<p>I don’t understand what this discussion is about. Of course Berkeley is good; no one should say it’s not. It’s probably around tenth overall.</p>
<p>Harvard is clearly a better college than Berkeley overall from an objective standpoint, but Berkeley is one of the best in the country as well.</p>
<p>No, people are generally not that impressed if you get into Berkeley, especially if you are on the East Coast.</p>
<p>In fact, people on the East Coast are generally not as impressed with Stanford as they are Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.</p>
<p>Those are the three key schools.</p>
<p>And no, I did not attend, either Harvard, Princeton, or Yale.</p>
<p>Berkeley is along the lines of Cornell. </p>
<p>Basically non-elite. </p>
<p>A safety school, at best.</p>
<p>
Hmmm…I thought that was Yale. :)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.safetyschool.org%5B/url%5D”>www.safetyschool.org</a></p>
<p>Here’s my first thought:</p>
<p>“They weren’t intelligent enough to get into Stanford”.</p>
<p>^ That’s also what some Stanford people think. :)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.stanfordrejects.com%5B/url%5D”>www.stanfordrejects.com</a></p>
<p>I’m from the Bay Area. Around here, Stanford and Caltech carries much more weight than Berkeley…at least when it comes to undergrad education. It surprised me when I realized Berkeley is ranked so high in the world rankings, but I suppose that’s because those focus much more on grad schools.</p>
<p>My friend who got into Stanford and Princeton and Berkeley considered Berkeley as one of her safety schools, and didn’t consider going there because she didn’t want to compete for classes. There is also a general perception that Berkeley is somewhat of a “hippie” school, as there are a lot of activism movements at campus (the Occupy movement for example).</p>
<p>Don’t take this too much into account though, since I know EECS is an impacted major and getting into that major at Berkeley is an impressive achievement indeed. Maybe the “general population” won’t understand (at least from where I live) but employers definitely will.</p>
<p>okay, I would like to summarize the discussion till now and give out my conclusions. (while trying to be objective)</p>
<p>First comes the simpler one. Berkeley’s reputation and prestige for Engineering. I believe that topic is unanimously agreed upon and everyone here feels that Berkeley has one of the best engineering schools in the country - for both, undergrad and postgrad. (especially EECS). The only universities at par with (or maybe just slightly higher) than Berkeley EECS are MIT, Stanford and Caltech.</p>
<p>Now comes the more controversial topic of Cal’s overall repute.</p>
<p>As I had posted before, here are some rankings from UK and Shanghai</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking[/url]”>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking</a></p>
<p>[Top</a> universities by reputation 2013 - Times Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013/reputation-ranking]Top”>World Reputation Rankings 2013 | Times Higher Education (THE))</p>
<p>[Academic</a> Ranking of World Universities - 2012| Top 500 universities | Shanghai Ranking - 2012 | World University Ranking - 2012](<a href=“http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2012.html]Academic”>http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2012.html)</p>
<p>As you can see, Overall, Berkeley has a solid reputation internationally. Yet, US news and rankings and Forbes Magazine rate Berkeley as #21 and #50 respectively.</p>
<p>My question was that, from an American perspective, does Berkeley hold the same prestige it does from an International point of view? But then why the discrepancy?</p>
<p>Someone made a very good point that the overall prestige has a lot of ifs. The overall prestige varies from academics to layman and may change from place to place.</p>
<p>Now going one by one,</p>
<p>Academics - <a href=“Physics & Astronomy | Johns Hopkins University”>Physics & Astronomy | Johns Hopkins University;
This suggests that Berkeley is in high regard among the academics. But a lot of people have pointed out that Berkeley’s undergrad program “piggy banks” on its grad schools’ reputation. I can’t say who is correct.</p>
<p>Layman - The perception varies from place to place.</p>
<p>Some east coast posters have said that Berkeley is the next big thing after HPYMS while some have said that it is virtually unknown. One even went as far as to call it a “safety school” but since that is not practically possible, I will simply disregard it as someone venting out or taking out a grudge.</p>
<p>I guess its a bit like Caltech in India. Most people have never heard of it, but the ones who have, hold it in high regard. Although I personally don’t feel that Berkeley can match up to the prestige of a Caltech or Stanford degree, I do believe that it is the next big thing.</p>
<p>As for Berkeley being for Stanford Rejects, I am sure that most 2-tier schools (Lower Ivies, JHU, UW, etc.) are full of HPYMS rejects. So perhaps that is where Berkeley stands in terms of overall prestige. A 2-tier school.</p>
<p>As for West Coast - Some have said that it is among the best, with Stanford and Caltech, while others say its nothing great. I think California residents do not have much respect for berkeley because it is much easier for them to get through. The rest of the west coast sees it as one of their dream schools.</p>
<p>In the middle - I still have no idea.</p>
<p>As for Williams, Swarthmore, CMC, etc. I guess its best to keep liberal arts colleges out of this discussion since that will only mix up things further.</p>
<p>Conclusion as of now,</p>
<p>Berkeley EECS prestige - Among the best.
Berkeley Overall Prestige - Not as much as HYPMS but in the next league with other 2-tier schools.</p>
<p>And yes, the discussion is still Open. :)</p>
<p>I going back to IIT …nobody can beat that sort of prestige…
Good bye guys</p>
<p>Once you have a job, NOBODY cares which college you went to. You should not be selecting a college based on the perceived “wow” factor. Only you can wow by distinguishing yourself from the pack of other graduating peers. Yes, at work if I know someone from Berkeley…we all think “wow…that person must have been really smart”. But then you meet a director and he is an awesome techy guy. And you think he is from Berkeley or Stanford. But then he says he only went to “University of … " (ranking in the 3 digits). And then you wonder…'wow…how did HE only go to such and such”…
So Please do not choose a university on prestige factor. Just be the best wherever you go.</p>
<p>Anyway, for those who do care about the wow factor, yes, I have been on the East and West coast and international. And yes, UC Berkeley is recognized usually with a ‘wow…!’. More so than UPenn or Brown.</p>
<p>I think that’s a fair assessment. I guess for CA kids its just not as big a deal. For people who are looking to do research in whatever field, Berkeley (and yes, the east coast doesn’t get the Cal thing) is one of the best places to be. I’m surprised people are so blas</p>
<p>quiverfox, which ITT? I recalled my graduate school buddies (years ago) were snooty about the distinction. :)</p>
<p>At any rate, congratulations to garggaurav - getting into Cal’s EECS is exceptional impressive (unfortunately, there is not really any upward mobility in term of graduate schools)</p>
<p>
No, I go like “what are you studying?” and then “why do you want a degree in that?” If the answer is EECS, I’ll geek out and ask you what fun stuff you’ve done with Linux or what kind of programming you like to do.</p>
<p>Which is pretty much my response whenever people tell me they’re in college.</p>
<p>Seriously, WΤF kind of question is that?</p>
<p>In my school if you say Berkeley people think you mean Berkeley College, an unranked business school with rolling admission.</p>
<p>:|</p>
<p>You make a good point about it being easier for California residents to get into the UCs. But I can assure you that for someone who can get into HYPSM, and is not interested in EECS or other prestigious majors at Berkeley (like my friend who wants to be pre-med), it can be considered a safety school. I myself considered it a match and all Ivies and some of the top liberal arts a reach, and the only reason I’m still considering Berkeley is because it’s cheaper for me than Swarthmore. Don’t get me wrong…it’s a great school. But I don’t feel like competing for class when I have the option of not doing that at a what I would say is an equally prestigious school (if not more so in terms of undergrads). But then again I’m a California resident so maybe I’m biased.</p>
<p>Honestly though in the U.S. the quality of education matters much more than prestige when it comes to undergrads…Most people I know are saying that they’ll go to a less well-known college for undergraduate and then apply to Ivies etc. for grad school. Not sure if you’re looking at Cal for undergrad or grad school though. </p>
<p>And also I guess it depends on your career plans and where you’re going after graduating. But if you’re going international it doesn’t matter too much how prestigious it is in the U.S…and if you’re in the U.S. employers know the value of a Berkeley education in terms of EECS.</p>
<p>furrydog - Quiverfox means IIT - Indian Institute of Technology. Known for Engineering, in india, IIT is without doubt the most prestigious Undergraduate college in the whole country. And with that kind of population, the competition is unbelievable. The acceptance rates are lesser than 1%.</p>
<p>And yeah, thanks!!</p>
<p>Halogen and others - Don’t worry. I will not be changing my decision based on prestige. I know I am coming to Cal. (for undergrad EECS)</p>
<p>“No, I go like “what are you studying?” and then “why do you want a degree in that?” If the answer is EECS, I’ll geek out and ask you what fun stuff you’ve done with Linux or what kind of programming you like to do.”</p>
<p>Sorry - not even close.
As a hiring manager, the first question I ask would be “Who is greater, Cardinal or Bears” - if you say Bears, then the interview is over (or at least I will challenge you to an arm wresting match). 
Or if I am feeling particularly geeky that day, I will ask you about the complexity of bubble sort or try to estimate the number of barbers in San Jose.</p>
<p>“furrydog - Quiverfox means IIT - Indian Institute of Technology. Known for Engineering, in india, IIT is without doubt the most prestigious Undergraduate college in the whole country. And with that kind of population, the competition is unbelievable. The acceptance rates are lesser than 1%.”</p>
<p>Ah, we Americans are not that clueless.
It is an “inside” jokes - I distinctly recalling my IIT Delhi buddies “talking trash” to those from IIT Madras.</p>
<p>"The rankings suggest that the top six - Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University and the University of Oxford - form a group of globally recognised “super brands.”</p>
<p>This answers the question that the OP asked. </p>
<p>UCB is in the stratosphere of reputation globally. Right or wrong, most Americans don’t think of the school like that. </p>
<p>Maybe UCB just has a lousy marketing department. The school does trade under about 7 different name variations, and Berkeley has all that 1960s baggage. Or think it is a music school in Boston.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My bright young friend, I assure you that a college can be both.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best as you come to the States to further your education! I hope that you have a wonderful experience.</p>
<p>What about Caltech? Being from the east coast, it sucks when nobody ever knows what it is…</p>