Also re grade deflation and grad schools. The grad schools know about this and adjust for each school.
My bf got into UCB, UCLA and UCSD for mechanical engineering. Before his UCB acceptance, he had come to terms with either going to LA or SD, which are very similarly ranked and regarded as far as engineering goes. But the UCB acceptance was a game changer; how do you turn down the #3 engineering school in the country for the #14? Money isn’t a factor because he’s low income and gets his tuition waived. The biggest factor he’s considering is where he will do well. I am a Cal grad and I know that grade deflation is endemic to this institution,and it’s probably even more pronounced in the College of Engineering. I know how extremely hardworking, smart and competitive many of your classmates will be. I also know that the Berkeley name means something when you graduate. I ALWAYS get comments in interviews along the lines of “oh you went to Berkeley!” It’s opened doors for me.
He was almost relieved when he thought that he might not get into Berkeley. He’s nervous about doing engineering at one of the hardest places to study engineering on the planet. I get that, but I don’t think it’s going to be that much easier at UCLA (I suspect it will be highly comparable), and he gets the benefit of a more highly ranked school on his resume. I really want him to choose Cal.
@lbwaterpoloman you’re not the first to say that I give off a Berkeley vibe! What exactly is that?! A few of my friends have told me this, interesting haha
@apocalypso yes I’m definitely going to see UCLA since it’s 40 min away from me and Bruin Day is coming up. I’m not entirely sure if I’ll be able to see Berkeley before the SIR deadline unfortunately, but we’ll see
@UniversalSnip that’s interesting…could it be the fact that Berkeley is the “highest” UC from which that entitlement stems from? I know a few friends at Berkeley and I’ve never thought of them being that pretentious. In fact a lot of them are like “how did I even get in here?!” so kind of the opposite. I guess I’d have to actually be there to see that
@bizmlover I know! I’m getting more conflicted with each passing day. I definitely see that from your list, other than academics, UCLA has the better pros. Have you tried asking relevant people in your career for their opinions? In my case, since I’m looking to be an actuary, I actually posted on an actuary forum asking for their opinions and it’s pretty much the same…they just tell me to go to the school I like better. I was hoping to get a more concrete this vs. that answer but I guess not @_@
@reygun congrats to your bf! I’m getting a few people telling me to go to Cal too, more so than people telling me to pick LA. If anything I’m still undecided after that because LA just hits the right heartstrings everywhere else. I wish there were a more straightforward way to choose but I guess many students have gone through this exact same dilemma in the past, nothing new
@Bearly, don’t quote me on this, but I think JetBlue has some kind of deal if you fly from LAX to SFO. It’s a super quick flight (you’re in the air for 40 minutes). If you can go, even for the weekend, I really suggest it. It’s a cool campus and you’ll be able to see if it feels “right” to you. That being said, they’re both great schools! Depends on your program and which location is more beneficial.
I agree with @apocolypso, you really need to see the campus. If they have a flight to Oakland, it’s even closer.
@reygun a 3rd ranked program and a 14th ranked program are virtually identical. Its like golf. You may be ranked third in the world, but the guy ranked fourteenth is going to beat you regularly. Going to a school because it is ranked negligibly higher in the rankings is a very bad idea.
I’m also having a hard time choosing between UCLA and Cal! I never ever thought I would be accepted to both, but now that I have been, I don’t know which one would be the best for me. I’m majoring in communication/media studies so I’m thinking that maybe UCLA is better for me as it is in LA where I could have access to more internships and jobs? Anyone has any advice for me? :o
@lbwaterpoloman Rankings have to be taken with a grain of salt, but they can give you insight into the opportunities you get by going to the higher ranked school. A #3 and #14 school are not always virtually identical in what they offer you; there are differences in rigor, faculty, and opportunities, so it’s important to look at why the school is ranked higher and what you get by going there. In this case, Berkeley is also ranked 3rd in the nation for mechanical engineering, and has one of the strongest mechE programs for undergrads in CA. The resources and opportunities available to him at Berkeley are greater than he would get at LA, and the bonus is getting prestige from a more renowned program. If UCLA was actually stronger for mechE, he would certainly consider it. But it’s ranked (a lot) lower than Berkeley in this discipline, and saying they are virtually identical is not accurate.
lol @ the idea that Berkeley is harder than UCLA (Or any other UC, for that matter) across most majors, including engineering. The same material is taught at both schools and isn’t spoonfed. My roommate at UCLA is a mechanical engineering major; I’ve seen the work he has to put in to do well, and he studies a lot. Engineering is hard…everywhere. It seems to be commonly believed on these boards that Berkeley is ridiculously hard compared to UCLA, and there really is no evidence to support that idea.
By the way, the little information on grade deflation seems to show that average GPAs are lower at UCLA than at Berkeley. It indicates that grade deflation is more pronounced at UCLA. http://www.gradeinflation.com/Ucla.html
Compare that to Berkeley: http://www.gradeinflation.com/Ucberkeley.html
Still, at the end of the day, the safest thing to assume is that both schools are roughly the same in terms of difficulty. Don’t let Berkeley scare any of you away because you think it may be too hard. If you can’t handle it there, you probably couldn’t handle it at UCLA either.
@reygun . Agree to disagree. I think it is rated slightly higher because they have to be cogged in somewhere. None the less, enjoy Berkeley, I’m sure you’ll do well there.
Both UCLA and Cal are great choices. You can’t go wrong with either.
At the end of the day, it’s really where you think you “fit” in terms of the academic environment and the overall location (San Francisco vs. Los Angeles). Also, don’t weigh the Chancellor’s Reception or Bruin Day strongly as a factor into deciding. Visit on a regular day if you can.
If you live close to one, it’s okay to step out of your comfort zone and go to college a little bit away. New experiences are great!
And just because I’m bias…
Berkeley is on semester system 
I can’t tell you how much of a pro that is (no one wants to take finals three times a year). And yes - you can take so many classes on a semester system also, you’re not limiting yourself. But I hear quarter system is cool too, lol.
@thats what I plan to do on transfer day:visit the career center and ask what career perspective you can do with your major or try to contact alumni at same major to ask from their experiences. Imo, if you definitely want to do actuary, you should choose either actuary track or stats track. Applied math doesn’t do much about actuary, but give you more flexibity. Whatever, Ocnative was right, you can’t go wrong with either school. Both offer top education. To me UCB just has little best of both worlds. If stats doesn’t work out for me then I can change into applied math or vice versa. With UCLA, they only have applied math program.
I haven’t visit cal yet but UCLA seems to be more well-rounded in term of academic and social life becos all my friends there are having a great time. That’s why my list doesn’t have lots of cons for ucla. Or maybe I just don’t have friend at cal, that’s why my assumption is kinda one sided.
After hearing from many advise, I think what matters is the environment that I’m more fit in.
I’m going to visit both schools before the d-day. So excited over it >_< ! Are you coming to the bridge transfer weekend? I registered already but don’t know if I can get in 
Oh one more thing, look for the company you want to work for after graduate. They tend to hire ppl from school around them. So this may help you choose school too.
@bizmlover yeah, that’s why I was thinking of switching to math/econ if I went to LA. As for Berkeley, their applied math major has different concentrations/clusters to choose from within, from statistics to economics to even actuarial science itself. Also thanks for suggesting the company advice–I’ll definitely look into some companies around the areas LA/SF since I have heard they tend to hire around the school.
Truth be told, I’ve always wanted to be in/live in north cal in the long run–maybe that’s a sign that Berkeley’s the school for me. I guess I just have some strange attachment to UCLA because a lot of my friends are there and it feels more ‘homely’ somehow, being less than an hour away and all.
With that being said, there’s still the matter of seeing the campuses in person. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to transfer weekend but I still want to visit the campus somehow! I’ll probably visit some weekend in May and get a regular tour if I can.
Regarding tours and whatnot for Berkeley, I seriously recommend exploring the campus and surrounding areas on your own as well. Seriously, Berkeley is riddled with tons of cool view spots, parks (not People’s Park, don’t go there haha), restaurants, and so on that really make it really unique.
At Cal, as far as what I observe (via friends, my girlfriend, and so on), social life is what you make it. People often make really great friends by getting involved in various organizations, or somehow settling upon their niche.
Best of luck, @Bearly, although, from what you said, it seems that Berkeley may be right for you. Do check out both campuses if you can, it seems you’ll like the Bay Area a lot. Different areas have different appeals and you’ll definitely be more certain about which school to pick if you visit both areas.
Is it true that every UC doesn’t want their students to come back grad school?
You still have a shot, but in math at least it’s seriously frowned upon to attend grad school where you got your undergrad. Not just at UCs, at every high tier institution. You’re supposed to… I dunno… go sow your intellectual oats. They don’t like it if you stay in the same place.
Personally, I don’t think there is a gap between UCLA and Cal in terms of prestige. It is almost like debating between if you want to go to Yale or Harvard(Not saying that Cal or UCLA are in that conversation but, it is choosing a school). I didn’t apply to Cal last year, I am confident I would’ve gone in. I knew I was getting in UCLA, since my GPA was high, my essay was approved by my old English professor, and I traveled extensively, worked in the mortgage industry for some years, and in the health care, i felt I was well versed in terms of education and in life. I was well equipped to get into Cal, but for me, I wasn’t leaving SoCal. I wasn’t going to move 350 miles for something that I could get 20 miles away from my house.
For those that do not live so close to UCLA, I have friends that gone to Cal, said they wished they had picked UCLA instead, they missed LA. It is the life of LA and it’s energy, it is vibrant and did I mention the fantastic weather? Your college experience, especially if you are still in your early 20’s, is not all about hitting the books, it is learning life experiences. There is cliche that is said about NY, “If you could make it here, you could make it anywhere”, well, LA has this facet as well.
Concluding, terms of education, they are on a equal level, in terms of campus, outside of campus, and city, UCLA cannot be touched. Whichever school you decide, have a great experience, and good luck.
@bizmlover @UniversalSnip, the same logic applies to undergrad business majors.
It’s to a student’s great disadvantage to get an MBA from the same school where he/she completed the undergrad business degree. That’s assuming that the (top-tier school) graduate admission committee will allow that to happen in the first place.
I would take that into consideration then. The ranking for my major (stats) is based on school’s grad program. One of the reason I like about Cal is that it has one of the top stats program. So now if grad school discourages student to come back, I may choose UCLA now. At UCLA I may (definitely) experience great academic and college experience. Hopefully I can come back to Cal next time for their grad program. Does it sound like a good plan ???
It’s just hard to let go one school. Half of my heart goes for UCLA and the other half lies with Cal. I feel bad for loving two at the same times… T-T