<p>Both Berkeley and UCSB have always seemed appealing to me, but during high school I figured I'd never get into Cal so I focused on UCSB. But now I've gotten into both and don't know how to decide.</p>
<p>All the forums here and other college sites are full of UCSB students praising the school and talking about how much they love it there. And then all the Cal forums are full of kids saying they're just a number, the city's trashy, the work is hard, the girls/guys are ugly, the weather sucks, the people aren't friendly, etc etc. </p>
<p>Of course I'm going to visit the two again and choose for myself, but c'mon! What's the deal here! When I was at Cal last month to visit (just for a couple of hours) I loved the feel and atmosphere. Why is everyone talking so bad about it? I don't know what to think.</p>
<p>pretty much everybody at cal loves it there. there’s a few haters on this forum i could probably name that post the same exact thing over and over in every thread and probably will on this thread too. They came here with a bad attitude and want to blame Berkeley for all their problems.</p>
<p>Since you’ve already been here and have liked it, you will definitely have a good time going to school here.</p>
<p>wow… so you have to decide between UCSB and UC berkeley?</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the big conflicting decision is… berkeley is the obvious choice.</p>
<p>Just look at it this way - ten years into the future, which college will you have wished to graduate from? which college will push you closer to your dreams? Ofcourse, there are tons of advantages of going to berkeley over UCSB. </p>
<p>Anyway, you shouldn’t let what people post over forums let you decide where to go for the next four years. Explore and research yourself, then decide.</p>
<p>It’s not all about the reputation of the college I’m making a decision between Davis and UCLA, even though I also got accepted into Cal. Really it matters more what you DO, rather than where you got your degree…you can go to Berkeley and end up at the same grad school as someone from UCSB. (unless of course the major is engineering or something in which Cal dominates hands-down)</p>
<p>And the same people here that love it always make up the same exact reason for why people here hate it: came in here with a bad attitude and want to blame Berkeley.
I would tell you my view, but I’m kinda tired. Thing is though, between SB and Berk, I would most likely lean towards Berk. It’s already hard enough having to find **** for yourself here. Going to SB, you’ll just get even more distracted with the environment and stuff (although not gonna lie, it’s definitely a kick ass time having stayed over there with friends). But SB…if you really dig it there, it can be good, but you just have to really go out on your own to find opportunities there whereas it might be a bit easier in Berkeley given the prestige and all that.</p>
<p>yes, it’s not all the reputation and what you do is what matters, but where you got your degree, whether you like it or not, does give you a good leg up and base when you get out of college and look for jobs.</p>
<p>that being said, Cal is a wonderful school. I love it here, both the academics and Berkeley itself. Make your choice based on what you saw, not what the whiners are saying.</p>
<p>I second that. Berkeley is AWESOME. Maybe not a “party school” like UCSB, but Cal has wayyyy more than that to offer. And yeah, there are frat parties here, too Choose Cal, 10 years from now, you’ll say thank you. A BIG thank you!
To all Cal students here - Go Bears!!!</p>
<p>nothing more to say, you know you’re going to go for Berkeley. ask yourself, if you were at UCSB, could you ever get over the fact that you missed Berkeley, would your what-ifs haunt you?</p>
<p>if you visited cal and loved it, then definitely come to cal. people will always be complaining about cal but whatever. if you loved it, then that’s the only thing that matters. personally, i like that berkeley is little grungy and i love the weather (i hate the sun and don’t like being baked to death in the spring). also, the semester system seems better than the quarter one- more time to sink into and drop classes, fewer finals, getting out earlier, longer winter break. true, good grades are harder to get in certain classes, but if you want to get a good grade, you’ll find ways to get there</p>
<p>but definitely visit both campuses and decide for yourself. don’t let all the negative comments drive you away. just because others aren’t happy at berkeley doesn’t mean you will be too</p>
<p>I’m one of the people who doesn’t like Berkeley, not in terms of academics, but in terms of environment, city, and other things. </p>
<p>Still, I don’t understand what’s wrong with this forum. It gives there impression that everybody hates Berkeley. However during my time here I have not met a SINGLE person who came here as a freshman and doesn’t like or even love it. So, please, don’t get a wrong impression from reading here.</p>
<p>From my experience, most people who don’t like it (including me) are transfer students or people who are not doing well academically and are looking for something else to blame. Don’t be one of those ; )</p>
<p>I won’t hesitate to criticize Berkeley if someone asks me about the pros and cons of going to the school, but I still love the school. </p>
<p>Most of the people I know who don’t like it here (including some who want to transfer out) came in with a bad attitude. They were stuck in one of the following mindsets: a) Couldn’t get past being rejected by their dream school, b) Still in a high school state of mind, or c) General pessimist. </p>
<p>Cal is everything that you make it out to be. If you visited and enjoyed your stay, there will be much more of that to come. Of course, there are tons of problems that people here face - but you’ll find that at many other schools. Some people even find Berkeley’s quirks (student activism, the city environment, and the general atmosphere) to be appealing. </p>
<p>Choose what you feel and think is right - don’t let others’ opinions get in the way.</p>
I’m making a decision between Davis and UCLA, even though I also got accepted into Cal. Really it matters more what you DO, rather than where you got your degree…you can go to Berkeley and end up at the same grad school as someone from UCSB. (unless of course the major is engineering or something in which Cal dominates hands-down)</p>
Choose Cal, 10 years from now, you’ll say thank you. A BIG thank you!