Before Bruin Day, I thought I was set on attending UC Berkeley. But after seeing UCLA, I wasn’t so sure. It’s hard to form a proper perception of any place after spending <6 hours there, but UCLA seemed perfect. I literally could have not imagined a place like that if I tried. It was like a California paradise with nice warm weather, palm trees and a beautiful campus. The dorms and food were also better at UCLA, I felt.
I wish I could say “UCLA all the way!” but it’s not so simple. I am still hung up on UC Berkeley. In fact, I think it will be harder to turn Cal down. I have learned and thought all of my life that Berkeley was a slight notch above UCLA (I don’t mean to offend any UCLA alumni or students; I know I shouldn’t think this and that they are probably roughly equal).
When I was at UCLA, I actually felt excited and happy about college. As for Berkeley, I was just like “okay, this is a nice place but time to work hard for the next 4 years.” I didn’t feel that same excitement.
I feel like life at Cal will be harder because finding housing will be more stressful, along with maybe slightly harder classes but that I would experience a lot of personal growth there.
Of course, UCLA will probably be similarly academically rigorous.
If it helps, I am introverted but social when I need to be and would like a good balance of fun and academics. I am looking to pursue a pre-med track so I am an MCB major at Berkeley and an MCDB major at UCLA. If that doesn’t pan out I will look into pharmacy school or a job in public health.
Are there any solid reasons for attending Berkeley over UCLA or am I just holding myself back from making a decision for no reason?
So have you eliminated UCSB? Have you visited UCLA on a regular day rather than just Bruin Day? It would give you a better feel of the hustle and bustle of the campus.
Looking at some of the priorities that you listed in your other threads, I’ll chime in with my two cents (UCSB undergrad, UCB grad school).
Stress vs balanced life - Stress will be similar at both. Personally I prefer the quarter system because I was always someone who stayed on top of my work and it kept me more engaged in classes than the semester system. UCLA is competitive but the personality of students is different than at UCB where I would call them more solitary and cut-throat.
Social life - Certainly UCSB has a larger social scene and I’m not referring to parties. Personally I was much more focused on getting my work done in a timely fashion during the day because there were often things I wanted to do in the evening. I would do math, physics, etc. in the library and then bring my Biology book to the beach. Comparing UCLA to UCB, UCLA has a larger, more diverse social scene. My opinion is that it is more difficult to find “your people” at UCB.
Weather - You mentioned that you didn’t want to go to UCD because of the weather. UCB is very similar. Not as hot over the summer but lots of cold rainy days compared to UCLA.
Safety (and I’ll add overall cleanliness of campus and surrounding community) - I would put UCLA above UCB in this category.
Housing isn’t perfect at UCLA but is much better than at UCB where housing is a problem.
As far as prestige, rigor and ability to get internship/research opportunities, etc. I would rank them equally. YOU have to be the one keeping your resume up to date, approaching professors, checking Bruin-link, etc. The opportunities won’t be thrown in your lap at either school. You will have to take the initiative to apply and then compete against the best and brightest for the positions.
@emli8100: Wise words from @lkg4answers. Do not base your decision on perceived reputation. It counts for very little in the end. Go where you feel at home. Academic rigor is equal at UC campuses. The flavor of the competition among students may vary though. And the quality of life varies a lot. Four years is a long time.
If UCLA is calling to you, listen. If you actually preferred UCSB, put it back in your solution set. Not gonna be easy there either, as 23% of SB freshmen are Bio majors (inside source). Personally, given the option I would not attend Berkeley due to the possibility of disruptions due to political disputes. But that is just MHO. The decision is all yours! Best of luck.
Hello, I got accepted into both UC Berkeley and UCLA as a transfer from a cc (in 2years) and I was really hesitating between those two schools. My relatives kept telling me to go to UC Berkeley but I really wanted to go to UCLA. I submitted my SIR to UC Berkeley and now I am disappointed because it wasn’t my true decision. I wanted to have more information about transferring from UCB to UCLA and I would like to know if it is difficult or not as an Applied Math major after. I read other discussions for people going form UCLA to UCB but I never found one form UCB to UCLA.