<p>Sup, I'm a prospective civil engineering student. I've been accepted to both UCLA and UCBerkeley, and I can't quite decide which.</p>
<p>Taking rankings and prestige into account, UCBerkeley is the sure cut choice here...but I dunno. I am trying to find a good balance of academics and environment.</p>
<p>I am not sure about engineering overall at UCLA, but it seems that UCLA is ranked 34th and Berkeley is ranked 1st in the USnews rankings. Should this be like the sole reason in choosing Berkeley over UCLA?</p>
<p>In regards to the environment/atmosphere, I hear UCLA is real laid-back and everything while Berkeley is pretty competitive. As a civil engineering student, will I have any social life in either?</p>
<p>I am Japanese, but I've grown up here (Cali) and I am seriously whitewashed. I like to hang out with people who aren't in the top classes like me, and I click with them much more than the AP nerds that surround me every period. I am much more comfortable with the people who are low-caliber in academics (aka stupid), which I guess might be wierd. I'm also not comfortable around most asians, especially the ones who talk their native language, which usually ****es me off. In short, I want diversity. Taking that into account, will I fit into Berkeley more or UCLA?</p>
<p>i can't speak on engineering, but uh. the thing about going to a top school, berkeley or UCLA, is that you won't be meeting "stupid" people. not book stupid, anyway. the people with low grades may be lazy, but we all had to achieve something to get in and i suspect that its not the same kind of "stupid" you're used to in high school. So get over that. You won't be the smartest guy in your class and you won't be the dumbest. </p>
<p>While there are lots of asians at UCLA, with a population hovering around 30k there really are lots of most kinds of people. Enough that you would have your choice in who you socialize with, anyway. There are some foreign students who primarily use their native language but,again, you get to choose who you hang out with so this really shouldn't be an issue if it bothers you. </p>
<p>Being that it IS UCLA and there is a large asian population, the personalities of those students are very widely diverse. Quite honestly, the vast majority of my asian friends would likely describe themselves as being more like you than like the stereotypical nerdy asian kid. So I suggest that if you do end up here that you're open about meeting all kinds of people. Failing to do so would be a pretty grave mistake considering there are a hell of a lot of people here and they most definitely do not fit into your preconceived ideas of what they may or may not be like.</p>