpful!
@Corbett Yeah, you are right. I realize the ignorance of my statement. Thanks for that.
@CTkid47
Are you asking if average salaries are higher in SF and LA areas to compensate for higher cost of living? Depends on your chosen profession…not always.
And Corbett does bring up a good point. Generally speaking tho the coastal areas of Ca are pretty relaxed and liberal…with the exception of Orange County and most are pricey too 
It sounds like you need to do a bit more research and visit the campuses you are interested in so you can get a vibe for what each has to offer. We aren’t the GoldenStste for nothin 
The problem for you is that higher education in CA is dominated by the UC and CSU systems, and they are not particularly friendly to out-of-state transfer students, especially at the more popular and desirable campuses. Your best shots would be at the less popular UC or CSU campuses (which are often located in more remote or less appealing areas).
Private universities don’t discriminate against out-of-staters, but there are fewer of them than there are in the Northeast. The best-known privates (Stanford, USC, Caltech) are very selective. You would have a better shot at the less selective private schools; many of these are Catholic (U San Francisco, Santa Clara U, Loyola Marymount, U San Diego), but there are also secular options (U Pacific, U Redlands).
These less selective privates aren’t well known nationally, but can still be good. The University of San Diego, for example (not to be confused with UC San Diego or San Diego State U) currently has the same USNews “National University” ranking as Indiana. Santa Clara U is even more selective, but USNews currently ranks it separately in the “Regional University” category (because it doesn’t issue many research doctorates).
“Cal” means the UC Berkeley campus specifically. Is that what you meant?
If so, then transfer admissions for out-of-staters would be very competitive, as noted in Post #4. For 2016, the transfer acceptance rate for out-of-staters (not including internationals) at Berkeley was 6% (728 applicants, 46 admits).
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfer-admissions-summary
Other campuses had higher acceptance rates for out-of-state transfer applicants (max was 37% at Davis). The UC system as a whole accepted 29%.
@tonymom Yeah thats exactly what I was asking. Thanks for the advice.
@Corbett Yeah I have been realizing the OOS competitiveness for the UCs. To answer your question, yes, I did mean Berkeley specifically.
At a UC info night for our SF Bay Area school district, the college counselor (not a UC rep) told us that it’s very hard to transfer into a UC (and she was talking to in-state students) as a junior from a 4-yr college bc they hold those spaces for community college students on the Guaranteed Transfer Agreement (CC to UC/CSU).
I’m from the northeast (NJ) and have a friend from there who went to Cal for undergrad (ok, >30 yrs ago) and had no problem fitting in. I went to summer school there, and also had no problem making friends.
Berkeley business transfer admissions information:
https://haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/transfer_admissions.html
https://haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/class_profile.html
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
Most transfers come from California community colleges, as noted in previous posts.
Compared to Indiana, Berkeley has a higher percentage of undergraduates from lower income (Pell grant) backgrounds, and a higher percentage of undergraduates with year-round tans. That may affect the cultural feel of the campus. Fraternity and sorority participation rate is significantly lower at Berkeley than at Indiana.