I’m a freshman student and I’m completely torn in between these two schools. I want to go somewhere that’s fun socially but also has good programs for my major, Environmental Studies. I’m scared of going to Berkeley and feeling like I’m the worst student there, but I’m also afraid that at SB there’s a possibility of getting lost in social life.
@ho_odlum have you been to each campus?
Yes, and I liked both of them but I didn’t really get a feel for Cal because I went during summer break
I am confused. You say “I’m a freshman student …”. Are you a freshman in university and thinking of transferring, or are you a freshman in high school and thinking where to apply to? I don’t understand why you would be deciding between these two unless you have already been accepted to both. If the latter, how does the financing compare?
I’m an incoming freshman for Fall
Whats your ACT/SAT and GPA? Thats the best indicator for your academic skill
" I’m an incoming freshman for Fall"
Do you mean that you have been accepted at both, and are trying to decide between them?
If so, they you still need to give more information before anyone can sensibly reply. Both universities are very good for many students, and both are probably inappropriate or unaffordable for many people.
GPA is a 4.1, my SAT score was an 1140 on the new test past May 2016 date and my ACT was a 23
Yes I’ve been accepted to both universities but now I need to decide on a school. I want to have a good college experience but still get my work done.
@ho_odlum you might check out this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/1979603-ucsb-honors-vs-uc-berkeley-for-molecular-and-cellular-biology-pre-med.html#latest
You might want to compare your SAT with the 25th percentile at both universities. From my quick search right now it looks like you might be under the 25th percentile for UC Berkeley but above the 25th percentile for UCSB. This might give a hint regarding how difficult it would be to keep up with classes at each university (assuming that most of the students will indeed keep up in each case).
Your GPA is very high for your SAT score. To me this suggests that either you are very hard working and have good study skills, or the SAT scores are not indicative of how you will do and can be sort of ignored.