<p>Guys and gals, let’s not get too caught up with the rankings. What truly matters is the experience that one derives from the academic and social interactions at whatever college one ends up at. What is the point of attending a top school if you don’t have a positive experience? I am a Berkeley grad, and proud of it even though it might not carry as much cache as some of the aforementioned private universities. It’s true that it doesn’t have as high of a selectivity than some of those elite private universities, but that is not it’s mission. It’s mission is to provide opportunities for students to succeed, even if they don’t come from a priviledged background. There are many factors why a student may not have top scores on standardized tests (i.e. family unable to afford private SAT prep classes, English as a second language, etc.) or why he/she didn’t pad the college application with music competitions (music lessons could be financially prohibitive for some families) or why the GPA is not 4.0 (i.e. split study time with afterschool part-time job to help the family). But that doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she wouldn’t be able to succeed or be denied the opportunity to compete with a better-prepped student from a priviledged background. I know of many fellow Berkeley grads from modest backgrounds who are now leaders in their respective fields. The point is that Berkeley may not be as selective as, let’s say Stanford or Harvard, so that a larger segment of population could be given a chance to get a quality education and to succeed.</p>
<p>wait till Berkeley becomes private:P n we can continue with this thread</p>
<p>If Berkeley becomes private, it’ll be the next Harvard.</p>
<p>Anyway, I definitely don’t think Berkeley is underrated - everyone (that I’ve talked to) thinks that Berkeley is very prestigious.</p>