<p>@blahblah777 memorial stadium is getting prepared for the 2012 fall season…</p>
<p>UCLA vs Cal is such a case by case decision, you just gotta choose what feels right</p>
<p>Hello again, </p>
<p>I do really like Berkeley, it’s not that I don’t like it at all. It’s just that I found LA to be a better fit. Sort of like what @RickRoss said above, “you just gotta choose what feels right”. </p>
<p>For me, a lot of my decision was based on the locations of the two schools. While Berkeley is a lovely city, I’ve personally never felt comfortable in my own skin here. It has nothing to do with the people or the culture, and honestly I don’t really know what it has to do with but it just doesn’t work for me. Also, my entire family is down South, including my niece and nephew. My family isn’t exactly stable, so I worry more than I should about how I’m not helping out enough because I’m up here. But that part is just a minor detail.</p>
<p>As far as UCLA vs. Cal there were several reasons why I picked UCLA over Cal. One was the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. I’m hoping to go to Med School after undergraduate, and being in the vicinity of the best hospital in the Western United States is a pretty big perk. There are tons of volunteer opportunities there, as well as internships for students. When I tried volunteering at a hospital up here, they had a system where they can only take 20 or 30 volunteers every “application period”, so it was extremely competitive and mostly based on who can fill out their application the quickest when they opened up at 9 in the morning. </p>
<p>Another reason was their locations for internships and jobs. Berkeley has San Francisco, and UCLA obviously has LA. Both are great places to look for internships for the summer, but going to San Francisco is frustrating for me. You can take the BART (about $5-6 round trip into downtown) or you can take the Bay Bridge ($4-6 depending on the hours). But I would much rather go through LA for an internship than go to San Francisco. I know this may sound impossible to some of you, but Bay Area traffic is worse than LA traffic 80% of the time. BUT, if you aren’t driving it’s not a big deal. I’m just attached to my car by the hip. </p>
<p>Both schools are excellent, and once you get down into the academia and social life of both you will see that they are almost exactly the same. For me, my decision was made mostly because of location and by my personal feelings towards both areas. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Hello Guys,
So as most of you, I am really confused between the two. Since its such a case by case decision, i would appreciate if you guys could give your advice and suggestion
I got into Cal for economics and Ucla for Maths and applied science. My main aim is to become an actuary but I always wanted to keep it narrow, yet diverse. I have recently been enjoying studying economics and I am inclining towards doing econometrics. Since there is no such major at either universities, it’s going to be Econ major and math minor (I still need to discuss it with a counselor). And then continue with my goals of becoming an actuary.
So I have visited both schools. Just once though. I am also an international student in USA and so don’t really know about the two areas. Personally, i believe i liked UCLA campus better (could be a number of reasons including simply weather that day :p. I just don;t know). I have relatives in SoCal and I would like to remain close to them but I am also really looking for the experience. Also I know Berkeley has the “WOW” and the prestige factor. I am looking for professionalism and want to be among intellectual student body. And I am told Berkeley and Bay area is better for that. I hope to take active part in research as well.
I have been told that area around the two campuses is equally rough (is that true?)
I guess I have blabbered a lot. What do you guys think is a better fit for me?
(P.S If it makes things any better/worse, I have also been admitted at UCI for quantitative economics and UCSB for Actuarial Science :s)</p>
<p>Waiting for any suggestion guys.
I would highly appreciate it.
Thank you!</p>
<p>Also people who decided, which one and why</p>
<p>Bump. Still deciding.</p>
<p>Hi everyone. I recently submitted my SIR to UCLA and I thought I’d let you all know how I came to the decision.</p>
<p>Over the last 3 weeks, I was very torn. I’ve been in Socal my entire life and always sort of aimed for UCLA, even though I wouldn’t say it was a dream school for me. I wasn’t planning on getting into Cal and it caught me off guard. At first I tried comparing different things: quarters vs. semesters, AP credit transfer, accepted into sub-college vs. directly into major, etc. But I knew that I wouldn’t be able to decide, without fear of later regret, because of the fact that I’d never been up to Berkeley. So, my parents and I recently took a weekend trip, did some sight-seeing in other cities (loved SanFran), but honestly I was less than impressed with the campus and surrounding area. </p>
<p>It was beautiful, but isolated - if that’s the right word. We did some exploring of our own, even driving up a big hill near some of the research and other facilities, to get a view of the water then took a campus tour with a guide a day or so later. The buildings felt enormous and overpowering, like I was some kind of mouse in a trap. It seemed like bikes or something of that sort are needed to get around. I’m not really a huge bike rider so you see one problem. The timing kinda sucked, because it was just after school was out and people were graduating. Campus was extra quiet. While I went on the tour, I inevitably thought about how I would get less AP credits, be on a semester system, far from home (I hate flying) and the list went on. </p>
<p>I did love the history of the school. We saw a wonderful timeline of pictures and dates since the founding and also heard about some important scientific discoveries. Very prestigious. I also liked the trees and all that, the presence of different ethnic food shops, but it wasn’t enough to convince me to go to Cal. Maybe if I was younger I would be up for it, but at this point, I don’t feel like I could ship myself up there and do as well as I want to.</p>
<p>Before we even landed back here in Socal, I knew exactly where I wanted to go: UCLA, which I had toured just days before this trip. I’ll be on the quarter system (which is good for me, I have some problems with focusing on schoolwork lol), close to home (maybe 40 mins by freeway), have opportunities to see and do fun things like go to the beach, mall, whatever. And on top of that, I’ve been directly admitted to my major (English), so that gives me a chance to not only focus on finishing it up, but possibly adding a minor.</p>
<p>As you can tell, my decision was all about what <em>I</em> think will be best, where I can see myself succeeding in academics and socially. Didn’t let friends or family push me around too much. Yes, I know there are some people who are quite my opposite and will think I’m insane for turning down the chance at Cal. But everyone wants different things. </p>
<p>It’s hard to give advice to others who still need to decide…so I just want to wish you all the best. Thanks for reading. :)</p>
<p>@quails23: Thank you so much for your experience. I’m planning to go up to Berkeley as well, but plane tickets are expensive and it’ll take ~8 hours to drive and I want to make it there by 10am for the campus tour (which means I’d have to drive throughout the night). </p>
<p>Just curious, for the students that you did see, what did you think? How was the social scene? Is the area around Berkeley really as sketchy as some people say?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Uh oh. If cal grant and b&g don’t stack then what happens if I sent in the confirmation check for the cal grant? The UC I am attending offered me more money. Is there any way I can cancel my cal grant?</p>
<p>^ Sorry wrong thread. Please ignore it.</p>
<p>lmao random</p>
<p>@Rosegray: From what I saw, it was pretty diverse. Imo, a positive aspect of the school. No idea what the social scene is like though. Seriously, the most I saw was a few people on bikes and all the graduates wandering around with their families. Lol</p>
<p>Heh. I mean, our hotel was in Emeryville and it was a nice place near new buildings and shops, but it changes quickly as you move away from the commercial stuff. Many of the houses and business looked sort of run down on the outside. I guess it could be considered charming. Maybe? </p>
<p>Well. We parked about 2 blocks from campus before the tour. I was a little frightened to leave the car because there were random people milling about and staring at us. I’m used to suburban living though, so others may not have the same reaction as I did. </p>
<p>I hope you get to go up there. It helped me a lot!</p>
<p>@quails I’m planning to head up to Berkeley tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll feel as confident in my decision afterwards as you seem to be lol. At this point, I’m still leaning towards LA. I’m also an English major, and after looking at the course catalogue for both schools, LA seems to have a lot more fun and interesting classes, while Berkeley seems strictly traditional. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it’s not really what I’m looking for. But who knows, I could go to Berkeley and fall in love, and completely change my mind. We shall see!</p>
<p>@newchapter</p>
<p>yeaahh I agree with you on their difference in English course offerings~ I believe UCLA has one this spring that’s called “detective fiction” haha cute 
</p>
<p>I’m heavily leaning toward UCLA~~ cos I like the environment there everyone seems so happy!</p>
<p>@quails23: Thank you! I’m heading there this Friday - I want to reserve a spot for the campus tour, but on the site they’re all filled up. However, it also says on the site that we can just join a campus tour if we’re a newly admitted student - did you reserve a spot?</p>
<p>@newchapter14: How was your visit up at Berkeley?</p>
<p>@Rose My visit at Berkeley was AMAZING. I don’t know what exactly I was expecting, but it far surpassed any expectations I had. Mostly I think I just loved the area in general. It was gorgeous. I also loved how you could really get a sense of the school’s history, with all of the neat older buildings, and the Free Speech Movement Cafe. Unfortunately, rather than feel reassured in my decision, I think seeing Cal made it more difficult lol. Since I’m planning on going to grad school, I’m thinking that I want to go to Cal for my Masters, and LA for undergrad. The only thing that concerns me is how competitive graduate admissions are at Cal… I wonder if it’s pretty much the same as undergrad, or is it more like applying to Harvard or Stanford? I still feel like I would regret not going to LA, but I really want to go to Berkeley, if not now, then later.</p>
<p>Also, I didn’t have a reservation for the tour, and was able to just drop in. It was a fairly large group of people, and they didn’t turn anyone away. Definitely go if you can, you’ll love it!</p>
<p>You may want to check out Urch. [Urch</a> Forums](<a href=“http://www.urch.com/forums/forum.php]Urch”>http://www.urch.com/forums/forum.php)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, your assumption that applying to Berkeley graduate school is more like applying to Harvard or Stanford is correct. There are many posters on Urch who have been rejected to Berkeley and accepted to Columbia, Northwestern, and etc.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat. I actually prefer Berkeley, but they don’t have a major that is comparable to UCLA’s math/econ and I don’t have enough time to double major. Ultimately I chose UCLA because it will allow me more flexibility. For grad school admissions, UCLA and Berkeley will be viewed as equals, but Berkeley may give you access to stronger letters of recommendation (extremely important in admissions), while UCLA will offer a wider array of courses (also very important, unique courses/specialization can make your application stand out). The opportunities are there no matter what you choose.</p>
<p>Also, this may not be an option for the English department, but UCLA also has the departmental scholars program, which allows exceptional students to complete a masters while finishing their undergrad. [UCLA</a> Honors Programs Academics](<a href=“http://www.honors.ucla.edu/deptschl.html]UCLA”>http://www.honors.ucla.edu/deptschl.html)</p>
<p>@newchapter14: Thank you for sharing your experience. I have one word to say to that, though:</p>
<p>Crap.</p>
<p>I’m frightened that I’ll fall in love with both as well. Visited UCLA and loved it, and I fear that the same will happen at Berkeley. </p>
<p>Either way, let me know what you decide! Have you given yourself a deadline? I’ll be deciding by this weekend.</p>
<p>Anyone know how the people/students are like at UCLA? When I visited Cal, the students there were, I felt, very welcoming and accepting. I haven’t gone to UCLA yet (though I should have before I SIRed) but I’m assuming, and hopefully I’m right, that they are like that too? My counselor told me otherwise. She said that UCLA students are more…in to themselves and all trying to get rich whereas Cal students are more the “trying to save the world” type of people (keep in mind that she’s a Cal alumna though she does have friends who went to UCLA). Any truth to this?</p>
<p>When I walked around, people weren’t friendly or anything. No different from people at my CCC.</p>