I’m just curious. Let’s say you got accepted by both UCLA and UCB (woot woot), where would you go? And why? I’m sure many of us thought about it.
The latter, naturally. Berkeley is just a better fit for me, all around.
As of right now I’m leaning toward UCLA. I’d say an 80/20 split. My reasons for this are:
-I’ll have ALL the prerequisites done for my major (as opposed to 1/3 for Berkeley)
-Quarter system (subjective)
-Area (subjective)
-Family pressure (pretty weird, seeing as I was raised as a hardcore USC Trojan fan. They just really don’t like Berkeley)
-Close to home (Grandmother lives 15 min away, immediate family lives in Orange County)
-I don’t doubt my discipline, though perhaps it would be greater at UCLA. At Berkeley I may be distracted by things that instill school spirit (i.e., sports). As mentioned previously, I was indoctrinated as a USC Trojan fan. I can safely say I wouldn’t be able to take much pride in UCLA as it goes against my nature. That sounds really sad and maybe pathetic but it’s the way it is.
But hey, writing that out just made me doubt my UCLA preference. I expect many of our minds will be akin to pendulums over the next few months.
Going back and forth between the two.
I look forward to what others think.
I live in OC and am also married to a person who finished his school long time ago. We also have 3 cats so moving to Berkeley is going to be a stress for him since he has to find a new job (he is the one who has real job).
I really want to go to Berkeley, but UCLA just sounds like an easier option right now.
I mean…I hope I get accepted to both haha
I think it really depends on what you feel fits you best. Have you taken tours of both campuses or attended events? For me, that’s what helped me to decide where I truly wanted to go. After I walked around UCLA and attended my first transfer event, I knew it was where I wanted to be.
I’ve been on a tour at Berkeley. I’m also going to ucla next week for a 2 hour tour. I hope it will help me
I’ll need to tour both, myself. I hope the right choice will be magically revealed.
To answer the original question more thoroughly -
Pros of Berkeley:
- All prerequisites completed - I will be able to move onto upper division classes immediately. I also took one of my major requirements at Berkeley, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
- Courses available - Berkeley offers many courses that I am interested in, both in my major, and in other disciplines (particularly English, Rhetoric, Classics, etc.). Interested in taking Decals as well
- Semester system. My preference. Most of the classes I have taken have been both on the semester system, and plenty have been modeled on UC Berkeley’s courses - (English 45 series, Philos 25 series, etc.) I enjoy the pace.
- Outstanding quality of education. Professors and GSI’s in my major seem to be pretty great.
- Beautiful libraries, beautiful campus, in my opinion.
- I like Berkeley’s academic environment - it can be incredibly competitive, but it pushed (and pushes) me to work harder. I sort of enjoy the cutthroat aspects of Berkeley.
Pros of UCLA:
- More offerings in Logic. Self-explanatory. I like Berkeley’s offerings as well, though. Berkeley only offers two upper-div Logic courses in the Philosophy department, but that’s probably adequate.
- Weather. I love the Bay Area, but LA’s weather by far.
- Location (family, great beaches, easier to get around, etc.) - I like SoCal.
Overall, I feel very in my element at Berkeley. If I get in, I will definitely SIR to Cal.
@goldencub
To be fair, UCLA’s philosophy department is tied with Berkeley’s in the rankings published by Philosophical Gourmet Report. Quality of education in philosophy should be about equal at either school. 
Everything else you said, I won’t argue with.
@Cayton Of course. UCLA’s program is stellar as well, but it would be redundant to mention that in the Pro’s of UCLA - both schools are excellent. I only mentioned Berkeley’s quality of education because I experienced it first-hand, but certainly both schools provide an excellent education in philosophy.
The “Pro’s of UCLA” would better be titled, “Things that UCLA has that Berkeley Lacks”, or something similar. Didn’t mean to discredit UCLA at all, it’s a wonderful school. 