<p>What are the perks of each school?
If I had to decide among the two, which would you recommend, and why?</p>
<p>(Reasons: money, quality of education, population, areas, entertainment, classmates, professors, activities, etc.)</p>
<p>I personally would pick LA because I hate the area around Berkeley.
Westwood/Santa Monica > Berkeley/Oakland</p>
<p>but even though I get into I'd go to UCLA because it just seems full of the real college atmosphere. i just dont like overtly academic atmosphere. I like some fun here and there... and I love LA so.</p>
<p>hey, LA has in-n-outs in the area. i think that says it all. lol.</p>
<p>but i think the quality of education is similar at both schools.</p>
<p>The main Cal>UCLA argument is prestige, which I think is overrated (both the difference in prestige and the validity of prestige as a criteria). The rankings and admission rates are basically the same.</p>
<p>I WILL say, though, that if you're into an upscale city, a remotely good basketball team, and hate wearing goggles, then the choice is obvious.</p>
<p>...goggles?</p>
<p>The goggles do nothing! :rolleyes:</p>
<p>we can compare and contrast both schools all you want, but seriously, if you really want to find out the differences between the two, VISIT both schools and i think after that, for most people, they'll get a feel about which one they like more. </p>
<p>you can't go wrong with either one!</p>
<p>VTECaddict, ask your Cal friends what Berkeley goggles are :)</p>
<p>The singular of "criteria" is "criterion."</p>
<p>There's an In-n-out nearby, but I mainly eat there when Frats give it out for free during "attract future frat members" days. You can take the bart there, but it takes a few minutes.</p>
<p>While here, I've spent little time in Oakland but much in San Francisco. I think that's fairly common for students here. Also, LA generally requires a car to get places, in the Bay Area one can fairly easily get around with public transportation.</p>
<p>"Also, LA generally requires a car to get places"</p>
<p>As a UCLA student.. not true.</p>
<p>You're right, I was too extreme. But did LA contract since last I visited? There is plenty of stuff on campus and surrounding, but outside of Westwood? LA is physically and geographically an amazingly spread out city.</p>
<p>A friend of mine went to UCLA and left westwood about a dozen times in four years. That said, he loved UCLA and he loved the area.</p>
<p>Wow... even I've been outside Westwood more often than that. It's not so much that Westwood is such a wonderful alcove of Los Angeles, it's that immediately beyond Westwood you've got a wide radius of urban sprawl that you have to overcome to reach the other good districts, i.e. Santa Monica, Chinatown, etc. :rolleyes:</p>