UCLA vs. UC Berkeley

<p>Ucla has always been my dream school, but I never thought I would have a chance at Cal until this year. Ive never visited cal so could someone give me some insight to why you would choose cal over ucla if you had a choice at both. If i get into cal i will go visit it but for now I would appreciate your opinions. Thanks</p>

<p>I’d also love to hear from you guys, I am in the same boat! :-)</p>

<p>CAL SUCKS!! I also applied to both schools, but I have no intention of going to cal. I have visited many times and every time I go, the students are stressed out of their minds. Its awful! It wasnt midterm week or anything. The weather up there is also terrible. It is cold and rainy most of the year and only warms up the last month of the spring semester. It seems like many people there have something up their @SS. I know tons of people there and they are all so proud of themselves that they go to berkeley. A lot of them even hate on transfer students. I’ve gotten tons of berkeley students telling me how unfair it is because they think its so much easier to get in as a transfer. </p>

<p>As for ucla, I could go on forever how amazing it is down there. I was just there last week: beautiful weather, beautiful people, beautiful campus, delicious food, great education. What more do you want? Yeah, ucla is ranked a little lower than berkeley in many aspects, but wouldnt you rather have a great experience? </p>

<p>So many of my friends tell me how they should have chosen UCLA over UCB. Dont make the same mistake!!</p>

<p>First of all UCLA sucks @ss because 1) its in LA 2) its in LA, and 3) Its not berkeley. </p>

<p>*Honestly it all depends on your personal preference. I think LA and LA “type” people suck so I would never dream of going to UCLA.
*Berkeley isnt cold all year, its just not balls hot all year like LA.
*I doubt UCLA students are just chipper as can be and not stressed out in any way. If you want to go to the #1 or #7 public school in the nation dont you expect to work a little hard?</p>

<p>visit berkeley on your own and make your own decision. I, as you can tell, think UCLA sucks donkey idick and prefer berkeley. others think the complete opposite.</p>

<p>another ucla vs cal thread?</p>

<p>@guitarfrk123</p>

<p>Man, what are you on. I live in Orinda(15 minute drive from Berkeley) and the weather is great most of the year! It can get a little chilly cuz its Northern California, but other than that, its great! Granted, not like I’d go to Berkeley(not a huge fan of the campus), but I wanted to at least correct you on the weather since I live around there.</p>

<p>okok my bad. I’m just not a fan of norcal weather in general. I live in south SF and even now, in April, its still way too cold (~60-65 degrees) for me.</p>

<p>bay area weather isn’t that bad, but not as good as socal weather.</p>

<p>For me, i am just not a fan of Berkeley. I don’t like the hippie atmosphere & would rather be by the ocean coast than the bay.</p>

<p>but then again I have not visited ucla yet (although I have only heard good things from my friends there)</p>

<p>I love soCal. I love LA. But I think this is probably my last chance to go and live in a whole different “world” while I’m still young. I’ve never been to Berkeley. And honestly, I would rather go to UCLA. But UCLA doesn’t have my major so its Berkeley or USC for me. I don’t really care about how USC is in the “ghetto.” That’s the type of neighborhood I live in right now so I’m used to it.</p>

<p>@iHateCeltics<br>
what is your major?</p>

<p>That’s smart man. Cal’s reputation and academics far, far, far exceeds that of USC’s. Actually, I grew up in the bay and I never really knew anything about USC until I moved down here. I feel like USC’s prestige is only good so long as you stay in Southern California and they don’t produce an exemplary amount of research for being the research university that they are.</p>

<p>I went to UCLA (My friend pronounces it “Ooklah” (with long o’s)) and you know what?</p>

<p>.
.
.
.
.
I was underwhelmed. Yeah you heard me. I wasn’t feeling it. That isn’t to say it can’t be felt. I definitely felt like the students there were happy to be there. And they didn’t judge at all that I was a prospective transfer student. Some invited me to parties, some girls talked to me.</p>

<p>In general, the students there were pretty chill, but there were things they said that just didn’t sit well with me and things they did that didn’t sync up with me.</p>

<p>Firstly, a lot of what they “enjoy” doing, is standing around talking. That’s all they did! Stand around and talk about what someone did or said or what someone’s doing. That’s too gossipy for me. Even at UCSD, people are active, trying to get other people to join clubs, take stickers, riding road bikes and I’ve heard it’s more-so that at Cal.</p>

<p>I’ve never been to Cal, so I can’t really judge Cal, but what I can say about UCLA is:

  1. Too laid back. There’s a difference between being chill and being just plain boring.
  2. The campus doesn’t “stick out”. Even UCSD has a singing tree, a snake path, a crazy library design, Dr. Seuss’s desk, the price center. UCLA looks like some valley modernistic wanna-be Harvard type school. It looks nice in pictures but I don’t really want to go to school there.
  3. It’s hot. LA’s weather sucks. I don’t know what people are thinking when they say LA has good weather. No it doesn’t. Even people in LA know the weather there sucks. SD has better weather.
  4. The campus is more like a small city than a college campus. There’s street lights and traffic and you never know when you’re still on the campus or not on the campus anymore. This is a big deal because, frankly if I’m in LA going to UCLA, the only reason I want to be there is to be at UCLA and never to be at “LA”. Because LA sucks.
  5. The engineering department made me feel like I was in some desolate empty place, void of life. The lights were like bus station lights.
  6. Great cafeteria. Hot chicks. Extremely hot chicks.
  7. Great sports too. UCLA is definitely the “sports UC”. They have this “Hall of Fame” viewing gallery where you can see famous sports collectibles, items and trophy’s from UCLA’s history. </p>

<p>Like I said, I’ve never been to Cal, but if you can compare Cal to SD and you find that UCSD is lacking to Cal, then just understand that I was considered a match for UCLA and a slight reach for UCB and I applied to UCB instead of LA because I didn’t really like LA that much.</p>

<p>It didn’t help either that UCB’s Bioengineering admissions officers told me that getting all my prerequisites done wouldn’t keep me from getting accepted and that IGETC would still get me a good broad education done, versus UCLA’s Bioengineering admissions officers who basically told me that I needed all my prerequisites done, should never have done IGETC and even with my grades (3.93 UC Transferable) it’s not likely I’ll get in.</p>

<p>I’m a business major. I’m not too interested in UCLA’s biz econ since it’s basically econ and accounting. Haas is obviously the best of the three, but I’ve never been up north. I know how everyone looks down on USC and its not really considered a “prestigious” school on the national level, but here in the OC or in LA, a degree from USC goes a long way. If you go to the east cast UCLA/Berkeley will be better, but iono. I love soCal. If I had to choose between USC or Berkeley, I’ll just go to the one that gives me the most financial aid (since my parents won’t be paying anything).</p>

<p>my pro/con list</p>

<p>*Weather - LA definitely is better. no rain (well, maybe a couple times a year). Berkley has rainy winters and sporadic rains throughout the spring and fall. summers get hot in both areas.
*Area - both schools are located in pretty ghetto areas that get extremely crowded. wouldnt brag about either. But since they are both pretty ghetto, they both have interesting “Mom and Pop” stores. Berkley has more food joints, but quality-wise, most arent too great.
*People - Berkley has more diverse, interactive people. for me, thats a define con, since i like to mind my own business, and i hate people getting up in my face - especially the hobos that walk up to your car asking for change. LA still has a diverse crowd, but Berkley’s diversity can be experienced within 50 yards from the campus.
*Stress - its a mixed boat. at any school (hell, even the CC i am attending) there are those who are stressed out and those who are laid back. I know students attending both, and i can honestly say the stress level depends on the person, not the school.
*Campus - (to Essenar) you cant compare any UC to UCSD. SD has the nicest campus (open, clean, architecturally genius library, AND property on the beach? come on). but in comparing Berkley to LA, i would say the campus’ are very similar - both are uninteresting.
*Academics - Berkley for the most part (obviously). for certain majors, i can see why people choose LA, but Berkley wasnt just given the title of top public school in the nation.</p>

<p>Both schools are in “pretty ghetto” areas? Have you ever bothered to take the slightest peak at the house values around Cal and UCLA? They are in URBAN areas, but they are definitely not in “ghetto” areas.</p>

<p>And the “Gourmet Ghetto” (not in the sense of “ghetto” as you used it but in the sense of a high concentration) right next to Berkeley is famous for having some of the best quality food you can get… It’s certainly better than anything LA has to offer. That’s where Chez Pannisse is, it’s where ACME bread was founded, it’s where the cheese board is, etc, etc, etc.</p>

<p>@pyro - Really? Not that lists matter, but UCSD is placed in quite a few “Top Ugliest College Campuses” lists. I mean, I live here and I love the place, but I think UCLA campus > UCSD’s hands down! Plus, Westwood! Oh… Westwood! <3 Hahaha. Gotta love the place.</p>

<p>@mikei - I hate to break this to you, but yes Cal is in a pretty ghetto area. The only reason property around Cal is worth a lot is because it’s around Cal.</p>

<p>My friend went to Berkeley and he got held at gunpoint for his money while walking to class. He was a block away from campus, missed the BART.</p>

<p>My ex girlfriend went to Cal before transferring to Davis. She stopped taking BART near Cal because creeps would try to touch her or put their arms around her and when she would tell them to stop they wouldn’t. Another incident, her and her friends were in a swimming pool at their apartment complex near Cal and some gangsters tried to attack them. They had to run upstairs and luckily one of their friends showed up and scared them off. </p>

<p>Another guy I met at my CC who had to take a leave of absence from Cal said that he was ALSO mugged near Cal by a group of thugs. </p>

<p>As soon as they left to another college, these issues vanished. Berkeley is the #1 public school in the country, but it definitely isn’t the safest neighborhood in the country.</p>

<p>Berkeley is a pretty nice place! It’s true what they say about high crime rates, but honestly, it’s a beautiful area when you’re not being stolen from! When I first visited Berkeley I wasn’t feeling it either! I was from Chicago and had heard all about how “trendy” and “hip” Berkeley was, but when I got there, it was just this dirty crowded little town with a bunch of pedestrians and head shops! But, Berkeley itself is just one of the many great places in the Bay Area worth checking out at LEAST once, and, if possible, a LOT more than once! I’ve never been to UCLA, so I can’t compare the two institutions, but Berkeley really is an amazing campus and town! Lots of great food, lots of great people, and a lot of really great surrounding areas! As long as you exercise better judgement you can get by just fine in Berkeley! =]</p>

<p>@IhateCeltics, I think you may underrate USC on the national level. I went to high school on the east coast and all the top students in my class were definitely looking at USC as backups to the Ivy Leagues, and not UCLA. Their choices were mostly influenced by counselors and parents in the corporate world (I grew up in a Boston suburb, so the corporate world is mostly the financial industry and a bit of tech).</p>

<p>WOW</p>

<p>talk about misinformed… </p>

<p>@pyro</p>

<p>Cal borders Oakland -------- Ghetto
UCLA borders Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Bel Air ------ As far from Ghetto as it gets… </p>

<p>@essenar</p>

<p>boring? you came for a visit, met a handful of people and call it boring? fine… just remember that LA (despite the cliches) is one of the most diverse places in the united states. if i need to explain how, you haven’t looked hard enough… </p>

<p>i guess it’s a matter of opinion, but the campus is gorgeous, and is totally alive during the day. it’s not like a city and it’s definitely clear whether you’re actually on campus or not. however, there’s a big difference between North Campus and South Campus. North is far more aesthetically pleasing than South. that North / South distinction might also explain your ‘boring’ impression… South campus people are generally nerdier. anyone who goes here will tell you the same. </p>

<p>about the weather… it’s only recently started hitting 90 during the day… it’s not terribly hot. we’re close enough to the coast to get those cooling breezes, and in the evening, (since fall) it’s been consistently around 60-65. the days have been between 70 and 85, and, sorry, but if you’re human, that’s ‘perfect’. </p>

<p>about the women… 10’s. 'nuff said. </p>

<p>that’s all…</p>