<p>Colleges are exactly what you make of them. And when the two schools are similar in many respects, like Berkeley and Los Angeles, it often comes down to a simple matter of personal preference. Any questions of prestige, job opportunities, academic resources, and alumni networking are moot, to be honest--that's how similar the two schools are. You'll get basically the same results out of either college, whichever one you choose. You'll have most of the same resources, the same opportunities and the same professional relationships available to you.</p>
<p>It all comes down to your own personal preference. Visit both campuses, and see which one clicks with you. </p>
<p>And keep in mind that your comfort level with the campus should actually be a huge factor in determining where you are going to spend the next 4+ years of your life.</p>
<p>It's spring break and one my friends who is now a freshman at Cal was back today. She told me the competition was surprising and given a choice, she's not sure if she would have picked Cal again.</p>
<p>First off, let's make it clear that your friend's opinion is not representative of all students at Cal. Second, competition is higher in specific areas of studies than others.</p>
<p>A lot of my friends are back at Cal already also. Campaigning is underway for ASUC, 5 weeks left of classes, lots of involvement in clubs and organizations.
It's college, Spring Break has been fun, relaxing and some work too.</p>
<p>I know people at Cal considering not going back next year. They aren't cutting it and are looking for greener grass somewhere else. At the same time, my best friend at UCLA hates it and is tranfering to Cal in the fall. Go figure.</p>
<p>misterr: I don't know the answer to that. An RA in my building attended UCLA last year as a 1st year and transferred to Cal this year without an application. My friend is doing it in the Fall. I know of one other student that has done it. All three were originally admitted to both Cal and UCLA. </p>
<p>Just remember, the grass is not always greener.</p>
<p>Jeez...all this talk about how Cal is "cutthroat" and UCLA laid back. You know what, its true...Cal is more competitive. Why? Because people at Cal are driven to do well academically, and they're all freakin smart. You can't handle that? Then, yeah, go to UCLA. It's easier. If you can't handle UCLA, then go to USC. Frankly, if you can't handle the pressure of competing against super-smart people, Cal is not for you. And alas, we come to the reason why Cal grads are so well-regarded...because they went through the gauntlet, competed against the best. Employers know this just as well as you all seem recognize it.</p>
<p>I'll say this much...I work at a prestigious job in So. Cal. and there are alot of degrees hanging up on walls. You may not know this, but UC diplomas all look the same except for a single line in the middle designating where the diploma was given. People scrutinize this line. They see the UC logo, go towards the diploma for a closer look. The reaction is always the same..."UCLA..cool" vs "Cal...wow."</p>
<p>I don't want anyone to get me wrong...I like Cal. A lot. I think it's an excellent school. But having had a couple of years between undergrad and now, I can see just how little it really "matters" where your undergrad is from with the exception of a very small number of jobs.</p>
<p>Yes, there is a definite correlation between successful people and top schools. However, I don't think that that's necessarily because of the schools themselves. Those people would have succeeded anywhere.</p>
<p>Most of us, however, are not superstars. We do benefit from better schools and the networks that they provide. However, it's not like walking into a job and having UCLA vs. Berkeley on your resume is going to be a deal breaker at the vast majority of jobs. Yes, graduated31 may do that. However, most employers don't care about that. They care about results. They want to see what you can offer their organization. Just having graduated from Cal doesn't mean that you can produce results. Having a 3.5 on your resume instead of a 3.3 doesn't mean that you can produce results on anything but a proctored exam.</p>
<p>There are plenty of reasons to go to UCLA. There are plenty of reasons to go to Cal. Neither one is going to determine your future, however.</p>
<p>graduated31, your comments, like many others, are mostly baseless generalizations. To say that UCLA is easier than Cal (with no exceptions, major specifications, student individuality considered) is just false. I have some friends up at UCB majoring in history/poli sci and they always have more free time than I do here at UCLA (Biz Econ/Accounting). Of course, if you compare a UCB engineering student to a UCLA English student, UCB would appear much harder. But to suggest that would somehow apply to the school as a whole? Nonsense. Surely, anyone who works at a "prestigious socal job" would use this very basic logic in making any kind of judgement, right?</p>
<p>And as a side note, with regards to admissions, in the year I applied to college (2004), UCLA was actually harder to get into than Cal. Go figure.</p>
<p>True story... my suite mate is an Asian twin. His brother goes to UCLA. He was in Taiwan at Winter Break visiting his grandparents. His grandmother proudly announced to everyone that came to the house that he was a "Berkeley student, he was very smart." She told everyone his twin went to UCLA as if it was a dissapointment....</p>
<p>Then again, my Chinese grandmother doesn't know what Berkeley is.</p>
<p>And damn, bannana_girl and littleitaly sure are loud about choosing UCLA over Cal. You guys do realize that this is surefire proof you guys are the exception?</p>
<p>And damn, bannana_girl and littleitaly sure are loud about choosing UCLA over Cal. You guys do realize that this is surefire proof you guys are the exception?</p>
<p>Perhaps they are one and the same person? And rejected, not accepted?
Who cares actually!</p>
<p>And damn, bannana_girl and littleitaly sure are loud about choosing UCLA over Cal. You guys do realize that this is surefire proof you guys are the exception?</p>