<p>its even in your name (well almost):</p>
<p>UbermensChI</p>
<p>ZOT ZOT ZOT</p>
<p>Berkeley is pretty good for a public school. However, it just doesn't cut it academically when you compare it to the big leagues like HYS. It stacks up well against other public schools and semi-selective privates though.</p>
<p>So what if it is just "pretty good" according to your unscientific criteria? Does it make you a bigger man to go around and announce it? </p>
<p>You people and your giant egos. They're like phallic representations, and you keep stroking them so they get bigger...Dammit.</p>
<p>unfortunately for you, uci isnt all that great...</p>
<p>The hell? That came out of left field, considering that I'm a UCLA grad.</p>
<p>oh sorry i meant uber, since hes an anteater (zot zot zot)</p>
<p>ucla=orgasmic</p>
<p>Uber isn't a uci grad, that's probably just another in the string of lies he has told. The guy is a complete joke. He goes to some community college and thinks that puts him in the perfect position to judge the best universities in the world. Would you ask a lactose intolerant person where to buy the best milkshakes? Then why does it matter what this clown thinks?</p>
<p>You can ask a lactose intolerant person to tell the difference between Grade A milk and rotten, sour, curdy, nasty stuff in the garbage can.</p>
<p>By the way, the difference between Stanford and Berkeley is ten times the difference between UCB and UCI.</p>
<p>my god, stop being such an anteater</p>
<p>just because you have a park, and stanford has a park, doesnt mean uci=stanford</p>
<p>have fun at uci, and not at cal or stanford</p>
<p>ZOT ZOT ZOT</p>
<p>i think sakky is becoming my favorite person to quote on CC:</p>
<p>"it's not Berkeley's fault that it's public. But that's not really the point. It doesn't matter that it's not Berkeley's fault that they're public. It's not Berkeley's fault that Harvard has such a gigantic financial endowment. But it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is whether the school is providing a quality educational environment or not. Let me put it to you this way. Do you think prospective Berkeley students want to hear excuses about why Berkeley can't improve its educational offerings? I don't think so. The only thing those prospective students are going to care about is just how good of an education they are going to get. </p>
<p>I hate it when people say "Berkeley is the best public school in the country." Of course it is. But that's like saying "You're the hottest guy in the living room" when there is no competition. Berkeley is a public school. Being a public school comes with some disadvantages. I'm giving credit for Berkeley for being an exceptional public school. Of course it is an exceptional public school. But that's not good enough. It's not good enough that Berkeley is an exceptional public school. Berkeley has to aspire to be the best school in the world, public or private. Do you think the Lakers are satisfied with just winning the Pacific Division last year? Of course not. If we were talking about the Warriors, then yeah, winning the division would be a great season. But we're not talking about the Warriors. We're talking about the Lakers, former 3-peat champions. Nothing less than another NBA championship is acceptable for those guys. Berkeley aspires to be counted among the ranks of Harvard or MIT. If you want to run with the big dogs, you gotta be a big dog yourself. </p>
<p>I'll put it to you this way. Shaquille O'Neal is a billion times better basketball player than me. A big reason why that's the case, is, simply, he was born far bigger, stronger, taller, and more athletic than me. Is it my fault that I wasn't born with any of those gifts? No, it's not my fault. But it doesn't matter that it's not my fault. The only thing that matters is the end-result. At the end of the day, if you want to build a strong basketball team, you would want to build it around Shaq, and not me. </p>
<p>Furthermore, I have never disputed Berkeley's greatness in its graduate programs. Berkeley has always had tremendously powerful graduate programs. But again, we're not talking about graduate schools here. We're talking about undergrad. This is the same bait-and-switch tactic that Berkeley admins have perfected throughout the years - whenever somebody proposes improving undergraduate education, they always change the subject to the eminence of their graduate programs. Yes, we all agree that Berkeley's graduate programs are great. That's not the point. The point is - what about the undergraduate education? </p>
<p>Berkeley is a safety school. </p>
<p>Say what you will about how hard it is to get into Berkeley (maybe for you), but the fact remains that, to be perfectly honest and blunt, it is significantly easier to get into Berkeley than it is to get into, say, Stanford or Harvard. Let's be frank - we all know that it's true. In particular, I think anybody who knows Berkeley will know that it is really not very difficult at all to be admitted as a transfer student (insiders know that transferring from a CC is the most egregious backdoor of the whole UC system). </p>
<p>Yes, Berkeley grades harder than Harvard. But Harvard is also tremendously more difficult to gain admission. In particular, Harvard does not have a CC backdoor like Berkeley does. </p>
<p>The REAL problem (if you want to call it a problem) is that Berkeley is simply not selective enough. It pains me to say this, but the fact is, the average incoming Berkeley student is not at the caliber of the average incoming Harvard student. Berkeley aspires to be competitive with Harvard, but without the same admissions standards, and the only way to do both at the same time is to make the grading very hard and the flunkout rate relatively high. </p>
<p>Cal students would still ***** and moan for getting lower grades than everybody else, but without understanding the simple reality that if Berkeley wants to retain a highly prestigious name (which Berkeley does have) but without maintaining a commensurate high level of selectivity, then Berkeley needs to grade hard. That's the price Berkeley has to pay for not shoring up its admissions standards to the level of Harvard. "</p>
<p>OK Sir Knowitall,</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but being public has EVERYTHING to do with Berkeley's name and reputation. Berkeley holds the public trust, because after all, it is funded by the taxpayers of the state of California. And in exchange for that, it is OBLIGATED to educate a cross section of the state population. This is a public institution, not a corporation.</p>
<p>Additionally, Sir Jack@ss, Berkeley can be the best educational experience if one makes it to be so. Notice I said EDUCATIONAL, not just academic. Berkeley offers the widest range of classes available, and if you can't find what you want, you make your own class. Some may argue that's "fluff," I call it pursuing your interests. Sure you have to tackle bureaucracy, but hey, that's life. Plus, Berkeley offers one thing that no other top 25 school can offer, a GOOD football team.</p>
<p>You can't compare the Lakers to Cal, one is a private corporation, the other is a public, taxpayer funded institution. Enough said about that idiotic remark.</p>
<p>Berkeley's a safety school? Really? Not mine. I only applied to UCs, because like many college students, I am a upper-middle class student and can't afford to pay Ivy tuitiions with no aid. So shove it.</p>
<p>Harvard doesn't have a backdoor? Oh yes it does. It's a little something called legacy. CCers have to work hard to get into Cal, while some daddy's girl walks her way into Stanford. It's nice getting in on your own merit...</p>
<p>If you disagree, feel free to reply. And if you want, go to Cal and tell Chancellor Birgeneau that you are much more qualified to do his job. I'm sure he'll comply.</p>
<p>Do you think I sound a little irrate? Maybe. Because I love my school, and Cal has something that's hard to find at the Ivies: spirit. Go Bears.</p>
<p>Is that whole thing sakky's quote? If so, wouldn't have been easier to just link to it? Anyway, who cares. Berkeley is Berkeley, not Harvard or Stanfurd or anywhere else. Cal is not supposed to be like those other schools. ITS PUBLIC...ON PURPOSE! If you don't like the fact that they accept thousands of apps then don't come here. If it bugs you that they let in quality tranfer apps, guess what, go apply to Harvard and see how that works out for you. Yes, there are things that I think Cal could work on to be a better school, but none of them have to do with uping its USNews rankings. Either way, most people have a pretty good idea about what Cal is about, so if that doesn't sound good to you then go away. Nobody's gonna miss you.</p>
<p>wow, this guy is just a high school student, i feel bad for thinking his opinion meant something...</p>
<p>1000 posts too. get a life.</p>
<p>IronicPaste- I agree with you 100%. There is nothing wrong with public univeristies whatsoever. Berkeley offers everything that a private university can ever offer, plus more. For someone to say that Berkeley cannot be compared to Harvard or Stanford and such is a joke. The undergrad departments are just as strong as the graduate departments since you get to be in contact with some of the GREATEST researchers and professors in the world. If i did not live next to UC Berkeley, I would be at Berkeley so fast. Berkeley is much more dynamic than, say, Stanford, which is in a dead suburban neighborhood full of yuppies. Is Berkeley for everyone? No. But is Berkeley second-rate? Most definitely not.</p>
<p>Why are you so in love with Berkeley? Go to Harvard and leave them alone. You don't even have a football rivalry with them.</p>
<p>Because I have total respect for Bekeley and everyone that goes there. I've seen the kind of people that go there and I live very close to it and I love it. Its an amazing university and anyone who says that it is second rate needs to get a reality check.</p>
<p>Uber, I hate to keep coming back to this, but how would know which is better, and by what margin? Even us Cal students, asuming we didn't tranfer from the farm, can't really know which school is better at certain things. So how does someone who has never attended any university, let alone Cal AND stanfurd, have the knowledge to pass judgment on these two schools? I mean, we get it, Cal and stanfurd wont let you be a part of their schools and you're bitter about that. That's fine, it happens to thousands of people every year, but you've got to let it go. Concentrate on what you can do to make your community college a better place and stop worrying about places where you don't belong.</p>
<p>or uci... :)</p>
<p>if you're going to refer to me, call me by my sn. What's the point of calling "Sir Knowitall" and "Sir Jack@ss"? I hope it isn't for comical relief because it's not in the slight bit funny. And if you are going to insult me, do it better. This isn't middle school.</p>