<p>They put Berkeley up with the Ivies and Stanford, MIT, Duke, etc.
But why??</p>
<p>Maybe I understand grad school, but undergrad??
Berkeley seems so overrated. I know a lot of undeserving people who got in. Its got a high admit rate (comparatively speaking) and classes are inflexible. So overcrowded, and horrible campus.</p>
<p>What makes Berkeley specifically appealing?</p>
<p>Wait, you’re questioning WHY UCB is ranked with Ivies, Stanford, etc.?</p>
<p>Berkeley has 65 Nobel Lauretes–fifth of any institution (and second of any public university, after Cambridge).</p>
<p>Top engineering programs (comparable to MIT/Caltech in many regards)</p>
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<p>It’s a public school. There are going to be some undeserving people who get in from Cali.</p>
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<p>Admit rate is screwed when you factor in in state. OSS is much more competitive. The last two are subjective (well, maybe not the over-crowdedness, though I personally like a large school).</p>
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<p>It has VERY good science programs. Pre med placement rating is pretty good, excellent engineering and economics departments as well. Plus, paying an in-state tuition for what is highly regarded as one of the top universities in the world is highly appealing.</p>