<p>@ayymeer: Actually, I heard the opposite - that students at Berkeley were entitled, a bit antisocial, and snobby (This is NOT my opinion, just what I’ve heard. I also know it’s not representative of the entire student body)</p>
<p>But I think the university is what you make of it. You find what you’re looking for, I suppose. If you expect a certain type of student, you’re bound to find them.</p>
<p>When I visited UCLA, everyone was welcoming and the students walking around seemed nice enough. My campus tour guide was a riot. This was one of my fears in attending UCLA though - that many of the students would be shallow and self-absorbed. I couldn’t have been more wrong!</p>
<p>I am facing the same dilemma. I got admitted into UCLA Pre-Global Studies (which is what I’ve worked for the whole time in CC) and also UCB Media Studies (which I’ve heard is not that amazing). What should I do?</p>
<p>My parents want me to go UCB (of course) just for the namesake, but I know no recruiters can be that shallow to only consider a school name over a program.</p>
<p>I don’t know what to do and I’m more biased towards LA although I love the Bay Area for its weather (I know, weird me) and I also have social ties over here.</p>
<p>I also know that it is quite hard to get into the LA Global Studies program and that’s probably why I’m so drawn towards it.</p>
<p>Steinhart hopeful, if you got in for global studies at ucla, check out Berkeleys political econ program (pretty similar). You can always change your major at cal since you arent admitted directly into the major, just the college of L&s. </p>
<p>at first when I got into CAL I was like OMG IM GOING TO CAL!!!</p>
<p>and then I visited UCLA and then I was like OMG THIS PLACE IS AMAZING IM GONNA BE A BRUIN </p>
<p>and then my CAL friends & friends going to CAL are like omg are you serious blah blah just cos I’m really scared CAL’s going to kick my gpa’s butt cos of the workload and competition…
aahhh + I have to wait a quarter before declaring my English major at LA (since I still have a few more prereqs to complete) while CAL, even though everyone’s admitted under the college of letters of science, I won’t have to finish as many prereqs ): </p>
<p>I want to decide by this weekend but aghalks idk. </p>
<p>@sunnybaNANA: Same here, and T-Minus 5 days to SIR.</p>
<p>As for me, I visited Berkeley and didn’t have that same happy, homey feeling that I got at UCLA. Though this can be because I’m FROM southern california! Also, it’s memorial day weekend so the campus was dead. At the moment I’m leaning towards UCLA but I really don’t want to choose it for such superficial reasons.</p>
<p>I picked UCLA today. I just liked the campus a lot better, a few of my friends are going there this fall and I’d rather be on the quarter system. Good luck to the rest of you still trying to make up your mind, just remember there isn’t a bad option when choosing between UCLA and Cal.</p>
<p>@UCeric2010: Picked UCLA as well. When it came down to it, I realized that the only thing keeping me from SIRing was Cal’s prestige. The campus is beautiful and the student body is amazing, but I don’t think I can be happy with the surrounding area and weather - unfortunately, environment is a huge factor and is almost directly correlated to my motivation.</p>
<p>Also, I can specialize in computing under Communication Studies, which sounds great, as I was also waffling because Cal offered a Comp Sci minor and UCLA didn’t. At the same time, I’m going to try and pick up the accounting minor.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, you can’t go wrong with either school. I’d love to hear others report back in as well! I hope you all feel the sigh of relief and contentment that I feel, having finally chosen. :)</p>
<p>One of my friends told me that there’s a FB group called “I got in to Berkeley but went to UCLA instead” LOL. Congrats on your decisions everyone! I definitely feel relieved now that I know where I’ll be going this fall as well. Berkeley’s an awesome school, but… there’s always grad school. :)</p>
<p>still deciding LOL ): <em>cries</em> but it’s probably going to be LA given that moving up to CAL and back is gonna be a pain in the butt ): … actually I really have NO idea still where to go… my parents & potential roomies from each school are going mad ahaha ;o;</p>
<p>This may be a little offensive to UCLA fanatics, but, seriously, treat UCLA as a fall back school to Berkeley. UCLA is a great school. There is no doubt about it. But it isn’t Berkeley. Berkeley competes with the very best in the world. UCLA is mainly in a league below Berkeley’s.</p>
<p>Where you think you will be happier and thrive is much more important than perceived prestige between these two essentially equal schools. I had one daughter go to a very good school in the Portland, OR area and my younger daughter is at UCLA right now and is about to graduate. Weather can really affect your moods and my older daughter had many friends negatively affected by the grey Portlandweather. Berkeley is not as grey as that but I live in the Bay Area and Nov-March can be cool and rainy. LA is sunny “most” of the time. This should not be the reason you choose between two schools but when the schools are so close academically and in reputation I think going where you think you will be happier, more productive, more motivated, and will likely thrive is very important.</p>
<p>The top bulge bracket firms hire Berkeley econ grads regularly. These are banks and firms that try to attract Stanford and HYP grads too. These banks and firms do not hire UCLA grads on a regular basis, or in a way that they do HYPSM or Berkeley grads. And, though Berkeley econ is overshadowed by Haas, Berkeley’s econ is still highly respected and the department is consistently rated as one of the very best economics departments in the world. </p>
<p>@RML: No one is trying to argue that UCLA is better than Cal, in fact, many of us acknowledge that Cal is consistently ranked higher than UCLA. This thread was created moreso as a nod to the very different environments each campus offers.</p>
<p>But I’m the guy who treat education as an investment, so I consider ROI more than I do environment per se, specially when we’re talking about both schools with beautiful campus environment.</p>
<p>Aren’t university rankings based off of their graduate programs, anyways? My professors claim that although Berkeley is #1 in the nation for their English grad program, UCLA and Berkeley are pretty much equal at the undergrad level. I’d rather go to UCLA now, and work my butt off to get to a really great grad school like Berkeley in a couple of years, rather than go to Berkeley now and end up at UCI for my grad studies. Not that UCI is a bad school at all, but what would have been the point of going to Berkeley now when no one will care about my undergrad school?</p>
<p>^ aahha I ended up going with CAL ! Biggest last minute decision of my life (so far)… hehe Oh man so glad all the headaches from trying to decide are over! ;-; (although atm I’m suffering from motion sickness from playing L4D2 x___x) </p>
<p>n__n v ps: thank you LAforlife & newchapter for all the advice youve given me these past few weeks! (: </p>
<p>I wouldnt mind going to LA for grad (: if I can get in, that is… ;o;</p>
! Biggest last minute decision of my life (so far)… hehe