<p>I'd love it if everyone who went to that reception/welcom could post their experience at the event. I'll get the ball rolling with mine.</p>
<p>This was my first visit to the city of Berkeley and Cal. I must say, living in the bay area (East Bay), Berkeley was really something different. I now understand what people mean about that scruffy look, but I loved it. The CalSO student counselors were helpful, nice and very informative regarding any question me or the people at my table had. All the students and faculty present were incredibly friendly and made socializing feel like it was the most natural thing in the world. Before, I worried about socializing in a new environment being a shy person, but I felt very comfortable among the students present and was talking to lots of people within seconds of arriving.</p>
<p>As for one misconception I've always heard about Berkeley, no the girls are actually not that bad looking. There were a lot of pretty girls and some really beautiful ones as well. Just something to look more forward to if you decide to attend Berkeley. All in all, the speakers had great words of encouragement and all this made for a great first time experience at Cal. I guess you all know which school I'm going to.</p>
<p>I have always been a bit indifferent about how Cal ranks compared to Stanford and the Ivies, but I was a little turned off by what some of the speakers said about these other schools. One of the speakers iteratively explained that Berkeley is within the same academic sphere as Havard, Princeton, and Stanford. I serious doubt any of those three universities say similar things. Meaning, at a Harvard reception, they would never would never say, "Harvard is just as good as Princeton." Why? Because this is taken for granted. Anyone in any case that feels compelled to defend their position in respect to what they call their peers are insecure about it. But that's just me. Berkeley is what it is, a great school, and they (we, now) should not feel compelled to compare or defend their (our!) position. </p>
<p>Yeah, the girls at Berkeley are hot, I agree. I suspect the people claiming that girls are ugly at Cal say this as an excuse as to why they can't find one.</p>