<p>Okay, so I am freshman hre at Berkeley, out of stater from Texas. I like Berkely in that all my professors are great and really seem to know what they are talking about. I think that from strictly the point of view of quality of education, Berkeley is great, at least for me, i believe it is up there with HYMPS...However....
In terms of undergraduate experience, berkeley, well, it sucks. thats what my perosnal belief at least .you have to put up with a tough beaurocracy, no one is there to help you make adjustments, finding a group you fit into can be challenging because its such a big school, and of course because it is public they dont pamper you at all. okay, and its true, you can look at these things in a positive light and take the classic berkeley attitude of "no spoon-feeding". which i did for a while...
but then my gf goes to mit and i visited it and it isa amazing. I mean you truly FEEL like your in a brilliant place. like everyone is smart and you feel like your in a place of learning. i dont know maybe it was just me but it just had this scholastic aura about it. and then of course they are pampered to no end. i mean my gf pays like 5k a year for housing, and she has like a really large room and several libraries in the dorm, they give out like gourmet food in study breaks..but more importantly, the classes are amazing, i mean they have the most sophisticated technology within them, they have video cameras that hone in on a student when they are speaking. this is the kind of place i want to go to. if i hafta pay 40k a year neways cuz im an out-of-stater, might as well get bang for your buck... so im looking to a school that will give me a better experience, a place that seems more learned, i dunno, but still maintain really good world class faculty and quality of education. so of course i am going to try to transfer to MIT, but i know my chances are slim to none, what do you guys think?
should i even try transferring? what other schools should I think of? I am just unhappy here at berkeley even though the quality of education is very good, thoughts people?
thanks, really</p>
<p>If you are a US citizen or permanent resident (green card holder), I believe you might qualify for in-state tuition at Berkeley after living in California for a certain minimum period of time.</p>
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In terms of undergraduate experience, berkeley, well, it sucks. thats what my perosnal belief at least .you have to put up with a tough beaurocracy, no one is there to help you make adjustments, finding a group you fit into can be challenging because its such a big school, and of course because it is public they dont pamper you at all.
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<p>I'm sorry you are having such a poor experience at Cal... I hate to say it, but this is largely what I (and many others) have been saying all along - i.e. that while Cal may possess great grad programs - its undergrad program is no way near this level (for many of the reasons you cited).</p>
<p>If you really are that unhappy, the simple question with regards to transferring is simply, "why not"? I mean, what do you have to lose at this point? You only have one college experience, may as well make it the best one you can, and if that means transferring to another place, so be it.</p>
<p>i know, i mean you make sense, why not, but the real reason why not is because transferring is an enormously lengthy process, so i dont know if its worth it to try to transfer if i have like a 4 percent chance. i love MIT, i love the sciences, i love the learned feel you get there, i want to go to a school like that. so MIT, yes i can try but their transfer admits are in the single digits. even if I make a 4.0 this semester at Cal, and I apply for next year in March, I won't really have all that much to show for myself. I will do a lil bit of research, classes, some club involvement, but thats it. I havent been here long enough to really do some crazy good stuff or nething. i dunno, here's the thing, is it really the end of the world if i spend a couple more years at Berkeley? probably not, yes it may be tough, but it could be worse. after all, it is still a good school with lots of resources if you fight for them. and the decal courses and seminars are pretty cool, so are the discovery coureses. so i ono, maybe ill try tranferring, but i guess what I'm saying is that knowing that there is such a small transfer success rate, I should learn to be happy, or at least, relatively happy, with where I am. and then after that, move on to some kick ass grad school, for grad school I AM going to MIT. thoughts people?</p>
<p>What about Cornell, Brown, Penn, Stanford? They all would be good in the sciences, have a scholarly environment and are somewhat transfer-friendly; or, at least, have acceptance rates in the double-digits.</p>
<p>The bigger the school, the longer it takes to settle in. I did not enjoy my first year at Michigan. But by the end of the second year, I was hooked. That's because Freshman year, some students still need guidance and classes tend to be large. However, by the end of Sophomore year, students tend to be more self-reliant and classes become much smaller, so students really start to see the benefits of a Cal education. Furthermore, making friends is never easy in college, regardless of size. </p>
<p>I hear Cal is struggling with resources these days, so that probably adds to the negatives. Of course, MIT is one of the top 5 universities in the US, so if you can get in and you are still unhappy at Cal, transfering may be a good option. But something tells me that by the time you are in a position to transfer, you will be happily settled in Berkeley.</p>
<p>Gellino, Cornell and Penn will probably have similar issues as Cal.</p>
<p>unfortunately, you cannot obtain Calif residency for tuition purposes until you are in grad school. I've posted often that the UCs are great schools, but not necessarily worth the $40k price tag OOS. For that kind of money, there are great privates that offer a more personal touch.</p>
<p>I assume MIT would require recs from Cal -- obviously, difficult to come by this year since Frosh classes can be 800 students.</p>
<p>However, Alexadre makes great points -- large schools really grow on you, once you find your niche, which includes campus activity involvement. Due to large size, a school like Berkeley or Michigan has campus activities that a smaller school can only dream of.</p>
<p>Do you absolutely want to transfer, or only transfer to MIT? If it's your dream to transfer to MIT, look at their requirements - a semester of Chem and a semester of Bio, a year of Calc, some Physics (can't remember all the particulars.) If you have what it takes, fill out the form, get the recommendations, and then forget it. They accept so few transfers that applying is like buying a lottery ticket. Don't make any major plans based on that one slim chance.</p>
<p>I would think it's a lot easier to find one's niche at Cornell or Penn than Berkeley, especially someone already OOS.</p>
<p><a href="http://web.mit.edu/ir/cds/2006/d.html%5B/url%5D">http://web.mit.edu/ir/cds/2006/d.html</a>
<a href="http://web.mit.edu/ir/cds/2005/d.html%5B/url%5D">http://web.mit.edu/ir/cds/2005/d.html</a>
<a href="http://web.mit.edu/ir/cds/2004/d.html%5B/url%5D">http://web.mit.edu/ir/cds/2004/d.html</a></p>
<p>In the past 3 years, 852 have tried to transfer to MIT. 22 were admitted. 2.58% admission rate. Don't bother trying.</p>
<p>I would like to know the profiles of these transfer students admitted. because think about it, more than likely a student at another top private like yale or something wouldnt be the type of guy trying to transfer in. therefore, it would be kids from institutions that don't have a good ugrad experience like berkeley, but berkeley would be one of the best schools out of such schools, and I wil get a 4.0 this semester (hopefully....) so I dont know, i can try</p>
<p>^^^ have you been able to establish any reasonably good relationships with notable professors? i.e. having someone write a solid recommendation on your behalf could be extremely helpful + your stated 4.0</p>
<p>still, prolly a longshot, but if you somehow manage to get through, wouldn't all the effort be worth it?</p>