Ucb -vs- ucsd

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>Hi guys! I'm having a REALLY hard time deciding which school to go to... so I decided to post in the forums and ask what you guys think :) posting in both ucb and ucsd forums ;)</p>

<p>So here goes:</p>

<p>UC Berkeley- currently in L&S, hoping to switch to chemistry dept. (<--difficult? D:)
-great reputation ;)
-visited campus, really liked feeling of area (san francisco)
-dunno about research opportunities, but I hear there are plenty</p>

<p>UCSD- human biology major (impacted)
-got regents scholarship: priority registration, 4 yr housing guarantee, honor programs
-great bio reputation: got into human biology, which is impacted major</p>

<p>I really can't decide! I have a feeling my GPA will suffer if I go to Berkeley... I want to major in chemical biology... so I will have to transfer to the college of chemistry later on. Does anyone know how hard that is?
Also, how are grades in Berkeley, if I want to apply to grad school? I am willing to work hard, but I also heard from my teacher who went to berkeley that sometimes hard work is just not enough... XP (she was chemical biology major too... said something about really smart people who take up the top 10%, leaving everyone else with B and Cs and Ds) I'm not aiming for a really high GPA... does 3.5 sound like the norm for hardworking students in biology or chemistry? (i got 5 on AP chem and 800 on satii chem... but i studied A LOT for those scores w/ help from my really nice teacher :D... so i'm not naturally smart or anything... OH and I got 2150 on SAT I... XP)</p>

<p>On the other hand, I'll be one of the top applicants in UCSD with lots of benefits from regents, so I will probably not have such a hard time managing my GPA. The thing is, though, I'm more of a city person, and I like berkeley/San Francisco area since it's close enough if I need to go home, but not THAT close that I'd be going home every other weekend (around 2 hours away). </p>

<p>I know I should be choosing the school I like and everything, but I've heard so many people regret going to berkeley just because they liked it, because their GPA dropped, couldnt get into grad school, etc. I like UCSD a lot too, since I know a bunch of people going there as well, but I would prefer berkeley. i think i would be happy at both schools... :)</p>

<p>Give me some advice? I asked a lot of people, and I'm getting 1/2 telling me berkeley and 1/2 telling me UCSD. BTW I'M NOT PREMED, but I want to go to grad school...</p>

<p>SIDE QUESTIONS:
Is priority registration at another UC enough to sway you to another side? I dont have anything at berkeley, and i have priority reg. at ucsd.
Just how hard are weeder classes? Have you heard of people getting 5 on AP chem/ 800 chem sat getting a low grade in that class? (-Bs or Cs or below?)
Also I heard the teachers and TA's at berkeley dont like to help dumb students in weeder classes and above because they want them to drop out (hence called weeder). is this true? :(</p>

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<p>go to sd…</p>

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<p>just to answer a couple of your side questions…weeder classes are pretty hard IMO. I don’t think how you did on an AP test can really correlate with how you will do in a lower div weeder since it’s taught differently and such. Teachers and TAs are there to help you. They will do whatever they can within their limits to help you. I have never heard of them intentionally NOT helping so that you flunk out. That sounds ridiculous.</p>

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<p>oh and if you come here, the proper term used for TA is GSI (graduate student instructor). We’re just weird like that :)</p>

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<p>^oh thanks. :slight_smile: i was kind of scared when i heard that, so i’m glad its not true.</p>

<p>@33hours
is it because you dont think i would do well in cal? (i appreciate your honesty!)</p>

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<p>I hear the chemistry majors here are pretty tough.</p>

<p>If you are really concerned about your GPA, you might consider going to SD instead. Although I can’t really say how rigorous SD courses are seeing how I’m here…</p>

<p>What I notice for college as opposed to high school is that people who actually work really hard to get good grades do a lot better than people who procrastinate and slide by on natural intelligence (not saying you don’t have any, but you get my point hopefully). And this applies to any situation, any school, etc.</p>

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<p>^
So you’re saying, in college, people who try hard will be able to get good grades too, even if they’re not naturally super intelligent?
Because I’m not afraid of working hard. I just heard from my teacher that at school, the top 10% of people are those who are either really smart and get A’s without trying, or people who are already smart and are also hard working. I work really hard, but I’m not as smart as some people in my class. :(</p>

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<p>well, let me retract my previous comment. It’s a combination of hard work and intelligence. And it’s also HIGHLY dependent on subject matter. Some people are just great at bio but suck at chem, or great at physics and suck at bio, etc. and so regardless of how much work they put into a class, they may still not do so well simply because they don’t get the material. For example, I did pretty well in physics because i understood the concepts and such. My roommate on the other hand, really struggled with it. She was in office hours almost every day, studying nonstop and she still didn’t do as well as I did. Then for chem, she just cranks it out and does really well on what i consider to be extremely difficult subject matter.</p>

<p>My point is, we can’t really generalize to just “trying hard” or “being smart”. Doing well can be a result of many different factors that varies from person to person. Also, don’t get bogged down on what 2 or 3 people (myself included) tell you about a school. It’s all too subjective to be of that much help to you. My best advice is: just go with what you feel is right. If you do that, then you shouldn’t regret it later because at the time of making the decision, you thought you were right.</p>

<p>Hope that helps and doesn’t sound too preachy or whatever lol :P</p>

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<p>You should definitely go to Cal. The chem deparment is unparalleled…literally, # 1. The professors and education you’ll receive is superior to that at UCSD for chemistry. I would highly recommend Cal. Hard-working mentality/work ethic will go a long way. You’ll be fine at Cal; don’t worry about it. lol I have to wait another month :/…transfer decisions…they take so long lol.</p>

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<p>@jbtheeunknown
thanks for trying to help me so much! i guess… i dont know. haha. but i can tell that ucb will be very challenging for me… maybe too challenging… </p>

<p>@emilsinclair9
:wink: thanks, and good luck on transferring!</p>

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<p>Berkeley’s Molecular and Cell Biology program is only rivaled by its counterpart at Harvard, so the biology reputation advantage definitely goes to Berkeley, not UCSD. That aside, Chemical Biology is a great major as it provides a solid foundation in chemistry and molecular biology.</p>

<p>I don’t think you’ll have to worry too much about getting a low GPA and struggling in weeder classes-- it seems like you’re willing to work hard and that’s pretty much all it takes, no matter what anyone tells you. Let’s face it, there’s no secret to getting a high GPA except for consistent hardwork. Plenty of clever but lazy kids get low GPA’s and plenty of average but dedicated kids have exceptional academic records. As a case in point, I graduated in Fall 2009 with highest distinctions from L&S and although I have the quick wits for absorbing material quickly, I’m fairly certain that if I just relied on those wits, I’d be pretty much screwed in every single one of my classes.</p>

<p>What you’ve heard about the GSI’s refusing to help kids who are behind is false, as far as I know. I have never had a GSI who did not try to help when I asked for it nor had I ever seen such a misfortune happen to anyone else during office hours. So, don’t think that the entire Berkeley undergrad system is set up against you. There are many GSI’s who will spend way more time than they are paid for to help you learn the material.</p>

<p>As for the priority registration, that might be the only thing that UCSD has over Berkeley. Looking at the current state of financial woes and budget cuts, I think priority registration is a huge asset if you have a low number of AP and transferred units. If you have ~30 AP and transferred units, then getting into classes won’t be terribly hard.</p>

<p>Good luck with making a decision.</p>

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<p>@tastybeef
Thank you for the encouragement! I am willing to work hard. Mostly, though, Cal has a great reputation, and I heard the teachers are great… I’m glad that the GSI’s are nice. :smiley: I just hope hard work will get me through… at least with a 3.0 GPA… >_<
& yeah. i think if ucsd didnt give me regents, I’d be set on berkeley. I can’t bring myself to click the reject button… for either of the schools. </p>

<p>of course, i’m thankful I have choices to begin with, seeing how tough this year was for admissions. D:</p>