I guess Cal’s reputation continues to take a beating lol:
http://www.dailycal.org/2017/06/18/uc-berkeley-ranks-no-6-international-ranking-among-harvard-mit/
No, almost anyone can get into USC, but not Cal. A Cal degree is still as shiny and prized as ever. The recent riots are just a hiccup and reflective of it being a public university open to the public, not a reflection on Golden Bears who are held in high regard to be people of valor and guts speaking up appropriately about issues that affect us all. You could do a lot worse than be an alumnus of this esteemed group. I just don’t see the same panache and prestige/halo around USC. But to each his own.
I wish you would refrain from posting anything positive about Cal, at least until after the Class of 2018’s SIR period is finished. Thank you! ;))
It’s weird, but I always thought one of the whole ideas of University was to get tossed into the pool with all sorts of variety of opinion and passions… even ridiculous (thought hopefully not violent or dangerous) extremes.
^^seems not want students want anymore, rather prestige = good paying job with McMansion, Mercedes, and long vacations at the beach.
Is it true that republican club is one of the biggest on campus?
Cal was once considered the #1 university in the country, it has fallen down to #20, this is a real problem and will continue to be a problem for all public universities. State legislatures represent their constituents, not OOS students and as the call for more in state slots hits home there will be financial repercussions. Cal and s not in a great financial state right now.
Acc to USNWR, it’s #4 now (not in the country), but in the world, so it hasn’t fallen down too much.
That means they are 20th in undergrad and 4th in the grad schools so yes Cal is good for grad school, although they try to normalize for size the Cal grad schools get a real boost from there sheer size. Again they will continue to slide in both rankings.
For Cal, you have to apply to a school and major. So certain schools and majors are still tied with 1 and 2 with the likes of Harvard and Yale, such as English, CS, and Haas Business (apply at end of So year). So keep in mind one size doesn’t fit all. You can’t hear Berkeley and think okay–20 for undergrad. More and more it depends on what college and what major you were accepted into. For eg, for undergrad business ed, Haas is tied for second with MIT, second only to Wharton. Not bad, not bad…
I love Cal. It’s my alma mater. But I wouldn’t steer my kid there over UCLA if I had to pick between the two.
FWIW, another publication ranks Berkeley as one of the most prestigious…
Times Higher Education:
http://news.berkeley.edu/2017/06/15/berkeley-ranks-among-worlds-elite-six-universities/
“The reputation rankings are based on a survey of more than 10,000 academics worldwide, are just seven years old, and this is the seventh time Berkeley has placed in the “elite six.” All six scored far higher than the other universities by Times Higher Education, the United Kingdom’s leading educational news publication. The reputation rankings are separate from THE‘s annual World University Rankings, which come out in the fall.”
I’ll always be a Golden Bear but this year has been such a disappointment over the lack of leadership in handling the riots and protests of scheduled speakers.
To the OP: a degree from UC Berkeley still holds prestige in the working world. I know I’ve gotten my foot in the door because of where I went to school (not from any connections) and I have a liberal arts degree. My colleague who has a STEM degree from an Ivy was impressed with where I went to school. So I believe it still has some wow factor for a resume.
Berkeley’s reputation is based to a very large extent on its graduate programs and the number of Nobel prize winners - many of whom have retired or passed away. It’s a very solid, albeit large school for
The reputation is also based on its stellar undergrad programs I describe above in #49 for all those who still don’t want to believe Cal’s undergrad program can compete with anyone. Believe it.
Not really differentiated from its peers UCLA, Virginia and Michigan academically, although grads will argue strenuously to the contrary. Make sure it is a good cultural fit! Intrensity, stress and exteme PC culture are not for everyone, but can be energizing for the right person.
Uh, no. When USNews first came out with a ranking, Cal was #5. (Stanford was #1.) Michigan was #7, Illinois #8, and Wisconsin #13. (Chicago was #6, btw.) Caltech was #12 in the initial ranking and is #12 today.
But the original ranking was based purely on peer assessment. Shortly after their first ranking, USNews ‘tweaked’ their formulas to better value private Unis. (Alumni giving? Seriously?) Needless to say, all the publics dropped like the proverbial rocks.
Duke was not even ranked in the first ranking, but came in at #8 in Year 2 Penn, Columbia & Brown weren’t ranked either. (Egads, for an east coast magazine to sell copies, ignoring three of the Ancient Eight is not good for bidness!).
Needless to say, when those three came in, others had to drop. Top 10 is a zero-sum game. Cal went from #5 in (1989) to 24 in 1990. Back in the teens for 5 years, then back in the 20’s to stay since 1995.
Cal has been #20/21 since 2000, so not seeing a ‘continuing’ problem, nor a trend. Michigan has been firmly holding firm in the mid-20’s, Wisconsin in the mid-30’s, and Illinois in the mid-40s. (UI took a big drop several years ago.)
Highly unlikely. As noted above, Cal is not sliding in the undergrad ranking since its been ~#20 for a decade.
And, not likely for grad programs either. Cal has as many top 10 ranked grad programs as Harvard. A few years ago, Cal even had more #1 ranked grad programs than Harvard. But Harvard demanded a recount and reclaimed its spot at the top of the totem pole. 
C-A-L-I-FOR-NIA, California, California, yeah! We’re very happy with our rising senior Golden Bear’ s choice. She has benefitted by being a Regents Scholar and it has been a remarkable experience. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
@sushiritto Sorry - don’t mean to make it tougher to get in than it already is! 
@bluebayou you fail to see the point, its not just a Cal problem its every public university that has a state legislature meddling in its policies and finances, there are NO public schools in the top 20 (notice your examples are private schools that have gained in the rankings, while publics have continued to slide, Michigan, Wisconsin were both top 10 schools at one point and they have slid dramatically) and as states refuse tuition increases (popular since there constituents are students or parents of students) state schools fall further and further behind, now that is a zero sum game.
This thread can go on and on about the various publications ranking Cal but to get back to the OP’s concern of Berkeley’s recent negative press (regarding free speech) devaluing a degree from there, the answer is NO. Even with the bad press and negative perception of the university your degree from Berkeley will be of great value. So, OP, have fun at Cal and I hope you will do well academically.
In my day the big protests at Berkeley were about divestment from South Africa (the anti-apartheid movement). These were the days of Shantytown that occupied the area near the Chancellor’s office. Even with this distraction, Berkeley students went about their business, we got our degrees and did fine!! All of my friends and I landed good jobs before we graduated.