For the schools my other two children attend, there are parent facebook pages in which you can ask any question and get an answer from other parents. My son is about to submit his deposit for UC Berkeley. We live on the other side of the country and I know no one who has a child at that school. I cannot find a parents page as described above. Does anyone know a format for parents to communicate with one another for UC Berkeley? Every time I have had to call the school, they have been very rude. Very poor customer service!
Is there some particular question you need answered? I never joined a parent group for either of my kids’ colleges. And one went across the country too.
Maybe if you post your questions here, someone can answer them.
@IzzyJ try searching for Cal parents at UC Berkeley
You can post questions on the UC-Berkeley forum or PM someone like myself. I have a kid there and I know quite a bit about the lay of the land.
@IzzyA Also have a student at UCB in Letters & Science. Can answer questions here as needed. Yes, the UC Berkeley general level of customer service leaves a lot to be desired…generally has to do with being understaffed and not getting a living wage in the bay area.
At least half the people on the Cal forum are parents, so I’d go there. We can probably answer any question you might have (or steer you to the right place).;
@IzzyA I have a kid at Berkeley as well. EECS/Haas. I agree that the administration can be a bit underwhelming.
Is your kid in M.E.T.? I have no PM option on my account for some odd reason, but I would love to communicate with you further ASAP/ My son is about to give up a full scholarship to another school for M.E.T - and we would be paying out of state tuition
You can’t use the PM function here until you have 15 meaningful posts. Once you are there…you will be able to PM. But take the suggestion to go to the CAL forum here…you might get answers from folks!
I don’t know about the MET option…but full pay at Cal is very pricey for OOS students.
@izzyA He is. We are OOS as well so we know the expense. Is Berkeley affordable? What other school is he considering?
He narrowed it down to MET and WashU. Such opposites. One is supportive, nurturing and with scholarship, a relative bargain. What year is your son? Is MET all that they claim it to be? I am on facebook under Jill Anth if it is better to communicate privately there. We only have a few days left to sort this out.
@IzzyA Those are very different environments, indeed. He is a second year and MET has lived up to its hype. It is a lot of work though, my son has taken 18 to 21 units every semester. The MET office gives the support that is sometimes lacking at the university level, like help with getting into classes, finding housing and securing summer internships. The cohort is only 50 kids per year so you have an instant friend base.
That said a full scholarship to WashU is very compelling. He can always go to Haas for grad school.
Did you make it to Cal Day? Have you visited WashU?
2 schools of thought - 1) a full scholarship (does it include room and board?) and OOS rate at Berkeley is a big difference, however 2) it’s MET, super prestigious, and if you’re willing to pay $70K to an Ivy League School, it’s worth paying $60-65k for MET.
WashU flew him out there and wined and dined him but we had also been out to visit in the past. The atmosphere there is perfect for him, but engineering and business are not ranked as high and there is no streamlined program like MET. As a parent, I would have preferred him to be in the more supportive environment, but it looks like he will choose MET so I will have to come around. Husband took son to CalDay. We have twins so I was at another accepted students day. I feel a bit better that you are happy with MET. It is difficult to find other Cal parents where we live, much less, MET. Any advice or insights about MET would be helpful. Wish there was a parents group for that!
There are many families where it is the student who has to “come around” and accept the lower cost school 
Your son is fortunate to have the choice.
Would it be difficult to put together a double major or double degree at Washington U. that resembles the MET? Would he be happy doing just engineering, or just business, with electives from the other area of study? Would he be interested in doing engineering and then a master’s in business?
MET looks like a rigorous but stressful path, so it is good there is a cohort to move through it. Does he like the idea of having friends provided via the cohort or does he prefer more independence?
Full ride at an excellent school would be hard to turn away from!
ps is there anything helpful here? https://calparents.berkeley.edu/ It has a Facebook live…
@IzzyA For my son he had to choose between UPenn and MET. He visited both and came away liking the Berkeley vibe better, more hardcore engineering (an engineering degree with a business degree tacked on versus the Wharton degree with an engineering degree tacked on, again this was just his take). Side note: the Haas classes are proving to be much more challenging than he anticipated, lol.
MET is a fantastic program. Your Son will be exposed to some amazing opportunities, a ton of companies come in to pitch the MET kids for internships. The founder of the program, Michael Grimes, is very involved with the students. This guy is the real deal in Silicon Valley and uses every opportunity to promote the kids in MET. He spends a considerable amount of time distributing MET resumes to his portfolio of companies, opening doors that would normally be shut. My Son has benefited greatly from this.
Your Son will have the support of the MET staff and Grimes, which cannot be underestimated, but it is still Berkeley. Add in the second degree and your Son will plumb the depths of his intellect so time management becomes key to staying afloat. He will find its worth it. Pro tip: Do NOT ask to take the Haas statistics requirement through the CoE (134 I think), take it through L&S(?).
One of the unexpected benefits of being at Berkeley is, well, its Berkeley. There are a lot of opportunities but way more kids chasing them. Not to say it is cut throat because its not, there are just alot of people going for the same thing so your Son WILL perfect his hustle here. Take that skill into the real world and you have unlimited possibilities, this goes for all Cal graduates.
So ends my Ted Talk, good luck and Go Bears!
@autumnpast was your son accepted in the m&t program at upenn? or what program was he accepted to?
Thank you so much. I really appreciate your input.
@autumnpast was your son accepted in the m&t program at upenn? or what program was he accepted to?
I don’t have firsthand knowledge of cal but my sister goes there and I’m a legacy so I can answer some questions.