<p>I know that May 1st is coming up very very soon, and I've narrowed my college list down to 2: UC Berkeley and UCSD. I would love your input in deciding! :)</p>
<p>At UCSD, I have Regents, which means that I get priority registration, guaranteed research opportunities from freshman year, and a few other perks. I did not get regents at Berkeley, but I did get EECS.</p>
<p>I visited both campuses, and both have their positives and negatives. I loved the energy that Berkeley had on campus and the kind of pride and spirit they have in being "CAL" (UCSD seems really lethargic in that sense). In contrast, SD's campus is beautiful and beaches are literally right there, and the even though Berkeley is really awesome, once you leave campus, things get shady really quickly (Telegraph Ave is awesome though). </p>
<p>In terms of academics, I want to do comp sci but also try to pick up a second major or a minor in finance or business administration. At Berkeley, this is impossible (since doing Haas and EECS is literally calling for trouble), while at SD, this becomes rather easy because of the priority registration that comes with Regents). </p>
<p>So, I'm utterly lost. Academically, I think I should choose SD because of having regents, but socially, I feel Berkeley is the better choice here. </p>
<p>Any ideas? All comments are appreciated! :) Thanks. </p>
<p>You said “better recruiting” but Microsoft, Google, and Amazon take more interns and hires from UCSD than Berkeley… It just seems like opportunities are more plentiful at SD.
Also, is regents significant on a resume when I apply for a job after college?</p>
<p>Berkeley is on semesters…more time for classes to delve deeper into issues. You also don’t have to buy books and register for classes one extra time per year, like you do on quarters. Berkeley also doesn’t have a residential college system with a multitude of different requirements. </p>
<p>I don’t think Regents is significant enough on a resume but it would impact your experience quite a bit. And the built in opportunity to do research is great. I think you can pick based on your gut. I think you will have the same sort of large company recruiters at each, but the smaller companies in the Bay Area will likely recruit at Berkeley more. </p>
<p>I mean, UC San Diego is great, if you’re into that; but, you’re right. UC San Diego is pretty lethargic. Just look at the school jackets. UC San Diego usually just says “UCSD” on it, while Berkeley always looks awesome!</p>
<p>I’ve been reading a lot of CC posts about EECS @ Berkeley for the past 4 hours, and I have to say I’m terrified.
The level of competition scares the crap out of me.</p>
<p>Now don’t understand me: a little competition brings out the best in everyone. It gives you motivation and a reason to grow. But the competition at Berkeley seems soul-crushing.
I’ve talked to a lot of pill-popping engineers, and they aren’t giving me very vibes about the school.</p>
<p>UCalifornias: Cal t-shirts are pretty amazing, I’m not gonna lie. UCSD T-shirts? Not comparable :)</p>
<p>If you want, you can transfer out of EECS into L&S and just do CS (the converse is not possible); then it becomes relatively easy to double major in a range of things (Math,Stat,Economics,Applied Math etc). I’ve also heard of people doing CS + pre Haas, and going on to simultaneously major in both CS in L&S as well Business (a Business minor isn’t possible though). Also, in terms of competitiveness, CS probably isn’t as competitive of a major as EECS.</p>
Some people make Berkeley seem equivalent to the boogeyman.
You’re Regents at UCSD, so you’re not a weak student. I’m pretty sure you’ll come through just fine.</p>
<p>
They’ve been diluted by those stupid “Cali” shirts that ripped off Cal’s script logo and worn by every uneducated denizen of this state. </p>
<p>I just figured by looking at all those who wore those Cali shirts that they were just either Cal alumni or students, based off of increased school pride, based off of the increased success of its football team. I couldn’t tell the difference between them and Cal people. ^:)^ </p>
It’s a work in progress. If big improvement isn’t made this year, the hire will look like a mistake.</p>
<p>Not fight song smack, but it’s funny reading threads on here with kids choosing the Southern Branch because it’s sooo much less competitive than Berkeley. Truly a sad commentary for our society. I fear for our future. Young people don’t want to be challenged and just have a ticket punched.</p>
<p>It’s not challenged young people don’t want to face but the fear of having to take Prozac at Bezerkley. Again it depends on the individual. UCSD is not chopped liver either.</p>
<p>For some schools like D2’s friend at UCLA, the physics class is harsher than it needs to be, even the TA complained when he asked them questions. While having a challenging grading can push some to learn, for others it’s just an unwanted source of stress. For some students, a stressful atmosphere would whip them into working properly, but for the subset of very self-motivated students, often a less stressful atmosphere can be helpful. In the end, a class is a class, and you primarily want to learn stuff at as high a level as possible from it. </p>
<p>UCBChemE and I are just joking. He knows UCLA is just as competitive as Cal is, as we’ve had this conversation before. He says quite often that people think of Cal as the bogeyman and out to kill gpas, but UCLA is as competitive and tough which he concedes; plus I would note that UCLA is on the quarter system, similar to SD, and therefore has highly accelerated terms. </p>
<p>I would be interested in what the average student’s gpa would be from EE and CS at Cal at the point of his graduation… As I noted before, and for which is universal within all the UC’s, an average student’s gpa will climb from the end of his frosh year, to the end of his junior year, and dip back a bit during his senior year. </p>
<p>The average gpa for a grad at Cal, back in 2009 the last year of statfinder was ~ 3.35. Engineers would undoubtedly have lower grades than the overall average, but how much? I don’t think it’d be below 3.0, despite what your link would seemingly project. I would probably guess it to be ~ 3.1 or so, because I couldn’t see, say, a .50 difference in gpa from EECS and the overall, as a differential like this would cause an uproar by E grads, which I’m sure happens from time to time anyway. There are always adjustments up and down throughout time in grading procedures in various departments, some seen as correcting from things that have reached in- or deflationary status. Maybe overall averages would be higher for E grads, and lower in E courses from them at Cal, which could average to maybe ~ 3.1 overall. This is all of course very subjective on my part.</p>