<p>Word of advice from a graduating senior at UCLA: go to the school that you think you will do the best academically and will be the happiest socially.</p>
<p>For undergrad, GPA should be paramount. No matter what you major in, a high GPA will always give you flexibility in the long term. No matter which UC you go to, it’ll be difficult, but Berkeley will be considerably harder. Some people thrive at Berkeley, and some don’t. Same goes for Irvine and San Diego. Go where you think you will be comfortable and where you think you can blow the competition. It’s better to be top 10% at UCI/UCSD than top 50% at Berkeley. And let’s face it, Irvine and San Diego are terrific schools. I have relatives that went there and have great jobs (granted they got good enough GPAs to go into health graduate schools - i.e. pharmacy, medicine).</p>
<p>Also, go where you will be the happiest. If being home is a concern for you, then go to UCI and UCSD. If you’re the type of person that can’t stand being away from family, I wouldn’t suggest you go to Cal. Now if you wanted to get the heck out of home, then Cal would be perfect.</p>