University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

It's in a dangerous city.

I definitely think access to professors is a major problem. Although professors are required to hold office hours, their general distain for undergraduates is apparent. They are here for the research and the prestige, rather than student interaction.

the school is underfunded and classes are therefore overcrowded and hard to get in to

There really is nothing bad about UC Berkeley. If I really had to chose something, and this is nitpicking, I would say that the administration is too bureaucratic.

Overly competetive people who do nothing but study.

the city itself. not very safe.

-little too big, a little impersonal sometimes when in a big class, semester system (quater would have provided more opportunities for different clases), somewhat dangerous if live on the south side of campus.

The worst thing about Berkeley is the career center, the only majors it really focuses on are biology (pre-med), business, and engineering. There is hardly any guidance for liberal arts majors, no active alumni network for job placement, and all job fairs focus almost entirely on the science and business fields. The campus is huge, and while most feel some connection, at least to the football team, it can be very fragmented and the support systems for both entering and exiting students are lacking.

There aren't enough African American and Hispanic Students on campus (although they do definitely have a presence). Although they pay students well, the full-time workers on campus don't get paid enough.

Class availability can sometimes be a nightmare here, if you do not sign up for the most in-demand classes at the first chance you get, you will be placed on a waiting list and have little to no chance of getting in (sometimes signing up at the first chance you get isn't even enough). I think recent state budget cuts have something to do with it, but either way, I have difficulty every semester signing up for the classes I need.