<p>Nope. No real desire to go to graduate school…right after at least. I feel like it’s a better idea to jump into the workforce and then see whether I’d like to go back for more school or not.</p>
<p>Well, a few days ago my typing would have looked like my mind was made up for Berkeley, haha. Honestly, I’m undecided. I’m really not leaning any which way overall. </p>
<p>It’s not just the prestige of the academic program at Berkeley. It’s that I have waaaaay more freedom in my major at Berkeley, and I wouldn’t be stuck taking all these annoying classes I don’t like like I would at UCLA.</p>
<p>Tell me your thought process though janethedoe. What are your pros and cons?</p>
<p>if my choice were any other choice…would it be this difficult?
i think so… i think its more of a personality thing with me…this indecisiveness/grass is always greener…
for example last year i had an extremely difficult time choosing between UCLA and UCSB.</p>
<p>i really haven’t made a proper pros and cons list…i like reading other peoples…cuz i am so horribly torn and so horribly mutable that i can find pros and cons and switch them up…or the pros are cons and vice versa.</p>
<p>well here is a on the spot pros/cons…</p>
<p>UCLA
Pros:
- its Los Angeles, my home. i know everything about Los Angeles, the good, the bad, and the superficial.
- weather.
- family/friends.
- i feel comfortable on campus.
- picturesque campus, well manicured…lovely.
- great academic program for my major with lots of opportunities.
- i hear its easier to become involved with student government as a transfer.
- UCLA Tri team.
- Bruin mascot.
- Trojan hate.</p>
<p>Cons:
- quarter system ( i know its a pro for most but idk how i will do with the change)
- weather…(also a pro but def can be a con) a.c. running in December…nuff said.
- i know Los Angeles…i lived here all my life
- the superficial
- family (also a pro)
- UCLA is too picturesque…too manicured…too lovely (also a pro but honestly i would get bored of it.)
- UCLA students when i have been on campus seem more stressed…always rushing somewhere…and i have seen hysterical crying because of finals. </p>
<p>Berkeley
Pros:
- i felt comfortable on campus…instantly…on my first visit i felt like i had been there before…sorta like it was fated.
- i liked the people that i talked to on campus, the students seemed chill
- i love the history associated with Berkeley and their activism.
- nearly everyone who has a Nobel prize has been associated with Berkeley
- rebellious protesting spirit.
- new territory to explore.
- number one academic program for my major.
- offered me a few hundred dollars more than UCLA.
- lots of vegetarian/vegan places and options
- S.F.
- it would be an adventure!</p>
<p>Cons:
- far from home…and i am poor…what if there is an emergency at home?
- hobos/eccentrics…yeah they can be cool but seriously i don’t want to bump into a naked hobo sun bathing in front of the steps of lower sproul (actually happened when i was there)
- no friends and the only family i have up there in the bay area are two cool cousins and 1 stanford cousin…we would be automatic rivals.
*weather change…how will i do with more rain and clouds?..i have been so accustomed to the sun.
- the name Cal…it irks me…idk why but it does.
- the Golden Bear is ugly…Oski is uggo too…they aren’t as cute as the Bruin…sorry…just personal taste.
- lame rivals…Stanford…come on now! the Trojans are more fun to hate. </p>
<p>this has been cathartic for me…lol…i should have written this out before.</p>
<p>but it still doesn’t help!!!
you only do undergrad once so…where should i do it???</p>
<p>** D: ** ahhhhhhhhhhhhh</p>
<p>jane, nice list! i think your decision is going to come down to whether or not you’re ready to take a leap outside your normal comfort zone and move ‘far’ away</p>
<p>Well, from your list it looks like Berkeley is the place for you. You said it felt fated, haha. I don’t even see how being close to home is a good thing!</p>
<p>Luckily for me, UCLA is still sorta far from home. 65 miles, but in reality that’s like a 2 hour drive because of traffic. Different enough environment for me to actually feel like I’m somewhere else. The fact that Berkeley’s really far though is a plus for me.</p>
<p>Though, I take issue with this: "
- UCLA is too picturesque…too manicured…too lovely (also a pro but honestly i would get bored of it.)
"
It’s a beautiful campus…that’s a good thing. You’re going to get sick of beauty? What kind of person are you!?</p>
<p>idk i do need to have an adventure…and being far from home is a plus…
if i went to one school i would always wonder how it would have been at the other.</p>
<p>like UCLA is the ideal version of a college experience, the one i always wanted…
but Berkeley is more me…</p>
<p>i don’t know what i want.
:(</p>
<p>i am the kind of person who finds beauty in everything. and the picturesque and sublime would bore me.</p>
<p>seriously i am all sorts of efffffed up.</p>
<p>Well, I think you’d find a lot of beauty in UCLA too, haha. I do love Berkeley’s campus too though. They’re both beautiful. Anyways, it sounds like you’re pretty clearly saying you prefer Berkeley. I haven’t really seen anything you’ve said that sounds like a positive for LA…so go to Berkeley!</p>
<p>i have said many positive things for LA!!!</p>
<p>you go to Berkeley! :P</p>
<p>i am not making a decision right now!!!</p>
<p>lol</p>
<p>go to Berkeley or else!! That’s an order!!! </p>
<p>Just kidding, go to UCLA because that’s where I’m proooooooooobably going (but nowhere near definitely). And if other people make the same choice I’ll feel more secure!</p>
<p>@ jane and arcade: … How I feel your pains. I can’t decide. My best friend is lobbying hardcore for Berkeley. I love Berkeley, but they offered me spring! Alas, how I defy spring admission! How I loathe it! How it sears my deeply-rooted love and passion for Berkeley. God, I really hope my appeal is accepted. I swear I’m posting it on CC immediately if that happens.</p>
<p>For me it’s like this:</p>
<p>Berkeley:
Pros</p>
<ul>
<li>The people are a lot like me…straight up.</li>
<li>Psych Department - I’m already a part of their Psych Undergrads Group</li>
<li>Vibe and Energy…just spectacular</li>
</ul>
<p>Cons:</p>
<ul>
<li>Spring Admission</li>
<li>I have WAY more friends at UCLA</li>
<li>I sense a sort of jaded and sometimes depressive mood about Berkeley - more so than UCLA that is. (just my opinion)</li>
</ul>
<p>UCLA
pros:</p>
<ul>
<li>Great Psych Department/fall admission</li>
<li>There’s this girl who I get along with better than anyone I know</li>
<li>It would be an adventure for me! A completely new environment away from the Bay Area!</li>
</ul>
<p>UCLA
Cons:</p>
<ul>
<li>I’m not as comfortable there</li>
<li>Not a big fan of how hot it is</li>
<li>I’m not nearly as educated about UCLA</li>
</ul>
<p>lol at arcadefire if you make the choice to go to Berkeley i will feel more secure.</p>
<p>hahahaha</p>
<p>lets runaway and both go to **********************
and not tell anyone where we SIR.</p>
<p>Cal State Stanislaus? Let’s go!</p>
<p>Woops…wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.</p>
<p>Beautiful girls matter more than anything else! Jkjk…well…not really. But what’s most important is your gut feeling. If you feel like you belong and will have a better overall experience at LA, then go to LA.</p>
<p>its okay we will go to ************************************************</p>
<p>lol i wonder what the asterisks spell out this time.</p>
<p>What if you have 2 gut feelings?</p>
<p>I have a gut feeling that Berkeley is where I was meant to be. It was always my dream school since I was a little kid.</p>
<p>I also have a gut feeling that I was meant to go to UCLA and get to know this girl better that I’ve been talking to for nearly a year. She’s one of my best friends right now, and I like her. She’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever met, and it would be fantastic to go to the same school as her - UCLA.</p>
<p>awww my son is a lil Romeo, how sweet. </p>
<p>awwwwwwwwwwww :)</p>
<p>tough choice my son. tough choice.</p>
<p>@ jane: I believe it spells out: UniversityofCaliforniaBerkeley 
lol judging by the asterisk number.</p>
<p>I could always be wrong.</p>
<p>I feel like I keep flip-flopping. I almost decided on UCLA…then there was the Transfer Bridges Program, and it completely renewed my love for Berkeley.</p>
<p>Now I’m back home, the impact has diminished, and I’m starting to rationalize UCLA again…ughhhhh! help? lol.</p>
<p>help you? ha. yeah right.
i am a mess.</p>
<p>Bearuins for life!</p>
<p>Yeah my gut’s not really guiding me. I mean, my gut thought UCLA seemed like a cooler place. My gut now realizes that I’ll be stuck in classes I hate at UCLA, while Berkeley has the perfect program for me. My gut’s pretty stuck in the middle, along with my brain. </p>
<p>I also feel like housing sucks at Berkeley. Where would I even live? No idea. I’d want to live in dorms because Berkeley offers waaaaaaay more financial aid for living on campus, but I might wind up getting stuck in apartments and then I’m screwed financially. Seriously, Berkeley’s giving me $5500 more if I choose to live on campus vs. off campus, while the cost of living would really be about the same.</p>
<p>A more obvious living situation makes UCLA seem way more convenient. Plus UCLA’s known for having better food. Seriously, all the “soft” factors make me lean towards UCLA. The academic factors make me lean towards (fall on) Berkeley.</p>
<p>I think a coin flip would probably be a fair way to do things.</p>
<p>lol i love how much you edit your posts hahahahaha</p>
<p>well to be honest thats what i did last year…i put UCLA, UCSD and UCSB on lil pieces of paper and tossed them around…picked two.
UCLA and UCSB…and still had trouble deciding.</p>
<p>i ultimately picked UCLA…but now its UCLA vs. Berkeley…a lil harder to choose…</p>
<p>i agree about the coin flip… sign me up for the coin toss.</p>