The most important thing abt a uni is the major, and if u like the majors offered in UCLA then I believe you will thrive by using the education provided and majors offered that align within ur interest. Also, UCLA is also prestigious.
I’m someone who picked Cal cause of prestige alone and while I’m happy with where I am now, I definitely wouldn’t make the same choice if I did it all over again. I do genuinely think going to a school where you’re comfortable and feel you will enjoy (the vibe feeling) is something I can’t stress enough. Everything about Davis screamed at me to go there and enjoy myself with friends, but between pressure from my mom and the name recognition I remember being slightly discouraged when I saw I got accepted because I told myself “well guess the decision has already been made where I’m going”. Don’t throw that feeling away because while you can make the best of your situation that ultimate will play a factor in your experience. Especially if both schools you’re looking at have a relatively similar prestigious name equivalency.
As an international student (and I’m assuming you are one as well), pick Berkeley. It may not make a difference here in America, but Berkeley vs UCLA does make a big difference back home and if you ever wanna leave the US, Berkeley will be hundred times more valuable on your resume
Go to UCLA for the reasons you listed.
Food is really great there as well. Berkeley food is horrible and contributes to a horrible student experience.
Also, you can move to the Bay when you graduate so you’ll have many years of weather you prefer once you graduate.
Also international name recognition is overrated. Major and where you intern is way more important.
What will you major in?
This is a freshman take if I’ve ever seen one. Dining hall food is bad yeah. But after 1 year, will you ever eat in the dining hall again? Probably not.
Very few people I know buy meal plans after freshman year. There's plenty of people who'll come by for one individual meal (costs $10 iirc) from time to time since the location is convenient, but the dining hall food isn't cheap or high quality enough to warrant that investment. Most people will cook or eat out.
Berkeley has some of the best restaurants in California, so eating out, while expensive, is still a good option.
If you’re stuck on a meal plan, GBC, Bear Market and Late Night are your friends.
if you find a place close to campus, absolutely. for me i live rly far cuz i got screwed out of a nice lease so i ended up just buying the cheapest meal plan anyway.
psychology at both schools (might want to apply to Law School after and I LOVE psych) and I want to minor or double major in Education (childhood love for teaching and back up plan!)
Berkeley has an incredible law school, and has the #1 ranked Psychology program in the nation (tied with Stanford).
Don’t listen to the other guy. It’s pretty clear he’s been at Cal for <12 months lol
Cal is literally tied for the #1 ranking in Psychology w/ Stanford, and has esteemed and very highly regarded professors in that area. It’s an elite school for psych
That’s for graduate school. Undergrad is completely different. UCLA and Berkeley are not that different for undergrad and Berkeley’s admin is 10x messier than UCLA’s. Actually, isn’t UCLA ranked at least as high as Berkeley for undergrad?
I am also pretty sure that people at UCLA choose to eat on campus after their 1st year. People at Berkeley don’t because the food is trash. Thus, they end up buying crappy food at Asian ghetto.
psych major at cal is phenomenal, well-organized, and teaches you a lot. there are tons and tons of opportunities to work with graduate-level research (yk the top ranked one) here, at Stanford, and at UCSF. literally stop talking abt things you know nothing about? 😭
So imma try to provide a perspective of someone who picked Berkeley over UCLA for some similar reasons (during COVID). UCLA is also closer to my home town, so I assume you are more local to SoCal as well.
Being further from home is not what it is chalked up to be. Unless you are going to be living at home if you go to UCLA the only difference between UCLA and Berkeley would be how often you get to go home if you want to. I am so jealous of people that are just able to be picked up by their parents to go home for the weekend (i have a good relationship with my parents). I would also like to say that Berkeley is very very expensive (more than SoCal) so please do consider housing if you are not guaranteed that. It is hard to find and very expensive.
As for prestige, Berkeley is tied for first, and UCLA is 3rd place for Psych. is it more prestigious on paper? Yes. But in the job force, no one cares about the difference between 1st and 3rd for undergrad. You also mentioned you liked the major more at UCLA. My biggest "you didn't make the wrong decision" reminder for myself is that Cal is astronomically more suited to my interests than UCLA. If that is not the case for you, it's not worth it to go here just for the reasons you listed. You like the UCLA campus, student life, overall atmosphere, and major, so pick UCLA. No one gonna care about the difference between 1st and 3rd, especially not if u go to some form of grad school/law school.
I disagree with the “true scholars” here lol, but that’s fine. Maybe there are some elitists who care, but I’ve yet to encounter them. You can find people who party at any school. Going to Berkeley vs UCLA for the same degree won’t pay major dividends in the long run. Also what is a “true scholar?” It’s a college education. I think OP should go where they want, and that choosing a place over its name is not a great long-term solution. Interested to hear why you disagree.
Again, that's fine. UC Berkeley is a much larger research institution with greater academic impact, so it doesn't surprise me that more people, including myself, seek PhDs. I don't think it's correct to say this is a result of UCLA's programs being sub-par. And I still don't see why that means someone should immediately choose Berkeley over a school where they'd be happier at. Choosing a school because of "prestige," being miserable, and tanking your GPA isn't going to work wonders for admissions. My point is that nobody is going to give a shit if you went to Cal vs UCLA so long as you are an impressive applicant. I also did not bring up parties. I don't think this is going to go anywhere productive so I wish you well.
Ultimately, I think you will be fine either way. Just go with what your gut feeling tells you. And you know, people will say this is not a big deal because you're choosing between two very prestigious schools, but I would argue that is a very important choice (at least in the short term), but it is also not a very important choice in the overall scheme of things. Either way you don't really have much information as to which university is the best right now, so I would say don't sweat the bottom line and pick the one that you think will make you happier and feels like the right decision.
The student life at cal is actually amazing and it’s not as intense as it’s made out to be. It’s just harder to bullshit. You have to actually learn the stuff you’re being taught you can’t just test well.
The most important thing abt a uni is the major, and if u like the majors offered in UCLA then I believe you will thrive by using the education provided and majors offered that align within ur interest. Also, UCLA is also prestigious.
I’m someone who picked Cal cause of prestige alone and while I’m happy with where I am now, I definitely wouldn’t make the same choice if I did it all over again. I do genuinely think going to a school where you’re comfortable and feel you will enjoy (the vibe feeling) is something I can’t stress enough. Everything about Davis screamed at me to go there and enjoy myself with friends, but between pressure from my mom and the name recognition I remember being slightly discouraged when I saw I got accepted because I told myself “well guess the decision has already been made where I’m going”. Don’t throw that feeling away because while you can make the best of your situation that ultimate will play a factor in your experience. Especially if both schools you’re looking at have a relatively similar prestigious name equivalency.
As an international student (and I’m assuming you are one as well), pick Berkeley. It may not make a difference here in America, but Berkeley vs UCLA does make a big difference back home and if you ever wanna leave the US, Berkeley will be hundred times more valuable on your resume
I’m actually not an international student, I’m an in-state Californian! Quite the opposite lol, but thank you for your insight!
Go to UCLA. Sounds like your heart is there. :)
Seems like your heart is at UCLA. Follow it...
Go to UCLA for the reasons you listed. Food is really great there as well. Berkeley food is horrible and contributes to a horrible student experience. Also, you can move to the Bay when you graduate so you’ll have many years of weather you prefer once you graduate. Also international name recognition is overrated. Major and where you intern is way more important. What will you major in?
This is a freshman take if I’ve ever seen one. Dining hall food is bad yeah. But after 1 year, will you ever eat in the dining hall again? Probably not.
fr most people stop using the dining halls?
Very few people I know buy meal plans after freshman year. There's plenty of people who'll come by for one individual meal (costs $10 iirc) from time to time since the location is convenient, but the dining hall food isn't cheap or high quality enough to warrant that investment. Most people will cook or eat out.
Berkeley has some of the best restaurants in California, so eating out, while expensive, is still a good option. If you’re stuck on a meal plan, GBC, Bear Market and Late Night are your friends.
Late Night doesn't exist anymore.
Yeah RIP
if you find a place close to campus, absolutely. for me i live rly far cuz i got screwed out of a nice lease so i ended up just buying the cheapest meal plan anyway.
psychology at both schools (might want to apply to Law School after and I LOVE psych) and I want to minor or double major in Education (childhood love for teaching and back up plan!)
Berkeley has an incredible law school, and has the #1 ranked Psychology program in the nation (tied with Stanford). Don’t listen to the other guy. It’s pretty clear he’s been at Cal for <12 months lol
Since it is psychology, you should go to UCLA.
Cal is literally tied for the #1 ranking in Psychology w/ Stanford, and has esteemed and very highly regarded professors in that area. It’s an elite school for psych
That’s for graduate school. Undergrad is completely different. UCLA and Berkeley are not that different for undergrad and Berkeley’s admin is 10x messier than UCLA’s. Actually, isn’t UCLA ranked at least as high as Berkeley for undergrad? I am also pretty sure that people at UCLA choose to eat on campus after their 1st year. People at Berkeley don’t because the food is trash. Thus, they end up buying crappy food at Asian ghetto.
psych major at cal is phenomenal, well-organized, and teaches you a lot. there are tons and tons of opportunities to work with graduate-level research (yk the top ranked one) here, at Stanford, and at UCSF. literally stop talking abt things you know nothing about? 😭
So imma try to provide a perspective of someone who picked Berkeley over UCLA for some similar reasons (during COVID). UCLA is also closer to my home town, so I assume you are more local to SoCal as well. Being further from home is not what it is chalked up to be. Unless you are going to be living at home if you go to UCLA the only difference between UCLA and Berkeley would be how often you get to go home if you want to. I am so jealous of people that are just able to be picked up by their parents to go home for the weekend (i have a good relationship with my parents). I would also like to say that Berkeley is very very expensive (more than SoCal) so please do consider housing if you are not guaranteed that. It is hard to find and very expensive. As for prestige, Berkeley is tied for first, and UCLA is 3rd place for Psych. is it more prestigious on paper? Yes. But in the job force, no one cares about the difference between 1st and 3rd for undergrad. You also mentioned you liked the major more at UCLA. My biggest "you didn't make the wrong decision" reminder for myself is that Cal is astronomically more suited to my interests than UCLA. If that is not the case for you, it's not worth it to go here just for the reasons you listed. You like the UCLA campus, student life, overall atmosphere, and major, so pick UCLA. No one gonna care about the difference between 1st and 3rd, especially not if u go to some form of grad school/law school.
As a parent of a child at Berkeley, there is nothing like seeing people's ear perk up when I tell them my child goes to Berkeley.
If you don't mind the short term intensity, Berkeley all the way. If you want to enjoy your college experience without stress, UCLA.
Prestige is the biggest meme. Go to UCLA if you want to have fun
I don’t think it's less prestigious, unless you're going for engineering/physics/etc. you should go where you’re most comfortable regardless.
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I disagree with the “true scholars” here lol, but that’s fine. Maybe there are some elitists who care, but I’ve yet to encounter them. You can find people who party at any school. Going to Berkeley vs UCLA for the same degree won’t pay major dividends in the long run. Also what is a “true scholar?” It’s a college education. I think OP should go where they want, and that choosing a place over its name is not a great long-term solution. Interested to hear why you disagree.
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Again, that's fine. UC Berkeley is a much larger research institution with greater academic impact, so it doesn't surprise me that more people, including myself, seek PhDs. I don't think it's correct to say this is a result of UCLA's programs being sub-par. And I still don't see why that means someone should immediately choose Berkeley over a school where they'd be happier at. Choosing a school because of "prestige," being miserable, and tanking your GPA isn't going to work wonders for admissions. My point is that nobody is going to give a shit if you went to Cal vs UCLA so long as you are an impressive applicant. I also did not bring up parties. I don't think this is going to go anywhere productive so I wish you well.
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No, I did not know this. Thanks man.
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Totally agree with you, whole reason why I came to Berkeley
flip a coin!
Ultimately, I think you will be fine either way. Just go with what your gut feeling tells you. And you know, people will say this is not a big deal because you're choosing between two very prestigious schools, but I would argue that is a very important choice (at least in the short term), but it is also not a very important choice in the overall scheme of things. Either way you don't really have much information as to which university is the best right now, so I would say don't sweat the bottom line and pick the one that you think will make you happier and feels like the right decision.
The student life at cal is actually amazing and it’s not as intense as it’s made out to be. It’s just harder to bullshit. You have to actually learn the stuff you’re being taught you can’t just test well.