starting to have regrets...and school hasn't started yet

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>I'm entering as a freshman this fall at UC Berkeley.
When college admittances came out, I had the hardest time choosing between UCLA and UC Berkeley (as many others have had).</p>

<p>I visited both campuses and ended up choosing UC Berkeley because of the strength of its business program (that I might not even get into, lol) and because I liked how friendly the students I encountered there were. There was a chill vibe that I could connect to. Also UC Berkeley is only an hours away from home, so that adds extra convenience and a security blanket.</p>

<p>However, it killed me inside to turn down UCLA because they offered me a scholarship for $9200 a year, basically a full ride. I didn't "click" with UCLA and Los Angeles when I visited... the pace of the city was too fast for me, it was too crowded, and it was a bit of a culture shock. I also felt like the people I met at UCLA were more superficial, though of course this doesn't apply to everyone. When I went to Los Angeles, I found that I much prefer the norcal lifestyle over socal.</p>

<p>Now though... I feel wishy washy. Thoughts keep running through my mind like, "What if I won't be happy at Berkeley? What if I don't make friends? What if my family's financial situation changes? Then I'll wish I chose the full-ride from UCLA." It also doesn't help that all my best friends are going to UCLA. </p>

<p>My parents really wanted me to attend Berkeley so they told me not to worry about the money, since we always have a way to afford what's important.But seeing has how tuition is increasing rapidly, it really irks me. Plus now that I have a job in the summer, I fully realize how much $9200 really is. It would take me a year and a half working min wage to earn that much. I also am considering going to med school after... and that = debt to the max.</p>

<p>...Also I already attended CalSO and it was then I realized how truly grungy/dirty Berkeley is. I swear they cleaned that place up during CalSO to deceive us. </p>

<p>So basically I'm posting this to ask you guys, did any of you have similar thoughts and how did it turn out for you? Do you ever wish you went to a different school?
I'm looking for someone to calm my fears.
If the UC system keeps crashing more and more though, I might be looking to transfer to a private school like USC, Claremont McKenna, etc.</p>

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<p>Cool story soon-to-be broskie. Better a broskie than a bruin.</p>

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<p>dude are you ****ing kidding? usc sucks and is overpriced/rated. ive been here for the summer and the people are nice, the dorms are pretty clean, considering the amount f dirty college students. the atmosphere is awesome. people study hard and play hard. the people are very cool. SO RELAX and enjoy your summer</p>

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<p>^Funny how mariokart64 answered to ilikebananas lol</p>

<p>But I definitely know where you are coming from. I am currently a Bioengineering major in COE, and I chose Berkeley over Cornell on the premise that I could switch majors to EECS after the first semester. There’s also a possibility that I “might not even get in.” Furthermore, I am paying full OOS tuition (however high it is right now), and I am considering going to grad school. I preferred Berkeley’s environment over Cornell’s also, but I admit the excitement of Berkeley has somewhat died down since April. </p>

<p>I do feel a bit unfair towards my parents for making them pay so much for my college education (about 5-10k more than Cornell/year), but I plan on doing the very best I can next year. We just have to remember that if we succeed in our own individual departments (whether it be EECS or Haas), we would be miles better off than if we had gone to Cornell or UCLA. </p>

<p>About the dirtiness, literally the same thought went through my head between Cal Day and CalSO. lmao But in all seriousness, your concerns are shared by a lot of students, and if you trust in yourself that you will strive to be the top of the top, you will not regret choosing Berkeley. Frankly, the UCs are state schools, the standard deviations of student intelligence and achievements are much larger than private schools (no matter how they try to spin it). That being said, there are tons AND TONS of students who are not qualified to be there, but there are also many students who could have gone to the very best universities. Associate with the very best, ignore the very worst. There’s a lot of terrible things about Berkeley, and I’m finding out about them everyday lol, but there are also many great things about it. If you’re gonna go drink and party it up every weekday, then yeah you should feel pretty ashamed of wasting your parent’s money. But if you spend every penny of those 36,800 extra dollars your parents spent well (that plus however much tuition will go up lol) Aim high and (excuse my language) f things up (in a good way) next year.</p>

<p>PS. Don’t transfer to USC or Claremont McKenna. Compared to Haas, the first sucks and I haven’t even heard of the second (no offense). USC plays the US News ranking game and if you look at the actual number of students getting jobs after graduation, the “Trojan Family” does not impress. In terms of world reputation, Berkeley is the place to be, no matter how much trash and garbage there is in Sproul Plaza.</p>

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<p>Berkeley seems dirty when you first come because you don’t get to see much else before actually attending. Once you come, you meet people, you have a social life, your worried about getting good grades, and squeezing some time in for food. The dirtiness will be the least of your worries. I think you’ll love it. People here are VERY real, and you’ll make some of the best friends. When you first come in though, don’t expect to have your perfect friends in the first 2 weeks. It takes time to meet good people that you’ll be friends with for the rest of your time here. </p>

<p>I’m not sure what to say about tuition, but all I can say is Berkeley only got better for me as time went on. I LOVE it.</p>

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<p>I don’t even know why you’re thinking that choosing Berkeley over UCLA is a mistake. If you graduate with a Berkeley degree and get a nice job, replenishing that $9200 will be a breeze and you’ll only thank your gut feelings to come here in the first place.</p>

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<p>UC Berkeley is more prestigious than UCLA , and once classes start you will make friends and start to focus less on the grime of Berkeley ! Stop over thinking and enjoy the summer !</p>

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<p>Berkeley will grow on you and life at Cal really prepares you for the real world that other private institutions can’t. It’s a great place to be for college.</p>

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<p>Oh and if you are interested in med school, feel free to ask me about being pre-med experience at Berkeley.</p>

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<p>Eh who knows, money was a big factor in my choice of college as well.</p>

<p>I chose Berkeley over Yale + CalTech (and a few other Ivies/privates) mainly because of the huge difference in money.</p>

<p>@UpMagic</p>

<p>According to you, I probably could have made a lot more money by going to some of these more prestigious universities and thus, replenishing about $100k would be “a breeze.” In reality, that probably isn’t true. In his case (assuming he would’ve attended UCLA for four years), he would’ve saved $36.8k (and even more due to cheaper dorms and other expenses), which is a pretty large amount of money…</p>

<p>You’re not the only wishy-washy person out there. A lot of my friends regretted choosing Berkeley over schools like UCLA/MIT/Princeton/UC San Diego (etc). The thing is, we’re already in Berkeley, and we should try to make the best of our resources. Go in with an open mind, not one where you’re focused on transferring and convincing yourself that you could have done better.</p>

<p>As of now, I’m having a very hard time finding research opportunities for my freshman year at Cal. I feel that it was easier finding research opportunities at Stanford/CalTech/private companies as a high school student than at Berkeley as a college freshman. The earliest a professor is willing to let me work with him is during spring of freshman year (even with three years of research experience and published papers). Also, a few of the classes I wanted to take are full. The dorms are expensive and not that great. CalTech’s dorms were around $9.8k for a single (around $8.5k for a double), and I’m paying $11.7k for a triple. There’s a lot of things I’m uncomfortable with, but I’m sure they’ll straighten themselves out eventually. I’m semi-displeased with my choice of choosing Cal as of now, but who knows how it’ll end up.</p>

<p>Also, my brother went through Cal and graduated this year. During his high school year, he was accepted into a few Ivies and privates (not unlike myself) and chose Cal over it, mainly due to cost as well. He doesn’t regret his choice completely, but he would’ve chosen to go to an Ivy League if he had the second chance. Well, he’s going to an Ivy for graduate school, so I guess that kinda worked out in the end.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the comments, they do help to reassure me. You are all so kind :slight_smile:
It’s just in my nature to over-think and stress out about things.
I don’t know how my experience at Berkeley will be, but I’m hoping for the best. I think that either way, whether I chose UCLA or Berkeley, I would have won some and lost some. I might be more relaxed at UCLA and maybe even happier, thanks to the scholarship and built in support system of friends, but less challenged…who knows?
I thought this battle going on in my mind would have ended on May 1st when I SIR-ed, but now I realize that it’s really never-ending. I don’t want to start school in a month and become inundated with regrets. All I can do is wait and see!</p>

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<p>I don’t think the regret is something that disappears. Once in a while I get uncomfortable and wish I’d attended some other school instead. When that happens, I remind myself why I chose to come to Berkeley. Just try to look at the brighter spots. Your friends, the weather (?), I dunno. You’re sure to find something you like. Besides, there’s always grad school…</p>

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<p>Not trying to be a hardass, but you’ll get over it. Really, you will.</p>

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<p>haha I hope you read this post because I turned down UCLA for Berkeley because of the business program too. That also mean turning down an additional $8,000 that UCLA was offering me in free gift money. And honestly I didn’t even want to come to Berkeley very much because both my brothers came here (and I didn’t want to feel like I was following in their footsteps)</p>

<p>How do I feel about the decision now? I love Berkeley, the people, the city, the atmosphere are amazing to me. I’m pretty confident that I’ll get into Haas, I’ve got good grades so far. I love the friends I’ve made and the people I’ve met. I love the famous professors. I love the amazing sports teams and future pro athletes.</p>

<p>On the other hand, my friend who chose UCLA over Berkeley has come to regret it and says that UCLA really isn’t that fun for him so far.</p>

<p>The point is, if you come here with an open mind, chances are you will have a good time. You made your decision already, there’s not much you can do it about it now but make the best of it. Run with it and don’t look back.</p>

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<p>Fellow Haas admitted student here…haven’t started Haas yet but the program is superior to any other undergrad business program in California (at least that is what they told me at Haas orientation). You won’t regret it once you get in your junior year!</p>

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<p>Your friends all made the right decision, you should have gone to UCLA too :p</p>

<p>in all seriousness though, haas, if you got into it, is nothing to snark at. That being said, Berkeley has little, if any, advantages over UCLA in departments that aren’t Engineering or Computer science. (or other hard sciences/mathematics) saving that money might have been a good idea, especially since it’s pretty much uncertain what you’ll be doing after graduation (if you go to medical school, i imagine that UCLA and Cal will be viewed equally and your MCAT score will make the difference)</p>

<p>In addition, UCLA people are very nice, and, as i’m sure is the case in Berkeley, among some of the most intelligent people i’ve ever met. Some people here are superficial, but there’s like 26k undergraduates. You’d no doubt make some friends if you had come here (i generally do so with people that i have classes with)</p>

<p>that being said, you made your choice, and it doesn’t seem like you really regret SIRing to berkeley; to me it seems like you’re just becoming anxious about a ton of what ifs. Try not to worry to much about it. I’m sure many years after you’ve graduated college this will just be one small memory, and you’ll laugh thinking back that you were stressing out about it now.</p>

<p>have fun at Berkeley!</p>

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<p>I don’t know how much you know about business, but Haas holds enormous advantages over UCLA in this respect. I don’t really feel like giving a long explanation right now, but if he/she wants to pursue finance (ibanking, pe, vc) or management consulting in the future, Berkeley is by far the better choice for many reasons (it’s arguably as big of a gap as that of comp sci or engineering)</p>

<p>Trust me I researched and talked to many people (students and working professionals) about this before I made my decision and coming here has only reinforced this</p>

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<p>people say that, that doesn’t make it true. I’m not denying this, in fact i’ll be open about it: provide me some evidence that an undergraduate education as haas will provide you any more opportunity than one at UCLA.</p>

<p>additionally, haas being good, doesn’t mean that it has to be miles above UCLA. They can both be good. The only real difference between haas and anderson is that haas offers an undergraduate major. Other than that, the difference in graduate rankings is fairly negligible between haas (7) and anderson (14) This may seem like a big deal, but i doubt employers really care about a difference in ranking unless either university is in the top 5.</p>

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<p>In the business world, aren’t you are judged on how much you make money? </p>

<p>Forget you are from top 5 business school or 7th or 14th; I think that’s only good for your first employment.</p>

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<p>Recruiters are definitely much more present at Haas than at UCLA, without a doubt. Haas is a target for most undergrad-level wall street positions, while UCLA is barely a semi-target at best. (If your idea of “business” is wall street then it’s not a difficult choice, you should seriously consider berkeley over UCLA)</p>

<p>if your idea of business involves other things, especially having to do with the entertainment industry, then ucla is just as good. However I’m afraid that for that category, USC easily beats UCLA.</p>