UCLA vs UC Berkeley Student Environment

Applying to College
1

Hey everyone!

Like tons of other students every year, I’m torn in a decision between two great schools: UCLA and UC Berkeley.

For a brief background, I’m a prospective freshman intending to major in business/computer science, and grew in the Bay Area about an hour away from Berkeley.

I know both are great schools, and I know neither is really easier than the other. I think I’ve gotten a good picture of the competitive academics at both universities. There are a few points above attending these schools that I’m a bit vague about, and would appreciate if you could help clarify before I make my decision.

First, how good is the school’s support for students at these campuses? Are the counselors supportive and the faculty accessible, or are they pretty unconcerned with undergraduates like I’ve heard? I’d really like to be able to come in and talk to professors ideally during office hours ideally, though I guess TAs are occasionally fine too.

I’ve also heard that the counselors at UC Berkeley are pretty unhelpful, though I don’t know if that’s true. Could you confirm please? Also, how do the counselors at UCLA compare? I’m not expecting to be coddled, but I’d appreciate a school with counselors that can give me good advice on life, academics, or whatever when I ask for it.

Next, how bad is the notoriously cut-throat competition at Berkeley really, compared to UCLA? I’d really like an environment where students are competitive and work hard, but are they GENERALLY open to having study groups and helping each other out versus trying to sabotage me for good grades (as I’ve heard multiple stories about from friends who went to Berkeley)? I’d really love to build a relationship with my classmates, learn from them, and have a healthy mutual learning for us together, but my impression from many people who’ve attended Berkeley is that this isn’t as common of a belief there. Hoping to get a more accurate picture here :slight_smile:

I’ve already visited UC Berkeley, and while I think the campus is gorgeous and the surrounding urban life cool (the hobos didn’t bother me too much), I didn’t really feel a spark that made it THE choice for me. I’m hoping to visit UCLA if my family gets a chance before May 1st but we might not, so could you also describe the general “vibe” of the LA campus please? I know it’s different from Berkeley, but not 100% sure in what way yet.

The last question is more minor than the rest of these, but I’m curious about regardless. How do the girls compare between UCLA and UC Berkeley? Are they prettier at one, more stuck-up at another? Things like that haha

Anyway, not expecting everyone to answer every single question but would find it AWESOME if you could help me out!

Cheers,
Lexielai

2

I doubt UCLA student body could be less competitive than UCB’s!
The UCLA campus is really beautiful but rather hilly which may be tough sometimes to navigate (when you have to rush from one class to another).

3

Perhaps importantly, what division/major were you admitted to at each school? That can affect the difficulty of getting into your desired majors. Note: UCLA does not have a business major, although it does have a “business economics” major.

4

Yeah, though UCLA doesn’t have a business major I’m pretty sure their business economics is really good too. I was admitted as Undeclared Humanities, hoping to be able to transfer to that if I choose to go to UCLA.

5

Find out whether you will be able to enter the major at all; if you can, find out how difficult it will be. You should contact the department at UCLA directly with your questions if you cannot find out from the web pages.

CS at UCLA is in the engineering division; changing into it is difficult (minimum 3.500 GPA to apply, but admission is still competitive).

Were you admitted to the College of Letters and Science undeclared, or as an EECS major at UCB? If the former, you need a 3.3 GPA in the prerequisites to enter the CS major. The business major is competitive admission where you apply in your second year.

6

If you’ve talked to actual Cal students, not just heard 2nd-hand stories, then I’d believe what people who actually attended the school had to say.

Both of these are large impersonal publics. You’re going to get a similar experience at either that you pick as far as school is concerned. See the article http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/UC-Berkeley-s-lack-of-services-leaves-many-2923526.php It’s not that people working at UCs don’t care, its just that there are 30,000 undergrads and they can’t provide a warm caring personalized experience for that many kids. If you want a college where the counselors know you, where you have an assigned faculty advisor, where the faculty interact outside of class out of choice and do things like invite their students over for dinner, then you want a LAC or an expensive private.