University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

There is a huge student population, so there is every group and activity represented. The student population is significant but you also have large cities surrounding you. San Fransisco and Oakland are very close and easily accessible.

It was strong in a variety of branches, but once you start in engineering it is hard to get out or even see straight. The rest of the campus is much more joyous than the engineering corner, students in engineering do not really leave their corner.

I wanted fun, excitement, along with other great scholars. I wanted to be challenged by my peers and professors. Consequently, the school I chose encompasses all of these assets. It even has aspects that I never considered necessary. For instance, the environment at the school is bustling with pride and vigor. There are so many students who are devoted and kind. The students here are people I can see being friends with for a lifetime. The best part is that at any hour, any day of the week, if you wanted to do something, there is a place for it.

What sets the University of California, Berkeley apart from other schools is that it is unsheltered from the world. Literally, the campus is open to the city; in fact, many buildings and facilities are located off-campus, allowing for an integration with the surrounding community. Historically, Berkeley is famous for its liberal state of mind; the liberty to freely speak one's mind--whether academically, politically, or religiously--and accept others' opinions is invaluable. And academically, the ability to receive world-class education from top researchers and educators--who continue to make an impact in today's society--is priceless.

The school provides one of the most improved curriculum in the world. It well-prepares every student going to school and makes sure that whoever graduates will do great in their career in the future.

UC Berkeley cannot afford to keep its library open, much less retain its top talent. The best professors and faculty get cherry picked to go teach elsewhere such as Stanford. UC Berkeley deserved its stellar reputation in the 1950’s and 60’s before the continuous decline in university funding starting in the 1970’s. Although its academic reputation has remained strong, the teaching at UC Berkeley is embarrassingly poor. In its rankings of the best universities, “US News and World Report” does not include teaching as a criterion. Rather, the most weight is given to the opinion of other university presidents, provosts, and deans (i.e. a popularity contest). This allows UC Berkeley to hide its poor teaching practices and perpetuates the high rankings. In fact, the UC Berkeley Administration purposefully withholds course evaluation results from students. They have to keep everyone from knowing how awful the teaching is. This is a clear violation of the California Public Records Act, which clearly authorizes public access to them, but it is difficult to sue the university. This is yet another example that UC’s legal right to police itself does not work. Since only highly competent students are admitted, they manage to survive, but it may take years longer than anticipated. You never hear from the many who get flushed away due to the faculty’s apathy, infighting, and numerous mistakes on exams. Whenever these issues arise, the student and his or her career will always be sacrificed instead of the faculty member who caused the mistake. The tenure system makes it nearly impossible to remove a professor. They all look out for one another since they cannot be fired and they are stuck with their incompetent colleagues for life. As a result, students are treated like disposable tissue. Unfortunately, most of the undergraduate students have no idea how much better the education is at other universities, and that they are receiving a sub par education at UC Berkeley. In summary, UC Berkeley is a 2nd rate university with a 1st rate reputation. Studying at UC Berkeley may be the biggest mistake that you ever make.

If I had to do it all over again, I would not have tried to major in biology.

it is culturally diversed

There's something for everyone, and San Francisco is so close by, its a nice place to get away to when school becomes overwhelming. There's the best view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the steps leading up to Sather tower on campus. On clear days, it's breath-taking.

Berkeley is a lot larger than other schools, and I think it has a huge variety of kinds of people- there isnt really a stereotypic "Berkeley Kid". I truly think anyone can find a group of friends at the school is they try hard enough. However, its size can also make it harder than usual to get involved with organizations on campus. And, unlike many other schools a student really needs to take initiative and be independent- no ones is there waiting to help you pick classes, send you abroad, introduce you to new friends, etc