University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

Berkeley is too big. There's a little niche here for anyone who wants to find it, but the downside is that a lot of people only end up interacting with others like them.

Competitiveness

The career and advising services are not sufficient for such a large school. There aren't enough conselors.

So many of the the classes are so large that instead of actually learning the material and deriving intrinsic value from it, not to mentioned being engaged, you find yourself just trying to get the class overwith and do what you need to do to get the grade. Many of the professors for these courses are required to teach them if they want to continually receive grant money for their research. So, in this sense the classes can be very mundane and non engaging.

My biggest complaint about the school at this point is the funding situation. High budget cuts have hit every department, despite continual increases in tuition and fees. It's impacting classes - both the number offered and the number of seats in each one - and the quality of our instruction. It's a reflection of the priority that the state (doesn't) put on higher education.

The worst part of Berkeley is the academic strain. The professors are very helpful and the curricula are very interesting but at the end of the day you still have a massive stack of work obscuring your desk.

everyone thinks they are the next revolutionary. Its really annoying because there is a new protest every week

crime rate--bike theft, laptop theft. keep an eye on your belongings.

not enough colored people to provide unique perspectives in discussions.

So big you really have to make an effort to get to know your professors and others.