<p>Haha! I am so lost. I never seriously thought I would get into Berkeley. I'm interested in Business, but that is not set in stone at all. I received the regents & CHP from UCI, which is nice. I know that no matter where I go, college will be a great experience and it'll be what I make of it. I just don't know if I would be able to handle Berkeley? I've been hearing contradicting things - that it's competitive, but then some people say their classes haven't been hard at all. I'm not too fond of a totally academic/stressed out atmosphere. So Is it really competitive?
& Berkeley is.. in Berkeley, haha "the ghetto?!" But it isn't really that much more dangerous than any other school, right?
I'm quite fond of the location of Irvine - near all the shopping, and nearby LA, beaches, etc. But i'm not too sure what's around Berkeley? I know San Francisco isn't too far off. But what else is there to do in Berkeley?</p>
<p>mm depends lawl ... yea u have san fran... but then again ur gonna be in the heart of the Bay Area man u got all sorts of scene **** to get into. U got the hyphy movement, u got a crazy rave/party scene, u got sac a closeby, suburbia/ghetto/ritsy, u got in all in NorCal imo.
Yea down in Irvine u got like the Irvine spectrum...and beaches.. and the drive from Irvine to LA sux with traffic. SO imo go2 UCB man or else give ur admissionz to me!!!</p>
<p>go to berkeley if you can handle it. ask around a bit more. visit. it'll be worth it, because that might be where you spend the next 4 years.</p>
<p>Yeah, i'm definitely visiting both colleges (again!). I know the Irvine area a lot, because my brother goes there but never really checked out the school.</p>
<p>I already live in NorCal (San Jose-ish). But I never really go up to Berkeley, only to SF, which is why I was wondering what there is to do. </p>
<p>Cus right now, it seems like all Cal has is the prestige, and sports to watch. I guess that's what's making the decision so difficult for me, is the whole idea that UCB>UCI. But I'm going to visit to see which one I actually like, despite the name.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if my choice on housing is affected if I don't send in SIR until later in April?</p>
<p>Go to UCB. Maybe I can get your place. =P But really, UCI is really nice and the people are really cool. The OC really isn't a scary place. But while it is more of a small town setting, it has all the necessities. Meaning it has food, Frys Electronics, games, and the school itself all fairly close. You should visit both and see what you like and mae a decision based on that. Berkley is a hippie school (one of my cousins goes there and I hear the stories) so you do deal with that. UCI, to me, is a relaxed school that takes things seriously.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. I don't know much about UCB so look at what others say about it.</p>
<p>I think it might be easier to get to San Francisco from Berkeley than getting to LA from Irvine. San Francisco is a short (30 minutes, maybe?) ride on BART from Berkeley. Irvine to LA is a 40-60 minute drive by car, or more. I'd think there are public transport options, but doubt they'd be as convenient as BART.</p>
<p>is Cal harder than Irvine, yes. Is it a LOT harder, no.</p>
<p>You should definitely visit both. </p>
<p>Irvine has more of a commuter feel, IMO. Due to the high price of apartments in town, some kids rent houses in nearby Newport Beach (to live on the beach), or other neighboring towns and thus 'commute' to class. Weekends in Irvine are kinda quiet relative to Berkeley. If you like sports, the Pac-10 beats that other conference easily. You also need a car to get around Irvine, since public transportation in The OC is minimal.</p>
<p>Do NOT miss Cal's housing deadline. The housing office is probably the most bureaucratic on campus.</p>