Worried About UC Berkeley

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

Hi everyone, I’m an incoming college freshman who was trying to choose between UC Berkeley and UCLA for undergrad and ultimately chose UC Berkeley. I couldn’t keep oscillating between the two forever, and people persuaded me to choose Cal at the last minute.

For context I live near LA and will be a NutriSci major in CNR or MCB/IB and will hopefully be pre-med.

I don’t blame anyone but myself for the choice, but I think I’m already starting to regret where I chose to attend. I realized that I suck at dealing with stress and impersonality and like sunshine. I’m sure UCLA has a fair amount of the first two qualities I mentioned, but maybe to a slightly lesser extent than UC Berkeley.

I think I liked UCLA better, but I went on Bruin Day, so maybe that wasn’t the most objective view of the campus. I didn’t go to Cal Day; I attended an overnight stay program. I liked the dorms, food and to a slight extent, the campus better at LA. Berkeley’s dorms were more cramped and the food was meh.

The reason I didn’t choose UCLA was because I knew so many more people who attended Cal and were giving me tips on housing and reassuring me that Berkeley would be great. I also knew many more freshmen going to Berkeley than LA.

Had I chose to attend UCLA, I would have felt excited about college. But I chose Berkeley, so I feel numb about freshman year. I don’t know, I just feel like UCLA would have been a more well-rounded place with more fun and all.

I’ve also been feeling depressed lately, so maybe that’s clouding my perception with regrets.

Overall, I’m determined to make it work for myself at Berkeley by studying as much as I need, going to tutoring, managing my time well and making time for friends. But I am worried that I will hate Cal and always have UCLA at the back of my mind when things get hard at Berkeley.

Does anyone have any advice? Should I try to contact UCLA or just suck it up at Berkeley?

I am sorry if I angered any Berkeley students or sound whiny/scared/naive. This is just honestly what I feel right now.

2

Honesty should not anger anyone, so please don’t worry on that score. Second thoughts are natural. Years from now, when you buy a house, you agent will [or should] tell you not to look at real estate listings for at least a month, because almost everyone has buyer’s regrets. It’s perfectly natural with any big decision – and even more understandable when you’re looking at moving to a new area. I’m going to tell you to give Berkeley a try. It’s a lovely town with a lot to do, and San Francisco is just a BART ride away. The sun comes out every day, and it sounds as though you will come in with lots of friends in place. If you’re really, really, really unhappy at the thought of coming to Cal, check with UCLA, but I think you might look back with regret in the future if you don’t give Berkeley a try. Wishing you happiness and a great time in college, ATS

3

I was in a similar decision, having to make a quick decision between Berkeley and another great school. Regretting your choice is completely natural - it’s what the mind does so often.

UCB and UCLA are both great schools, and you’ll get a great education at either of them. Yes, college will be stressful at times, but learning how to cope with stress and similar feelings is an important skill in life that you’re never too old to learn.

It’s great that you still have the perseverance to make Berkeley happen. Go to Berkeley, join a club, give yourself at least a semester, and see how you feel afterwards. You can always transfer back to UCLA or reapply if you’re certain that UCLA is the school for you.

4

Okay wow we sound like the same person… except I got waitlisted at UCLA and decided to not accept my spot on it (and they have a 60% acceptance from the waitlist/I got a 5.0 senior year so I probably would have gotten off). I’m going in for pre-med as well, and I’ve heard mixed reviews. A lot of people have said that the med school prerequisites weren’t even that difficult, but I don’t know about that. I’m really nervous considering how smart everyone is, but how even the smartest still struggle a lot. Then again a lot of those people seem to be in EECS so that’s why lol. Like spicyramen said above, you can always transfer if you don’t enjoy Berkeley. My plan is to transfer to possibly UCLA if I don’t like Berkeley! In all honestly, I think you might regret at least not trying out the top public school in the country hahaha so don’t worry you’re not alone! I feel the exact same way at the moment.

5

It was down to UCLA and Cal for D last year. We went to Bruin Day (had already toured Cal) and H and I thought, “Whelp, she’s probably going to SIR here.” Beautiful April day, gorgeous campus, rah rah, etc. We are Northern Cal people, but I grew up mostly in SoCal (spent my teen years cruising Westwood, which is what you did back then) and could see D picking UCLA. She, however, knew within 10 minutes of the car ride back that it was going to be Cal.

Keep some things to keep in mind about things both schools share:

  • size: they are both large. Meeting people in dorms, classes, clubs, etc., plus hanging out with your Cal friends, will make it feel less small. CNR is a smaller college within Cal that will also help with that more "community" feel (D is planning to transfer into it after next year).
  • competitiveness: they are both top UC's, which attract large populations of very smart, very driven students. You will not escape that going to UCLA.

Yes, the housing at Cal is a bit more piecemeal (and you may have done your overnight in one of the older dorms, so I feel you), but it does exist (and not out of the question for anyone beyond freshman year - D is in an on-campus apartment next year which is nicer than anything I ever lived in while single). Yes, the food in the dining halls is not as good as that at UCLA (which is perplexing - come on, UC system - everyone use the same food provider!), but that means the off-campus dining options are plentiful, varied, and oftentimes exceptional. And everything the Bay Area has to offer is a BART ride away. And, if you are into football, the stadium is RIGHT THERE, in walking distance.

Your feelings of depression may have less to do with the school and more to do with the transition itself. That is very common and understandable. D has a classmate who desperately wanted to go to UCLA (legacy, etc.) - he was waitlisted. Came to Cal - is doing “OK”, but he’s never there on the weekends. Because he hasn’t fully gotten over where he thinks he should be and where he actually is, he’s missing out on so much. My advice: you had two excellent choices in schools. You had to choose, you chose. You will go to the week of orientation (which sounds way more fun than the couple of days of CalSO of the past) and have a blast. My advise: commit academically, socially and emotionally - your success depends upon it.

FYI for all, transferring between UC’s is not the easiest thing in the world to do: over 90% of transfers are from community colleges. Do not count on that as a strategy should one school not “work out”.