University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

Berkeley is great. It seems big at first but it actually isn't. It's really easy to find your niche and then all of a sudden the school is really small. I see the same thirty people all day every day. It has a great reputation, particularly in the sciences. The location is perfect. Berkeley itself is small and homey, but San Francisco is a short train ride away. The only thing is the train stops at 12:30, so that's sucks.

Let me begin by saying that i transferred to berkeley my Jr year, and so im sure my experience would have been different had i attended berkeley for all 4 years. Having said that, here is what i thought of berkeley. Its a big school, if you seek personal attention from professors and administrators you might be able to find it, but you have to seek it, its not going to be showered on you. Most of my classes, even upper division ones, had 50-100 people in them, so no one is paying attention to whether or not you show up generally, and your professor wont know your name unless you talk in class a lot or go to office hours. there is definitely school pride, i didnt have any, but others did. Game days are a big deal, its cool to hate stanford. The city of Berkeley is small enough that there is a definite college vibe to it, but its not small enough to be a cool college town. The surrounding community is pretty embarrassingly yuppie, and the city council does some pretty ridiculous things that will not affect you in any way except one: everyone you meet over a certain age will ask you what its like to live in "bezerkley" and you will have to smile politely and pretend its the first time you've heard that hilarious play on words. That being said, there are some nice things about berkeley, namely going up into the berkeley hills to look over the bay, lounging at the strawberry canyon pool, and laying in the sun on memorial glade between classes. These things are great, but they do not make berkeley a worth while place to live on their own. What does make Berkeley tolerable is that its only half an hour form San Francisco, and everyone can agree that San Francisco is great.

I love love love the Cal campus. The buildings like Doe Library, Wheeler Hall, VLSB and the Campanile are beautiful and feel so majestic. It's great to have a clear view across the bay of the Golden Gate Bridge when you exit the library after studying to go to class or go home. The bells that play from the Campanile at noon and 6:00pm are also really cool. The students are all very proud of our beautiful campus, location, history, academics, and especially the athletic program. The fall football season is so exciting, and year round, "Go Bears" functions more like "Aloha" than a cheer.

The Berkeley name is impressive, especially where I come from. Whenever I want to make a good impression or get out of a speeding ticket, I mention that I go here. And it usually works. Cal is not as politically active as it once was, but every time something like that comes up, like when people start taking to the trees to prevent the development of a new athletic facility, I swell up with pride. Most students, though, cannot be bothered and simply find it a waste of their time.

Berkeley is pretty fucking enormous. At first that was a little disconcerting, but after a while I started to really like that. I found a lot of people I really liked, and I feel that at a smaller school it would be difficult to find so many people that I enjoy and like to be around. People are generally pretty impressed when they find out I go to Berkeley. Not sure if it's warranted, but whatever, it makes me feel cool. I spend a lot of time at cafes. Especially Free Speech Movement Cafe in Moffitt Library. I sit around and talk to people and I've met some of my best friends just sitting there bugging them about what they're reading.

Berkeley has grown on me. I went through a period when I hated it, but now that I've finally gotten into the groove of things, I've come to love it. It's a good size, walkable, accessible, surrounded by tons of great eateries and stores. It's a quick BART ride to SF. It has a rich and ecclectic history and character, which I found to be really edifying. I have a love affair with Doe library. It began innocently enough with my first research paper. Then I declared a History major, and it has been a whirlwind romance ever since. Oh, the many nights we have spent together! Seriously, I literally spent the night there once during finals week. There are these really great cushy chairs in the Main Stacks that are the perfect makeshift bed. I love the North Reading Room, too. It's long wooden tables, bookshelf-lined walls, and high ceiling feel like something out of a Harry Potter book. One thing I'll never forget is the night my friends and I explored the many charming little areas of campus. It was during homecoming week my freshman year, and the campus was all did up. Two things about that night stand out clearly in my mind's eye: the fabulous view from the top of Barrow's, and my perfectly sober serenade to a statue near Morrison. Maybe you've heard of the tree people. They are sitting in some old oaks as I write these very words, in an attempt to save the trees from getting cut down.

-The best thing about UC Berkeley is the campus. I just get a great feeling inside whenever I walk around it. -The thing I would change about Berkeley is the class sizes. I prefer small classes where students are able to interact one on one with the professor. There are not many classes like that here. -Again, I think the school is too large. I prefer a more intimate environment where the professor can call the student by name and the student is personally held accountable for doing their work from day to day. -Reaction "Wow, you must be really smart." -I spend most of my time on campus in my place of residence off campus. -I would say college town--but at the same time, not really, because everything closes so darn early that there is nothing to do after 10--even on weekends. -The Administration is okay. It is very large and somewhat impersonal, but my dealings with it have been fine. -I would say the people living in the trees by memorial stadium, just because it had been going on for so long. I , and most everyone I know, are against teh tree people and on the side of the university.(the Marine recruiting center is a possible answer, but I would consider that off-campus) -I am in Cal Band, so I am exposed to a lot of school pride. I cheer at games, say "go bears" and where a lot of Cal clothing. However, I have some friends who only own one piece of Cal clothing or have never even stepped foot into an athletic event. I would say that there is a lot of school pride, definitely for the academic side of Berkeley, but pride for sporting events and things like that is limited to certain kinds of people or student groups. -Unusual: The the campus of Berkeley is very nice, the city of Berkeley is terrible: dirty, ridden with homeless and generally unsafe at late hours of the night. -One experience I will always remember is getting back my first graded assignment ever here at Berkeley. I got a B and I was thrilled because I felt like I could make it here academically. I find this funny because now I would cringe at getting a B on an essay or test! -Seriously, the most frequent student complaint is lack of sleep OR too much homework.

Located at a distance which allows for frequent trips to the cities of Oakland and San Francisco but at the same time allows for quiet nights dozing on the couch, UC Berkeley is a college perfectly situated in the suburbs of two major cities. While the adventurous can explore the bustling cityscape of San Francisco, the studious can spend weekends studying at the library without the noise of city life. For local attractions, Telegraph and Shattuck, the two streets running perpendicular to the Berkeley campus, offer various small boutiques and specialty restaurants, as well as street vendors promoting their wares. However, if you are looking for the nearest Denny’s or California Pizza Kitchen, be prepared to drive to the neighboring cities, as the reduction of large scale commercial chain stores in Berkeley city has been enforced by the city council in order to maintain Berkeley’s unique atmosphere. That said, only at Berkeley can you find an institution of such high academic standing and extreme school spirit. Athletic events are an integral part of the social life at Berkeley, not only for the current students, but also for returning alumni who can be seen milling around at football tailgating events with their families or grabbing “froyo” at Yogurt Park before late night basketball games. Every year, the Big Game against our rival Stanford bring more and more students and alumni together in hopes of winning “The Axe” and re-establishing our dominance over the Stanford football team. Through the annual Bonfire Rally and other school-wide events, the Rally Committee – a student organization similar to a spirit commission - provides an opportunity for students to bond together and to incite a sense of school pride which reverberates to the core of the student body. Although one of the many stereotypes people have of Berkeley students is that they would rather study than eat or sleep, I have found that to be a great exaggeration. Even if there are the few students who live from midterm to midterm, here, most students swear by the phrase: “study hard, party hard” - working hard during the weekdays to catch up on readings and assignments, and loosening up on weekends in celebration of the end of a long week. This equilibrium between academia is very refreshing, and keeps the stress of schoolwork from becoming a constant and debilitating aspect of student life. However, as much as I love Berkeley, I would have to say that it could use great improvements to its bureaucratic system. Every semester, come time to schedule classes, complaints of long waitlists and full classes can be heard all around campus. Scheduling and requesting classes are a hassle, and often depend on class standing, so that while seniors have priority when it comes to signing-up for classes, freshmen and sophomore have to fight for a position on the class roster. Still, the system is pretty lenient, and “crashing” courses allows both wait-listed and non wait-listed students to attempt to add a class. Although most students end up getting into the classes that they want at the discrepancy of the instructors, some students are not as lucky. Most of the time, instructors do make exceptions for students who need a certain course to fulfill a major requirement, but many students still end up having to diverge off their major track in order to accommodate the designated number of seats in a class. If Berkeley could create a scheduling system which is easier for students to navigate, I think it would be positively received by the student body.

UC Berkeley is depressing! There is alot of school, you feel inadequate to others and yourself. Students priorities are screwed up! Most students of color put their communities before their school work, because nobody else is helping the communities of color. But students of color love what they do! We define the school claim for diversity. Students of color in coalitions like Bridges bring diversity to Cal's so called diversity.I wish people on campus would have more respect and become conscious of what's around them. Some students walk around the campus and are oblvious to the bureaucracy that is the university, events like the Freedom of Speech movement means nothing to students, who don't experience racism, sexism, etc. But in Berkeley, you are forced to grow up and think for yourself. You learn so much but with all my complaints, I won't take back this growing experience. In Berkeley you find your identity, your voice, but that is after alot of searching. I'm still putting the pieces together...

The best thing about UC Berkeley is the sweet variety of people that go here. There's nothing quite like it, with crazies, nerds, bros, hippies, etc. all mingling together. One thing I'd change? All the ignorant people at the political extremes. Now, I'm not singling out liberals here. I'm talking about both sides of the spectrum. Good lord, just think about what you're about to say before you do. I like the size of the school. Initially, I was sorta anxious about going to such a large school (my high school had 120 people...total), but it turns out to be a great atmosphere, where every time you meet someone you know, it's a pleasant surprise. People's reactions to UC Berkeley are overwhelmingly positive. Almost every person I meet says, "Wow, you go to Berkeley?" People do seem wary of the possible political aspects, though. The Engineering buildings. I definitely spend most of my time in Evans, Bechtel, and LeConte. I do go to Morrison Library to pass out, though. Berkeley's a weird sort of town, where even though it isn't really a quintessential College Town (something I've heard said about Boston), there's a definite college vibe to it. Most of the people wandering downtown around are clearly college students, and when you go to frat row, you can feel the Bro Down. At the same time, there are a lot of random hobos and hippies that you probably wouldn't find anywhere else. Oh yes, there's plenty of school spirit to go around. Go Bears. Roll on you Bears. Golden Bears. Golden Bear Skill. And watch out if you're thinking about wearing a red shirt on Big Game days. You'll get all sorts of shit for it. I'm serious. You can avoid it if you choose to, though. Berkeley's not nearly as strange of a place as people make it out to be. I mean, sure, you'll find plenty of crazy people wandering around Sproul Plaza, and people sitting in trees so they don't get cut down, but frankly, you learn to roll with the punches and just drink it all in. I'll always remember dancing in a surging mass of 4000+ people at the Daft Punk concert at the Greek Theatre with my closest friends by me thinking, "Man, I'm glad I'm here." Most frequent complaint: this school is hard. I kid you not, there's a lot of fun to be had here, but don't slack off in your studies, 'cause you're gonna get your ass kicked. Then again, if you didn't come here to get an education, why the hell are you here?