<p>I've toured the UC system from San Diego to Davis, and at these schools I always met someone who "absolutely loved" their school. Yet, this wasn't true at Berkeley. Of the people I talked to, the response was generally "I love Berkeley, but..." Maybe this was just chance? So, is there anyone out there who unconditionally loves Cal (or if there are conditions, they're minor)? I want to hear it! I don't think it would be fair to make a decision otherwise.</p>
<p>ps. I'm a prospective Political Economy major</p>
<p>The way you’re thinking about this bothers me. If you’re looking for the UC where everybody is happy all the time, this isn’t it. Not that you shouldn’t enjoy being here.</p>
<p>That’s not what I’m looking for at all! I’m sorry I did not communicate that very clearly. I meant that, taken as a whole - do you love your school? Sure there are complaints and crummy weeks, but do you generally enjoy your time there? I think you can have a general sense of pride in your school without being happy all of the time.</p>
<p>I love Berkeley for it’s excellent academics that challenged me to my limits. I love Berkeley for its political activism and social awareness that made me reflect on the past, present, and future of our society. I love Berkeley because it made me a well-rounded person who is ready for the real world. To gain the most out of Berkeley, it will not be an easy ride. If you seek out challenges for yourself (and succeed), Berkeley will take you far in life.</p>
<p>I didn’t go to Berkeley, and frankly think the campus and town are rather dreary. That said, I know lots of Berkeley alumni, and they all seem to love the place.</p>
<p>I don’t love Berkeley. I wouldn’t say that I hate it, but I definitely don’t love it. Maybe that’s because i’m in college of engineering. Whatever the reason, a big part of me wishes that I didn’t go here.</p>
<p>Also, just to be an arsehole, I’m going to point out the irony of starmia’s opening sentence: “I love Berkeley for it’s excellent academics that challenged me to my limits.” Apparently despite our academics, the students don’t know when to use “its” and “it’s.”
Sorry, starmia. I had to do it!</p>
<p>wacker if you had to do it again, where would you have gone? Would you still do engineering? My S is very excited now, like LALA land type. He wants to double major MechE and CS or something like that. He turned down Calpoly SLO, Pitt, and a couple liberal arts colleges. His turning point was winning a rookie top seed award at FIRST FRC this year. Made him love MechE and what he could do.</p>
<p>Just wondering why you would have chose differently and if you did what would you have done. I saw nothing wrong with CalPoly I liked it more in lots of aspects. But bottom line it was his choice.</p>
<p>Generally, Berkeley undergrads are disgruntled because of the heavy academic load, so don’t expect students on campus to be chipper all the time given what they are preoccupied with on a daily basis. Of course there is a distinct pride that students have with being on campus, they are appreciative of the opportunity to attend an elite institution that rewards them with 4-5 years of general misery, followed by plum jobs, grad school or the Peace Corp. Even as a political science major, I was able to find work in San Francisco, move to the City and am now doing work in Salesforce development, so I am of course extremely fond of Berkeley.</p>