UCB vs Uchicago

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>These are the two I am probably most likely to attend, any advice would be nice. Right now I am leaning a lot towards Uchicago, which was my original top choice but UCB is still something I am considering. I got into both btw, along with UCLA and NYU CAS as <em>possible</em> competitors.</p>

<p>From what I know, UCB is quite fun and diverse, with many different weird types of people, hipsters, goth, pre-meds, Buddhists, Keynesians, Empiricists etc etc. I think I will like this, can you tell me more about the student body?</p>

<p>From what I know of uchicago, it's students are very intense about learning, intellectual and quirky, like to find the connections between Plato and Play Doh. This intellectualism seems to be encouraged very much by the university and is the primary think I like about uchicago. How does this compare in Berkeley?</p>

<p>And about the area - I hear Berkeley is a typical college town, but with lots of hobos, though I also hear these hobos are quite entertaining and have many interesting thoughts. What is Berkeley like, the location, nature, people, shops, food etc etc?</p>

<p>And how about the campus and weather? Will it snow in winter?</p>

<p>(The stuff I like about uchicago are the harry potter buildings and white winters. And growing up in Hong Kong, I am never far away from absolutely everything you can think of in terms of shops, civilizations and very tall buildings. My apartment is on a hill covered with trees, but 2 mins down the road is a grey concrete maze filled with random stores and restaurants etc. Lol when I visited Cambridge, MA, I thought it was a nice little town. So bearing this in mind, how "urban" are the two?)</p>

<p>Also I hear some UC's are having troubles with people graduating in 4 years. To what extent is this true?</p>

<p>I am an IB Diploma student. How does credit transfer? I know that in UCLA they give you a ton of credits, especially if you have the diploma.</p>

<p>Major right now is undeclared, with an interest in economics. Uchicago econ is probably best in the world, Berkerley's not too bad either, what are the econ programs in both like?</p>

<p>Thanks guys, please persuade me as hard as possible about good things about UCB. I barely know much about it and need more information to make my choice.</p>

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<p>You pretty much got it down. Berkeley is very diverse and you can find your niche. Academics at both are comparable, but you’ll have larger classes at Berkeley. You have the dynamic of Berkeley as a college city and the San Francisco Bay Area to explore…lots of great, cheap variety of food and the excitement of Pac-12 sports and being a large research university.</p>

<p>Yes, the surrounding Berkeley city does have a large homeless population. First seeing Berkeley can be quite a shock but I grew used to its quirky dynamics.</p>

<p>Weather is pretty mild and consistent. Beautiful warm fall and spring, with a cool, rainy winter. No snow in Berkeley.</p>

<p>I think the whole not being able to graduate in 4 years is a scare tactic. If you’re focused and a disciplined student to get into top schools like Chicago, you’ll be fine.</p>

<p>Berkeley is a dense urban environment.</p>

<p>One difference, Berkeley is on semesters while Chicago (I believe) may be on quarters. This affects course dynamics a lot.</p>

<p>Good luck! You really can’t go wrong as you have two fantastic options.</p>

<p>Pictures of the Berkeley campus can be found here:
<a href=“University of California History Digital Archives”>University of California History Digital Archives;