<p>i got into berkeley and UCLA and i'm asking around to see which one i should go to.</p>
<p>i know that berkeley's a whole lot more competitive than LA, also more dangerous but has a better name</p>
<p>for UCLA i got into "life sciences undeclared" and for berkeley it's "letters of arts and science undeclared"</p>
<p>any comments / suggestions will be very much appreciated</p>
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i know that berkeley's a whole lot more competitive than LA
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<p>No. That's just a really stupid rumor. They're pretty much the same in 'competitiveness.'</p>
<p>CAL ALL THE WAY! i also got into both and ucla is in a better area.. near beverly hills.. berkeley is a pretty ugly but i still like berkeley better... better academics, more tradition, etc.</p>
<p>Also because UCLA is in socal and socal seems to be more superficial thatn nor cal... and im pretty liberal so cal would be perfect 4 me...</p>
<p>it really depends on what experience u want but im choosing cal!</p>
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also more dangerous but has a better name
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Dangerous meaning campus crime?</p>
<p>Berkeley is grittier but a much more student oriented city...How can students afford fun in Westwood/Beverly Hills?</p>
<p>The public transportation is very good. You will not need a car. Access to the airport or SF via BART.</p>
<p>You don't have to be a liberal...there is plenty of diversity so you can find your niche at Berkeley.</p>
<p>Oh, and football games are on-campus...instead of 25 miles away. :)</p>
<p>I'd def. say the competition is just about the same. Academically speaking, both schools are amazing. I guess the only thing to choose between (assuming both costs about the same) is area. Where are you from? I can tell you for certain that Nor Cal and So Cal are two totally different areas with totally different people.</p>
<p>UCLA is located in Westwood, possibly one of the coolest places around LA. Lots of nightlife around there, movie theaters, restaurants, shops, etc. Very fun, great place to hang out with friends or to take a date. You can literally just walk to Westwood from campus. If you wanted to go a bit further in LA, you'd need a car. Oh and trust me, Westwood is def. one of the safest place around LA. Some of my friends have gone walking around there at like 1 or 2 in the morning (girls too). No problems at all.</p>
<p>Oh not to mention the food at UCLA is freakin' delicious as hell :p</p>
<p>Are you big on sports? UCLA football sucks, I'm not going to lie, and our games are all the way in Pasadena, so if you don't have a car, you have to take a bus there (which is provided, you just gotta pay like $2 or something). But in hopeful wishing, we do have Norm Chow this year (the offensive coordinator that led the USC Trojans to 2 national titles!) and a new head coach. So things may look pretty good :) And not to mention that our basketball kicks butt. In the past 2 years we've gone to the Final Four and it seems like we might even head toward a national title as well (maybe :P)</p>
<p>IMO, visit both campuses, they both def. have a different atmosphere and feel. UCLA people seem to have more school spirit IMO and our rivalry with 'SC is also pretty darn fun, but then again Cal has their rivalry with Stanford.</p>
<p>i really don't think that ucla students have more school spirit. cal has a very strong rivalry with stanford and a TON of traditions (dating back to the late 1800s, can ucla and usc beat that? not a chance).</p>
<p>public transit in berkeley and the bay area make it really easy to get around without a car. parking is a pain (as in any urban area), so that's a good thing. my friends at la sometimes complain about wanting to have a car because the public transit in socal is so bad. of course, life at ucla is 100x better than ucsd when you don't have a car, but still.</p>
<p>i used to think better of cal football. then they gave tedford a raise and the team sucked this year. they went from rank 12 or something to being unranked. still, the games are a ton of fun, as is the partying before and afterwards.</p>
<p>i wouldn't worry too much about the supposed competition at berkeley. i don't know why people think it's so cut-throat, because in my experience, it's not like that at all. and the avg gpa at cal is higher than at la. i was very interested to discover this a year ago.</p>
<p>and i also wouldn't worry too much about safety. i've gone walking around berkeley in the middle of the night many, many times, and it's fine. just don't go walking around with an ipod in your ears and looking totally unaware of your surroundings. in other words, don't make yourself an easy target. and be very careful if you bring a bike, because bike theft (or theft of parts of bikes) is very common.</p>
<p>imo, bay area views >>>> la smog anyday. i just got back from seeing a friend who attends la and says that sometimes she goes jogging and ends up at the top of a hill that gives her a good view of the city. that is, it would be a good view if it weren't enveloped in a gray cloud. she says her allergies have gotten much worse at la because of all the pollution.</p>
<p>Saftey is really not a concern at Berkeley. There are some homeless/crazies around, but they are not dangerous.</p>
<p>The atmosphere of Berkeley vs. UCLA is really quite different, both on campus and off. The culture is different too. I think it's a lifestyle choice as much as anything else for a lot of students who are lucky enough to have the choice.</p>
<p>Forget completely competitiveness and name. Both are awesome UCs and you are so lucky you get this choice. Both are competitive. Both have great prestige.</p>
<p>Have you visited both? If not, do! Both are beautiful in their own way, and literally reek with atmosphere and history.</p>
<p>I love Cal. Love it. When I see the Campanile and hear the carillon, I just smile, smile smile. The football stadium is right on campus and we can just walk to the games. The campus overlooks the bay, and I can see the Golden Gate bridge from my room. The trees smell good, the tree squatters (ok, right now they're all gone) are awesome, even when it's ****ing with rain (like at last year's Cal/USC game) it is such great fun getting soaking wet cheering our team on. And the freaks -- omg, they are all so cool. There's the happy happy guy, the anti-cell phone tech freak shouting obscenities, the Free Speech Cafe, the free speech movement, the Axe (ok we lost that this year), some of the coolest professors teaching some of the strangest sounding courses. . . .</p>
<p>On the other hand, I live within spitting distance of UCLA. My parents went there, met there, and fell in love there. When I'm in L.A., I ride my bike to campus a lot. I go to great movies in the Village. I go to great concerts on campus. I have used their medical clinics. I've been to basketball at Pauly Pavillion. I've been to their outdoor sculpture garden and to their botanical garden. It's a beautiful campus. Royce Hall is the best, and Powell Library is awesome.</p>
<p>What it should come down to, in a nutshell, is which one makes you smile the most. Because other than that, it's pretty equal in all other respects.</p>
<p>Attended Cal for undergrad then UCLA for medical school. Could not agree more with the previous post. Both are world class instituations. My son is trying to choose between these two and USC. He could not go wrong at any of the three.</p>