<p>it was awesome to get accepted and now i feel like i'll be in misery if i choose UCB. can somebody expand on why berkeley is GOOD and not BAD? to put me out of this frightened mind</p>
<p>there were plenty of good posts, even in the same threads with the bad. It looks like your anxiety is drawing your attention only to the negatives.</p>
<p>GOOD thing: it’s only 4 years</p>
<p>I am very happy at Cal.
Sure I’ve had days where i’ve been down (not because of Cal) and there have been times when I got really frustrated the bureacracy and size of Cal (i.e. classes + telebears), but overall it’s been a great experience.</p>
<p>CC is not an accurate reflection of the student body in Berkeley. In addition, people who have really negative experiences are more likely to post. It’s kind of like, why is the news always so negative? Surely there are GOOD things happening in the world, but it’s much easier to focus on the negative aspects.</p>
<p>okay thanx! if you have time, can u expand more on what u like about berkeley? and if you looked at other colleges, you could compare it them. For instance, i’ve been to USC for a short time, NYU for a tour, and claremont for an all day freshman session thing. </p>
<p>So about USC, i’d say that it was nice and hot so everyone was out wearing summer dresses. they all were really friendly, at least the ones i encountered and their style of fashion was decent. <ppl might get angry about that but oh well lol </p>
<p>NYU: very cold, huge library where people can rent out macbooks, discounted tickets to broadway shows or movies. </p>
<p>Claremont: waay to much in the desert, deserted town, dorms were nice and spacious with their own bathroom, and food was AMAZING. not even kidding. it was like a 5 star restaurant. teachers were super nice and engaging. students were very mature, knew what they wanted to do and LOVED to party since they allow alcohol on campus.</p>
<p>I think you tend to see bad things on online forums because people like to vent. People don’t usually rush to online forums to gush how decent their colleges are or explain in detail what a mild good time they are having (at least from my experience).</p>
<p>College is what you make of it. I did a lot of research about the kind of classes I want to take and I made a point to visit the professor for each class I took. I had a mild good time at Cal and it was a rewarding experience. But there are also those who, for whatever reason, decided that they are meant to be miserable and attended classes everyday under a dark cloud. I think the more effort you put forth in making your experience better, the better your experience will be.</p>
<p>okay thanx!</p>
<p>Berkeley is the top public university in the nation. Very few schools can match its breadth and depth. It has the most renowned faculty outside of a couple colleges named Harvard and Stanford. It’s located in one of the most dynamic, diverse and picturesque locations of the world. You’ll get a fantastic education for a (still relatively) cheap in-state price.</p>
<p>Sure Berkeley has drawbacks…the city is kind of gritty, locating off-campus housing can be a *****, it can be an impersonal environment with lack of guidance, etc. But those drawbacks pale in comparison to the opportunities Berkeley provides. </p>
<p>The whole California budget mess is a problem. However, I think those who think Berkeley will become a shadow of itself are saying so with lots of hyperbole. Berkeley is looking at ways to address the issue that minimizes impact to its core mission of education and research. All challenges present opportunities. I think Berkeley will use this opportunity to come out ahead.</p>
<p>what is Berkeley BIG on? like when i went to NYU for a 2 hour visit, i found that they are good in offering internships for 3 years that you are there, and they guarantee housing for 4 years. a lot of kids were involved in volunteer activities and internships, double majors, and study abroad programs. </p>
<p>anything to boast on about UCB? (i haven’t visited yet or read anything like i heard at NYU…which i didnt get into)</p>
<p>Big on being very very liberal, supporting obama (you guys should have been on the berkeley streets the night he won, it was probably my favorite berkeley moment), very very big on activism, big on being not religious/close-minded. Also very big on football and beating stanfurd at football lol, and of course on having a ridiculously long list of academic achievements to brag about. very big on research.</p>
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<p>Really, you’ve only been seeing the negatives! I tend to write pretty long posts, and I certainly have some detailing good things.</p>
<p>Good stuff: great weather to me (CA weather, but on the chilly side), wonderful food scattered all over the place, really friendly people in my department (from those who visited other departments, reportedly considerably more cozy), world class academics, interesting city (albeit lots of hobos and all, but one gets used to it).</p>
<p>hobos? -</p>
<p>the berkeley city is a horrible city</p>
<p>my friends who go there say that there are too many hobos and ghetto people in the city of berkeley and they dig through your trash at night for your recyclables LOL and they told me not to walk around alone at night but i think every city has its share of hobos so it’s not a biggie to me. hopefully I won’t run into too many of them since i’ll be living on campus!</p>
<p>dude i live next to claremont and it is not way in the desert…unless we’re talking like claremont in san diego or something. But claremont colleges? It’s much better than here (woulda picked it over any school any day had i gotten in to CMU or Pomona). LA is only like 25-30 minutes away, asian cities filled with a bunch of awesome asian food (much better than the crap here) is only a 15 minute drive, got a bunch of malls all within a 20 minute drive and even got ontario mills theater which has a nice IMAX theater unlike the crap one here at the AMC. All you need is a car and you’d be set. Claremont itself is kinda boring, but they got the Village and that’s an okay enough place to kick it. </p>
<p>Yeah. Unless you’re going to Harvey Mudd. I would pick Claremont anyday. lol HM is just much too intense at times and kids there are kinda snobby…but hey their engineering does rival ours sooo yeah</p>
<p>Good food, good people, good professors/grad student teachers, lots of opportunities, lots of things to do. </p>
<p>People whine a lot because academics can be a pain and people are competitive.</p>