<p>I'm a Fall freshman admit to the College of Letters and Sciences at both schools, and I can't decide which one I want to attend. I plan to go on to grad school, and do something in the humanities or social sciences, maybe business, but I'm not sure. Both schools gave me the same financial aid package and have almost the exact same horse riding situation. I went to Bruin Day and Cal Day, and was able to do the Overnight Host Program at Berkeley, which gave me a better idea of what it would be like to go there. Any help deciding which college would be much appreciated, here is more info about both:
Berkeley: I already have three fairly close friends going there, I found a good roommate for me, and I made some great friends during my stay there (although I'm not choosing a college based on where my friends are going, so that's not really important to me). I felt like I could really identify with the liberalism there, and as a vegetarian I enjoyed having so many options (overall I was just really impressed with the food). However, I'm kind of worried about the dating scene; I realize that sounds silly since it's such a big school, but I haven't been able to find a boyfriend yet, and many of the first years I talked to there told me that it seems like nobody dates there at all, and that it's pretty hard to find a boyfriend. As for the campus, I'm not a fan. I felt like the architecture was way too eclectic-there would be an ugly gray modern building next to an ugly gray gothic-looking building, next to an ugly gray greek-style building, and so on. And the surrounding city was pretty gritty, but I kind of like how the campus wasn't a rich kid bubble, and I'm definitely not bothered by the homeless people.
UCLA-I absolutely loved the red brick architecture, and the campus felt much more polished and scenic, and frankly, it just felt more like a college campus to me, which I like. However, Westwood feels just a little like the upper middle class city in L.A. County that I've grown up in and grown sick of. Also, I think I would prefer Berkeley's semester system to UCLA's quarter system, and I didn't feel quite as at home among the students there-I felt like they're a bit more social, which I like, but less quirky and nerdy, like me. (Though it's really hard to tell, since I don't know anybody there and the demographics are so similar). Also, I know the school is still fairly liberal, but it was nice to be on the very liberal feeling Berkeley campus.
I feel like both schools would lead to similar grad school and employment opportunities, and that I could find my niche at both schools. In the end, I think either choice would be fine, but I'm having a really hard time deciding which one I would enjoy more. Any additional info or personal experiences/opinions you can tell me about would be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>From what you wrote, it sounds like there are more reasons for you to go to Cal. Personally, I love UCLA, but fell in love with Cal 
Both are great schools, you can’t go wrong with either one! But Cal is also away from home and semester! Two big differences and don’t pick a school based on finding a boyfriend- that’s just plain silly.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input, I think I definitely am leaning toward Cal, I’m just having a hard time committing to going there, since I didn’t fall in love with it, like you did. :)</p>
<p>Hi horserider, I also agonized over whether to pick Cal or UCLA. Like you, I did not at all care for the Cal campus. UCLA campus on the other hand I love; I could definitely imagine myself being very happy there for the next four years (hopefully not five). I tried hard to make myself like Cal (I had wanted to go there for a long time, until my visit) but I just couldn’t see myself there. With academics and costs being approximately the same, I picked where I thought I would be most happy at, UCLA.
In the end, I really don’t think you can go wrong with either school. Choose one and don’t look back.</p>
<p>Excellent Choices! Congratulations! I loved Cal, and I was impressed by the diverse architecture especially the old & new libraries beside one another… The trees at Cal are exquisite, and the redo of the stadium right on campus is pretty great… Well for them it was not so great for us LoL… Totally standing up for Ucla dining >>> over all other 20 schools I visited and Whole foods 1 block off campus is ideal for me! So glad U went to Cal Day & Bruin Day… Very wise… I liked Stern & community for Stem women, and I met brilliant & helpful people/ students @ Cal… UCLA is soooo laid back compared to the intensity @UCB… I made my decision on program & food, and I <3 Ucla! Especially today on Earth Day when we became a smoke free campus! YaY I hope you can get on campus banking cuz my only negative experience in Berkeley was going just off campus to Wells Fargo to the ATMs & two different guys hassled me and followed me… Great choices… Tennis @Ucla was also decider for me, so what weekend stuff do U do? San Francisco pretty amazing, but I could not cheer for those teams as SoCal native! Good Luck & you’re already lucky w these choices!</p>
<p>O if U are anxious to live off campus in apartments soon, the Cal is way way way cheaper w interesting arrangements @ co-ops like gardening & baby-sitting for $300.00 month, while at Ucla pplz screaming & throwing things this month about $3K and up apts in Westwood… Lots of great new dorms here on campus tho…</p>
<p>I was also stuck in the same situation as you but ultimately chose UCLA. Cal is indeed the ideal place for liberals, literally “if you’re not left, you’re not right” would be the correct representation of Cal. The dating scene is pretty much dead based off the views of some of my friends that attend there as Cal is quite competitive (more cutthroat to be exact) and thus most of their time is used for study rather than dating. But then again Cal is after all rated #1 public school nationally and have some amazing achievements/rankings of their scholar programs. Despite all this I chose UCLA for a multitude of reasons. It was indeed more social, dating scene wasn’t “dead” which was a huge plus for me. It is not at all “upper middle class” as I’ve met through friends people from a variety of different backgrounds from international millionaire HK kids to students from more humble origins such as Chinatown; thus overall there is no exact socioeconomic range at UCLA. But also UCLA is not as liberal as Cal which is a plus for me but maybe a minus for you as I’m a hardcore conservative. There are indeed quirky students such as myself and many more, you’ll just have to find them. But overall they’re both great schools, good luck in deciding</p>