<p>Son was accepted OOS into both Cal (as well as Berkeley for that matter-LOL) and UCLA’s engineering program. After much thought and several visits he will be Bruin come this fall; for him it came down to FIT. As we walked around Cal what “we saw” were students who overall just did not look happy–at UCLA the look and feel was much different, students appeared to be happy and enjoying campus life. Although my son was very intrigued with the rigor and prestige that comes along with the Cal experience he decided that Cal just was not right for him (andI have to agree). As we all know both Cal and UCLA are excellent schools, go with your and of course best of luck with your decision</p>
<p>
Keep in mind that the month of April in Berkeley is the end of the semester, where as the month of April in UCLA is the start of the new quarter. That is probably why Berkeley seemed gloomy to your son, because we were frantic about end of the semester projects and papers and upcoming finals. People tend to be happier at the beginning of the new term as they can put off work and chill and gloomier at the end as they have to start working on that put off material.</p>
<p>Leftist you are correct that it was the start of finals at Cal but it was also mid-terms at UCLA. From our perspective UCLA students just seem happier. Please understand that we previously lived in CA so have visited both campuses on several occassions and I worked on both the UCLA and Cal campus (not as a UC employee) so our impression is based upon more than one visit. As I said when choosing between schools or most other things for that matter instinct and “gut” feel is important</p>
<p>I too also had trouble deciding between UCLA, Cal, and UCSD. I visited Cal, UCSD, and UCLA and I feel like the environment of LA fits me more. Probably because I lived in LA all my life :)</p>
<p>Mission, the OP, has already elected to go to Berkeley. We can stop bumping his spammy thread now. -.-</p>
<p>^ this thread is awesome. why stop?</p>
<p>agreed, lpfun. Though I have my own reasons for going to Berkeley, I still love UCLA. Besides, collegeconfidential isn’t my personal Q&A site (as much as I’d like it to be lol). Hopefully other ppl have benefited from this somewhat long thread lol.</p>
<p>keep the discussion going!</p>
<p>Ages ago, I chose UCLA over Berkeley. After visiting both campuses, it was a no-brainer for me personally.
My asian classmates thought I was crazy for choosing UCLA over the prestige of going Berkeley, too bad I had no interest in prestige or bragging rights or anything of that nature. People also thought us bruins-to-be were crazy because this was right after the Watt’s riots and everyone was sure going to UCLA would result in death by shooting, mugging, or just dying from smog inhalation. </p>
<p>Actually the school I thought I was going to attend before I started visiting was UCSD. </p>
<p>My impressions of Berkeley at the time of my visit: Architecture (my intended major) building was the ugliest building on campus, the student projects didn’t look too hot. The Math building was falling apart. The campus was dirty, dreary and had that sort of falling apart feel. Funny enough, in 2010 it doesn’t really look any different. And thoughts of walking around campus at night with areas nicknamed “The Rape Trail” did not really appeal to me - I’ve heard they’ve added lights to this area now. Also streets such as Telegraph and College did not really excite me. </p>
<p>Visiting UCLA I was expecting grime, run-down decrepit buildings, smog, you know, the stuff LA in the movies is made of. Boy was I in for a surprise - a carefully landscaped and lush campus with beautiful buildings that or somewhat consistent in style. Sunny weather, huge and accessible intramural fields, gyms, shops, and more were really a surprise to me. Funny what sealed the deal was driving through Westwood on the way to campus. It looked cool, fun, and alive - very different from the vibe I got at Berkeley. </p>
<p>So I scratched UCSD off my list (which seemed like a desert summer camp to me, very woodsy and they were still building a the new 6th college). Ended up transferring into engineering from undeclared, double majored, continued for grad school and had a blast for 9 years. </p>
<p>I’ll list what I felt were the most memorable parts of my bruin experience:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>1st year of the LA Times Book Festival, if you love books of any kind this is a great yearly event on campus. It’s huge and attracts some big name authors, and hundreds of bookstores set up on campus for you to browse everything from antique signed 1st editions to the latest graphic novels and most esoteric non-fiction.</p></li>
<li><p>Northridge quake. Classes canceled for a few days, bottle water being handed out, studying for finals was memorable. </p></li>
<li><p>Campus / Dorm Life - because the dorms are in a centralized area you cross paths with a lot of different people. It can be very social. The cafeterias are quite fancy, especially compared to when I lived in the dorms. The dorms (and they just keep building them!) are fairly nice. I don’t know if they still have it but Puzzles was a convenient place to get all manner of sundries. It used to be you would meet 3rd and 4th years in the dorms, but I doubt this is the case any longer. Anyway, lived in the dorms for 4 years. I know most Cal students were desperate to get out of their dorms after 1 year - with the rats and cold breakfasts and all =)</p></li>
<li><p>movie premieres (star watching), going out to the movies @ the fox tower or the bruin. Theaters from the glory days of hollywood, nothing like waiting in the line going round the corner on opening night!</p></li>
<li><p>Diddy Reese - I hear people come from SD and further for the cookies these days</p></li>
<li><p>The culture: some favorites - Disney Music Hall, Miracle Mile museums, the Getty, LA Opera, Geffen Playhouse, LA Zoo, Griffith Park, Hollywood Bowl (concerts here are awesome), oh and can’t forget Royce Hall (quite a few events take place here)</p></li>
<li><p>the campus: The new Ackerman is awesome of course, and they never stop building. The landscaping very nice and makes great places for midday napping. Also the campus is very safe at almost all hours, well lit (except for north campus!), provides many options from campus escort to night time vans</p></li>
<li><p>filming on campus. UCLA seems to be a popular “college campus” for tv, commercials and films. Always fun to watch</p></li>
<li><p>Westwood Village. Hmm, now they have a Whole Foods, Best Buy, Safeway all within easy walking distance. </p></li>
<li><p>Santa Monica, 3rd Street Promenade, the beaches. </p></li>
<li><p>LA Downtown - jewelry district, toy district, fabric district, Japan Town</p></li>
<li><p>Magic Mountain, Disneyland, Knott’s Scary Farm, Universal Studios</p></li>
<li><p>Hollywood Blvd, Kodak Theater</p></li>
<li><p>UCLA is big on sports of course. I remember when UCLA made it to the NCAA, and then there was the year all the students went into westwood, made a mess and rolled over a radio van. I wasn’t a part of that though, honest!</p></li>
<li><p>The weather is great. Well, except when the Malibu fires get going and drop all ash on you, but then the sunsets look gorgeous. And the awesome weather brings out all the pretty girls (and hot guys) in the spring. </p></li>
<li><p>On the whole I find students at UCLA know how to dress better, which of course stems from the proximity to LA and the hollywood. But it’s a good thing to learn and know (especially once you get a job where it matters), even if some people thinks it stems from a shallow place. </p></li>
<li><p>Learning to drive in LA. Okay, is this a plus or a minus? Once you learn how to maneuver a car in LA rush hour traffic, there aren’t many cities you will be scared of driving in. </p></li>
<li><p>Proximity to the entertainment industry if you’re interested in working in that field. </p></li>
<li><p>Pace of life at UCLA is VERY fast. quarter system of 11 weeks just flies by. The benefit is that you get to take a large variety of classes if you wish (around 12 unique classes per year), and you get a fresh start each quarter. Drawback is that you really have to keep up or else you can quickly be either left behind or ground down by the schedule. </p></li>
<li><p>UCLA has a LOT of students. If you want or need to be coddled, this is not the place to go. If you like being an independent go-getter fish in a big ocean full of bigger fish then UCLA is great. You can really make your own path here, and you will learn to work the system and cut thru all that bureaucratic red tape - which is always a valuable skill in life. </p></li>
<li><p>Night life is pretty crazy in LA. Bars, night clubs, etc. It’s almost the city that never sleeps. 3:30am in the morning and there will be cars zipping around town and you’d be wondering where they were going. </p></li>
<li><p>If you need to hit the mall, there’s Westside Pavillion, Century City, Universal City Walk, The Grove, Hollywood and Highland</p></li>
<li><p>School spirit always seemed very strong at UCLA</p></li>
<li><p>Oh, and for the greek scene, I lived in an apartment right across from the frats. Definitely seems like a lively, beer chugging, Thursday night partying frat life. </p></li>
<li><p>Crime. Nearly everyone has a club in their car if they park in the street. Along with missing hub cabs and the occasional broken window. Students also make good targets for scammers, beggars, and worse. Not nearly as bad as the neighborhood around USC but it’s good to be aware of your surroundings. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Well, those are most of the things I remember. Academically UCLA and Berkeley are nearly the same, depending on what field you are interested in pursuing. One school may offer more in one program and vice versa. I don’t know if Berkeley is the same, but UCLA seems to offer a lot of academic support for students who need it. </p>
<p>One thing I do know though, if you attend Berkeley, your chances of becoming a foodie are very high =)</p>
<p>Berkeley does offer a lot for the those inclined toward culinary pursuits. They got some of the best restaurant and chefs on the west coast. All sorts of tasty international foods and restaurant can be found at a huge variety of prices. Cupcakes are currently all the rage. Then there are the food vans that drive around town delivering all assortments of tasty treats. The organic, free-trade and independent food movement is quite the rage. Berkeley Bowl offers the most amazing selection of produce from unheard of locales, and you might actually get to buy something if you aren’t run over by a shopping cart first.
Berkeley also offers a lot for the craftsman or artist looking for classes, studios and other fellow artists. The art is… unique.
Mass transit at Berkeley is great of course, as long as you don’t mind the prices and the urine scented terminal on College. </p>
<p>Unfortunately Berkeley never struck the right chord with me, so if I had to do it all over again I’d become a Bruin in a heartbeat. U-C-L-A Rah, rah, rah… (cheer song from UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion speakers stuck in my head… ugh)</p>
<p>:o( i was rooting for berkeley but now i’m confused… LA seems amazing. good thing i’m visiting soon.</p>
My daughter was set on UCLA but got rejected so SIR’d to cal while waiting for our UCLA appeal. Because of that we spent a lot of time at cal, first doing a campus visit and later attending Cal Day and doing a lot of tours (housing, sororities, rec center, talking to graduating students in various majors, etc). Her appeal to UCLA was just accepted so we made another run out to UCLA just to confirm that it was still her top choice.
So here’s what we noticed, from the perspective of a parent of a student who was ready to attend either. They’re very, very different environments and I would strongly recommend a campus visit if the overall campus vibe is important to you. Cal has a super-strong urban vibe. Every day you will walk through a highly urban environment to get from dorm to classes (unless you live in one of the two on-campus units, which are socially pretty quiet). It’s a very cool vibe with tons of little restaurants and shops, but comes with a “gritty” feel that suburban mall rats might find off-putting. Anybody from a major city like SF, NY, LA, Chicago will know what I’m talking about.
The vibe at Cal was serious and focused. Aside from Sproul Plaza (the main entrance) we never really saw people hanging out playing soccer, frisbee, shooting the breeze, etc. Campus was always oddly quiet. The dorms are just ok. Aside from Clark Kerr, they’re typical small, cramped dorms with mediocre food. Dorms are very spread out into five different areas. Food shouldn’t really be an issue though because the dorms are surrounded by restaurants because of the urban location. One awesome thing is that free tutoring is available in every single dorm. Just go down to the comp center in every dorm and there’s tutors hanging out ready to help in basic subjects (math, science, english, etc). Overall I’d say that if you’re academically focused, like the urban vibe, don’t particularly need/want a highly social school, and want the “reputation” of Cal, then it’s a good choice.
UCLA by contrast has a very high-energy, optimistic vibe. Lots of kids running around, chilling, tossing the frisbee, etc. The housing village is really nice with all the on-campus residences grouped together to make a social center, the on-campus food is supposed to be very good and there’s a lot of variety, and overall it just feels like a more welcoming and open environment. It’s also more secure (i.e. fewer random, possibly homeless people wandering around) due to the more “closed” nature of the campus and the location in a high-rent area of LA. The surrounding area is awesome with tons of stuff to do for people that like to get off campus. But unlike cal, since the dorms are on campus you could go the whole year without ever setting foot off-campus. Some may like that, some won’t.
At the end of the day you can’t go wrong with either. They’re just different. Check them both out and decide what works best for you.
Has your daughter reached her decision yet?
@StevenToCollege Yup UCLA!
@anomander Congrats! My D selected UCLA over Cal as well. She said it just “feels like home” when we went down to Bruin Day last month.
My hubby was set on her going to Cal, as he went there for his undergrad. He said he’d be ok with her picking Cornell over Cal since it’s an Ivy, but initially thought that UCLA was a distant third. But like me, our D has a way in winning him over. Long story short, he’s proudly sporting a new UCLA hat and looking forward to going to orientation next month.
@anomander I wish I saw this last year. I agonized over my decision, but I made the right one for all of the reasons you discussed.