<p>I know that some people have posted about this too, but my situation is a bit different and I am having a tough time deciding! </p>
<p>I live in the bay area, so it is actually really convenient for me to go to UCB. I can can go home whenever i want to. Cal is also more prestigious..however, Berkeley the city itself is really unappealing. Also, I fear that UCB will be extremely competitive so I will have a hard time getting into a good grad school. I've visited the campus before, and it was okay..</p>
<p>I heard that UCLA has an AMAZING campus with really good food. the weather in LA is also so much nicer and i assume the social life is much better. the only problem is, its kinda far so I seriously have to become independent; my parents wont be able to help me. Also, theres the whole prestige thing..Cal is technically "better" than UCLA</p>
<p>I have not actually decided what I want to major in yet..but I am considering architecture, psychology, or pre-med. </p>
<p>Cal has a top class architecture program and sends more of its pre meds to med school, but I think for psych it's a toss up.</p>
<p>Just remember that prestige isn't everything. You don't want to get stuck going to a campus you will tire of in a week, even if you can drop all of your laundry off at your mom's place every so often.</p>
<p>As far as competition goes, it's going to be fierce either way. While Berkeley does have the reputation of being more competitive, LA students aren't much better (my friends who go to LA made this clear). Besides, who ever said competition was a bad thing?</p>
<p>And again, don't worry about prestige. Who cares if some guys at US news put LA a couple spots lower than berkeley? If you find the campus and city more attractive, you should probably opt for it. I'm sure the "social life" is comparable at both campuses, but if you don't like the city of berkeley, that's probably a sign that you should avoid the school.</p>
<p>A final thought. You'll have to become independent at some point. Why not now? In fact you might feel liberated to be so far away from home.</p>
<p>Just my 2 cents. I also got into both schools but I am opting for berkeley (I love the city and find the campus quite bearable). I do not have a bias for LA, but given the content of your post, I believe you will be happier there.</p>
<p>Semester: two 16-week sessions. Start late August, finish mid-May. You get a month long winter break during the holidays. Slower paced, allows you to absorb the material. Only have to buy books and prepare for final exams twice per year.</p>
<p>Quarter: three 10-week sessions. Start late September, finish late June. Shorter winter break. Quicker pace. More exams. Can get done with a bad class more quickly. Have to buy books and prepare for finals 3 times per year.</p>
<p>
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I heard that UCLA has an AMAZING campus with really good food.
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Berkeley has an amazing campus as well...especially the wetern, northern and eastern parts. Berkeley has better food IMO, and the surrounding city is much more student-oriented.</p>
<p>Since you're from the Bay Area, maybe you like a change.
I like Berkeley's cooler, wetter weather than the hot, dry Santa Ana conditions that plague southern CA in the fall.</p>
<p>thanks UCBChemEGrad.<br>
sorry but i have another question..
i applied undeclared, but i am thinking about transferring from college of letters and sciences to the architecture college at berkeley, do you know if it will be really difficult especially if i have no experience in that field at all?</p>
<p>Extremely difficult to switch into the engineering department if you didn't get accepted. In fact, within the engineering department its difficult if you don't do it within the first year. Near impossible for EECS.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think choosing a college based on quarters vs. semesters is just silly. It's not that big of a difference, and there's no way to know which you would prefer just by speculating, you'd need to go through a year or two under each system and compare.</p>
<p>Well, if you've never even been to UCLA's campus, I'd strongly recommend going for a visit if at all possible. The feel of the campus and students is different from Berkeley.</p>