<p>Thanks @kat121
When I went to Cal and got to talk to students I certainly feel like they wanted to let us know that Cal wasn’t an easy place to be. I actually distinctly remember one of the students saying something like “where you come from, you are like a god, you are one of the 10 kids on your campus with a 4.0, but once you get here everyone is a god, everyone gets amazing grades all the time.” Can you comment on dorm life? The city around Cal? Anything and everything you are willing to share is valued and much appreciated. </p>
<p>I hate how much harder you are making this decision for me, but I am greatful as well. I want to make the best choice with accurate information as opposed to just a bunch of preconceived notions. </p>
<p>@Cheebii
Oh… I’m sorry if I offended you with my comment. But now I know you’re a dude. </p>
<p>I had the same choice to make… (UCSB, Cal, UCLA)
I you are thinking about Grad school your best choices are between being a Golden Bear or being a Bruin…</p>
<p>I let go of Cal cause I wanted to be near my family in Socal and I really like the quarter system…</p>
<p>My number #1 advice is to visit all the schools you are seriously considering… spend the $$$ and go to the yield events… </p>
<p>Well, to be honest, and you probably won’t like this answer, you can’t go wrong with either school. If you like the more intellectual atmosphere of Berkeley, go there. If you like the city of Los Angeles more and the laidback atmosphere of UCLA, go there.</p>
<p>Dorm life: I live at Clark Kerr, which is the farthest from campus, but also by far the prettiest and has nicer rooms. A lot of transfer students live in the Wada apartments in unit 2, which are for transfers, and they seem happy there. They count as off campus for financial aid purposes though. There are other junior transfers on my floor, so I didn’t feel like I was the only older one amongst all the freshmen. I get along great with my floormates, and I think living in the dorms is generally really great socially-- you get to meet a lot of people that way.</p>
<p>The city around Cal is one of the reasons I chose to come here! I really like it because it feels like a real city, full of independent stores and restaurants. It has character and personality. I much prefer it to the area around UCLA. I also love how the campus is right in the middle of the city. My friend who goes to UCLA says that they never go to Westwood unless they have a specific reason and they have to make a whole trip out of it, because she finds it inconveniently far from her dorm. Berkeley is very walkable, there are lots of places I can easily walk to on a whim from my dorm, and we get free bus passes which make it easy to go further afield if you want! I love not having to have a car.</p>
<p>Because I love Cal, I am obviously going to encourage you to come here, but I know my friend who transferred to UCLA is very happy there too. Feel free to ask any other Cal-related questions you may have! :)</p>
<p>@kat121 It’s interesting that you like the city! My mom is discouraging me from going to Cal because she heard rumors about the abundance of homeless people around Cal. She thinks they’ll sneak into the showers or something. What do you think of the homeless and the crimes (ie. getting mugged, etc.) around the city? What are some of your experiences?</p>
<p>@anthroflo I am battling much of the same indecision. I will be visiting Berkeley next weekend so I can get a better feel for both, the verdict will come when/if I get my regents notification. I understand how you feel about post school indecision, my friends ask me what I exactly wish to do with my major in poli sci/international relations, but are disappointed in my lack of a solid answer. </p>
<p>@kat121, thank you so much for all your insight and knowledge! I’m probably going to think of a hundred things to ask you but before I ask anything else, what is the music scene like at Cal?</p>
<p>You’re right, I don’t like that answer @Cayton, but it is one I seem to be getting that same answer a lot.
I like both intellectual and laid back atmospheres
As a side note: I’ve been asked if I am a girl on here before, and I’m curious as to why others are curious. </p>
<p>It looks like we are on the same boat then @nichtszumachen.
Good luck to you in making your decision. And please let us know what you think of Cal when you go, I want to make it up there myself but I don’t know if it will be possible.</p>
<p>On a personal note: I grew up in northern California and, personally, I really like it up here. There are a lot of opportunities for hiking, camping, being alone in nature. I love the vibe up here and I find it hard to leave it. If I go to Cal I will still be up here and I can go to Yosemite, explore the bay area, and I can say I graduated from Cal! But then again, something about UCLA felt right to me, I would be a fish out of water in many ways but I think that would be a good challenge for me. Also, being a music enthusiast, LA seems like a good place to be to explore that. I wish I could see what my future would be like if I attended Cal and LA so I could know where the best place for me would be.</p>
<p>@kat121 When you say that Wada counts as off-campus housing, what does that translate into when it comes to financial aid? Does that mean we would have to update our financial aid app to reflect “off-campus” instead of “on-campus” living situation?</p>
<p>I feel exactly the same way. My heart says UCLA but my heart says Cal and I grew up in the Bay Area as well. I find myself very comfortable staying in this bubble but want to try something new at the same time! Some of the arguments I’ve read is where you want to be after graduation, whether you’ll be in Norcal, Socal, or leave California completely.</p>
<p>And I get that feeling of wanting to see your future. I’m terrified that I’ll go to one school and regret not going to the other but I guess that can happen no matter which school we eventually choose. I guess the best thing we can do is visit each school and see if we fit in. </p>
<p>@AnthroFlo, I believe you received an invitation for UCLA Regents, is that going to play a role in making your decision?</p>
<p>It’s like you read my mind @nowworried!
I didn’t grow up in the bay area or ever lived in a city, so I feel like I will be leaving my bubble no matter what I do. I just want to leave my bubble and step into a good place. Honestly, after I graduate I am thinking of either travel, travel, travel, or working in Yosemite, or coming back to the area I grew up in to try to get a job, or somehow maybe trying to pursue music in some way. None of those “future plans” have anything to do with my major :p</p>
<p>I’ve been to all the campuses! After seeing UCSB and UC Davis, I knew they weren’t the right fits for me. LA was great but I hardly got to see Cal :(</p>
<p>I really hope all of us go to the right school for each of our own needs and desires where we will do well academically and meet awesome people and explore interests outside of academia. </p>
<p>I honestly don’t know how much the Regents decision is going to effect my decision; though I’m sure it will be a factor for or against UCLA and/or Cal.</p>
<p>@oongaboonga, yeah, you definitely see homeless people around on the streets and stuff. And People’s Park is full of homeless people. The police don’t make them move. I’ve never felt threatened by them though, and they’ve never gotten close to my dorm or anything. I remember hearing about a few muggings last semester, but these were at like 4am. I feel perfectly safe walking around after dark while there are still plenty of students around, which is pretty late. I wouldn’t feel safe walking alone at like 2am or whatever, but that’s true for any city! There are night safety shuttles and Bear Walk (where someone will come to where you are and walk you to your destination) for getting home late. I’ve never felt unsafe here and the presence of homeless people has really not impacted my life at all.</p>
<p>@anthroFlo, I actually haven’t seen any concerts since I got here (which makes me sad, I love going to gigs!) but they have some pretty cool ones at the Greek Theater and Fox Theater Oakland (I always see flyers for them), and you could always go to SF! LA does have a good music scene though, and I don’t think it would be too hard to get to gigs in Hollywood from UCLA. And as a SoCal native who went to NorCal, I totally get the desire to leave your native area!</p>
<p>@SoCalLife310, yes, I believe you would have to report yourself as off campus on the financial aid website.</p>
<p>Well, I tried to give you the best answer I could. sorry, lol</p>
<p>And I just assume that most people on this forum are guys. Is that assumption justified? Probably not. But yeah, I imagine that’s why others are curious about your gender too.</p>
<p>@AnthroFlo, it’s nice to know that other people have been feeling the same way as me haha. Are you thinking of going to a transfer day? I’m going to attend Cal’s because I live only a few bart rides away :P. I guess we’ll all know for Regents about mid-may and I hope it helps us all make our decisions. </p>
<p>I’m sure that we’ll all find that group of people with the perfect mix of academia loving and laidbackness.</p>
<p>there is one quick way of knowing which school you really want. get a coin and do heads or tails… let your mind think that this coin is going to decide your future… flip the coin and once its in the air you will be rooting for heads or tails and you will know.</p>
<p>@nowworried
You are certainly not alone.
I am debating, I kind of want to go to Cal’s transfer day because I only live a few hours away and I think the commute would be worth it but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it out because of so many things I’ll have going on with school. I wish I could go to the UCLA transfer day only because even though I’ve never seen too much of Cal, I’ve been there 3 times already and have only been to UCLA once, but I live way too far from LA to visit again :(</p>
<p>No, but I do recognize its greatness as a school. :D</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with Berkeley, even if some may prefer other schools. I’ve filed my SIR with UCLA, so going there is pretty much a done deal. Have you SIR’d to Berkeley, yet?</p>
<p>I was hoping you would change your mind, because then when I had questions about getting ready for Berkeley I could ask you lol. Selfish I know. But I’m glad you have found the school you love.</p>
but before I ask anything else, what is the music scene like at Cal?</p>