Im in a pickle! PLEASE help me! anyone!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>I have been accepted to both UCSD and UCB (spring admit)
I have beeen not able to sleep the past few weeks due to this matter!</p>

<p>Pros of UCSD
- start in the fall when everyone is
- have close friends going there
- has the "college experience" of both a world class education and fun
- Seems more laidback, less tension, competition may be evident but also not too much as in a fiasco
- I love the beach there and its beautiful
- rank 37 in the entire world for Social sciences; which i plan to major in
- can imagine myself being happy here
- more space
- i can get a higher GPA here then berkeley. (for grad school)</p>

<p>Cons of UCSD
- I got into sixth college: a very far and seculded spot for political science
- political science is not as much impacted but they have one of teh finest poli sci professors
- hard to have office hours with professors
- does nto have the name berekeley has </p>

<p>Pros of UCB
- The best education in poli sci. ranked 2nd in social sciences after harvard in the entire world!
- Better quality of education then ucsd but oth institutions offer superb education. UCB offers a bit better one.
- has a name, as in well known through out the country.</p>

<p>Cons of UCB
- I got admited to spring admit so i would not be having friends when i get there.
- the major i am applying for is poli sci and its very impacted. very impacted!
- everone can do well on tests but the curve is unforgiving
- GPA may be low. maybe VERY LOW
- afraid that i might fail
- Hate the hippie town and area
- Bay area is alright but i dont think i can live there
- Professors dont care about you
- people are into clicks and dont interact
- DIFFICULT!!!
- i feel that i have been accepted miraculously
- dont feel prepared
- my parents want me to go there!
- no parties?
These are just my preferences! </p>

<p>Please help me in deciding!! I call out to the college confidential community for this! if im wrong PLEASE correct me. THANKSSS<33</p>

2

<p>You shouldn’t let the spring admit deter your opinion of Berkeley. You will still make friends (everyone does). If you attend the FPF, then you can even make more friends there while earning units for classes. Yes, it’s hard and you might need to work extra hard to get a good GPA, but if you manage to get that - you wouldn’t regret it.
Berkeley still DO have parties and people do have social lives. It might be less than the parties at UCSD, but I believe it’s a small price to pay for a world class education at the #1 public university in the nation.
I have to agree with you that UCSD’s campus is a lot better looking than Berkeley’s, but I suggest you actually go and visit both campuses and see which one you actually prefer (many people still LOVE Berkeley’s campus).</p>

3

<p>My responses in bold</p>

<p>Cons of UCB

  • I got admited to spring admit so i would not be having friends when i get there.
    Just do FPF and you will be fine
  • the major i am applying for is poli sci and its very impacted. very impacted!
    Wrong, political science is not capped, therefore it is not impacted
  • everone can do well on tests but the curve is unforgiving
    I am not sure that is quite the case for social sciences; humanities and social sciences are a lot less likely to have curves
  • GPA may be low. maybe VERY LOW
    Not necessarily true; Political Science does not have weeder classes
  • afraid that i might fail
    You could just as easily fail at UCSD
  • Hate the hippie town and area
    **It is not all hippies; Berkeley is liberal, but not all liberals are hippies. I am left of center on pretty much everything and I hated the tree sitting “hippies”. (Plus they were creationists in certain cases; sidenote: no real liberal can be a creationist) **
  • Bay area is alright but i dont think i can live there
    The Bay Area is hella awesome; I come from LA county. The air is much cleaner, public transportation is much better, and we don’t vote against the civil rights of others
  • Professors dont care about you
    That is not necessarily true. I doubt the “professor caring” factors are the same as or better than those at UCSD. Remember UCSD has a larger student population than Berkeley
  • people are into clicks and dont interact
    Go to Upper Sproul around noon and you will see that is not true
  • DIFFICULT!!!
    Life is difficult, deal with it
  • i feel that i have been accepted miraculously
    I felt the same way and I am pulling a 3.52 as a biology major (I have to deal with all the competitive premeds)
  • dont feel prepared
  • my parents want me to go there!
    and that makes it a con?
  • no parties?
    not true
    These are just my preferences!</p>
4

<p>hahaha thaks for your answers! im still debating. how are you sure that the poli sci majors arent impacted? international relations… idunno i heard its competitive!</p>

5

<p>[L&S</a> Major - Capped Majors](<a href=“http://ls-major.berkeley.edu/capped.html]L&S”>http://ls-major.berkeley.edu/capped.html)
Political Science and Political Economies of Industrial Societies are the two political science-y majors and neither of them are capped. Only capped majors are considered impacted</p>

6

<p>Some ideas to help you make your decision which ultimately needs to fit you and nobody else.</p>

<p>However, a few points you listed are just not correct about Cal. </p>

<p>People are not clique-ish and excluding nor solitary. Visit. Talk to students. You will find that people are warm, open to new folks and very social. Yes, if it is finals week people will be in the libraries focusing on their studies, but the rest of the time there are lots of interactions. Hundreds of clubs and organizations to join. </p>

<p>If you want parties, they are there. If you want frats, they are there. It is up to you how many parties you attend or how much social time you want to spend. </p>

<p>Yes, the surrounding area is kind of hippy-ish, much more so than the campus itself or the student body. If this is a negative to you, it has to be part of your decision. You will be in that area for four years. </p>

<p>GPA may be a lower at Cal, but if you are going to college just to earn the highest GPA, why stop at UCSD? Go to Merced or a CSU or even a local CC to maximize your GPA. Unless, that is, you are also going for the quality of the education, the quality of the teachers and the quality of your fellow students. </p>

<p>Don’t think just of the ranking of the social science program but also of the caliber of the professors in that department. You will find it pretty easy to visit with them during office hours. You may find that a recommendation in the future from a top name in the field might be quite valuable in pursuing graduate study or landing a job. You may get opportunities to work on projects or intern with amazing people. The quality of the grad students, who are the ‘teaching assistants’ called GSIs at Cal, are important too. A class typically has lecture times and separate discussion sessions. Professors are in the lecture but then you get the GSIs for the more intimate discussion sessions. </p>

<p>I noticed that a number of your ‘con’ points were reiterations of the same fear of inadequacy:

  • afraid that i might fail
  • DIFFICULT!!!
  • i feel that i have been accepted miraculously
  • dont feel prepared</p>

<p>By repeating the same point, it artifically bulks up one side of the decision list. UCSD is not so much lighter an academic institution that you would ‘fail’ at Cal but ‘excel’ at SD. SD is a pretty strong school. </p>

<p>More importantly, remember that the typical stats for admissions are not based on some absolute level of readiness or ability to succeed. They are determined by a fixed number of places for incoming students and a growing pool of applicants. In a peak year, you might not have expected to get in, but in a less selective time perhaps Cal would have been a match. Look at the stats of incoming students, not just for this year but in past years (search this forum). You will find a wide range and most of them are thriving at Cal and glad they attended. Some athletes, for example, would not have been admitted except for their value to Cal as a part of a team, yet they do well and graduate. If they can, why not you?</p>

<p>Finally, the ‘rigor’ and the grade curves are not constant in every part of Cal. They are toughest in the engineering classes and in the pre-med required classes. In the social sciences, high grades are easier to attain and curves are not brutal. Yet, you are taking classes from amazing people and discussing these ideas with the best and brightest students. </p>

<p>You have good reasons on both sides of the list. While I admit to a bit of a Berkeley bias, the final decision has to suit you. You are the one that will know which feels right for you. Either will be a good choice.</p>

7

<p>berkeley is bomb</p>

8

<p>@OP, just wondering are you any closer to a final decision?</p>

9

<p>Cons of UCB

  • I got admited to spring admit so i would not be having friends when i get there.
    NO PROBLEM, YOU WILL MAKE LOTS OF FRIENDS IN THE DORM
  • the major i am applying for is poli sci and its very impacted. very impacted!
    NO, IT’S NOT
  • everone can do well on tests but the curve is unforgiving
    AND YOU THINK IT IS NOT AT UCSD? AND HOW DO YOU KNOW IT IS A HARSH CURVE, YOU CAN GET A GOOD GPA AT CAL
  • GPA may be low. maybe VERY LOW
    MY MID TIER UC DD HAD A LOWER GPA THAN MY BERKELEY DD, SAME SUBJECT, NO GUARANTEE, THE MORE PASSIONATE, MORE INTERESTING PROFS MAY INSPIRE YOU
  • afraid that i might fail
  • Hate the hippie town and area
    MY DD DOES NOT CARE FOR THE HIPPIE/HOMELESS CONTINGENT BUT IT IS AN ADVENTURE
  • Bay area is alright but i dont think i can live there
    DD NEVER LIVED IN THE BAY AREA EITHER AND IS ENJOYING IT, WOULD NOT CHOOSE IT AS AN ADULT, SHE PREFERS A SMALL TOWN, BUT SHE IS HAVING A GREAT TIME THERE
  • Professors dont care about you
  • people are into clicks and dont interact
  • DIFFICULT!!!
  • i feel that i have been accepted miraculously
  • dont feel prepared
    NOT SURE ABOUT THIS ONE, MAYBE YOU ARE MAYBE YOU ARE NOT, BUT CAN YOU GET READY BY NEXT SPRING?
  • my parents want me to go there!
    JUST TRYING TO SUPPORT YOU
  • no parties?
    NO TRUE</p>
10

<p>Don’t worry If you search for them you will find parties here at Cal. I heard however that UCSD has a pretty dead social scene…well just from what I have heard.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-san-diego/41687-why-ucsd-so-boring.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-san-diego/41687-why-ucsd-so-boring.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>lol</p>