University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

The most frustrating thing would be not getting the grades you want sometimes because the professors really want to challenge the students by giving difficult tests.

There isn't much that I dislike about my school. Having to pay for school is, and always will be difficult for most people. I also find the weather of this area frustrating, because I love being in the sun, but that has nothing to do with my education. The most frusting thing about my school might be the fact that I am majoring in music, and that is not Berkeley's strong suit. But I love that my school is supplying me with a very well rounded education. That's the way Berkeley does it.

The most frustrating thing about Cal is the difficulty getting into classes. I am currently on the waitlist for over half of my classes, and will not find out until possibly the fifth week of instruction whether or not I will get in. I went to try to get into a class with an enrollment maximum of 15, and over 200 students showed up. The fifteen students will be chosen based on a lottery system. Cal also employs the typical first come, first served method with preferance given to upperclassmen. Either way, the uncertainty it is extremely frustrating.

Probably how big it is. I was in a lecture of 500 students and the professor only had 1 office hour a week and no email or phone number. It's also a long process when you go to the advisors, because they don't know who you are and departments don't communicate.

Berkeley is now one of the leading science and research institutions in the world, but this has come at a price, as there are increasingly few incentives to study the humanities and social sciences (the budget for these departments are perpetually receiving cuts), and students seem to be increasingly divided on the basis of what they study and (more disturbingly) where they come from.

There's an insane amount of competition at Berkeley. Many times this causes one to believe they're not as worthy as others to be a part of the Berkeley community, but I've learned it's just a matter of knowing you belong here, and that you're here for a reason!

Diverse student population, very high quality of education, and vibrant environment

It is probably really hard to get to know a professor because there are a lot of students.

Possibly the most frustrating thing about my school is the competition. When you put a group of people who are used to being the best, you know the top of the class, valedictorian students, together it is hard for some students to ajust and understand that they are no longer going to necessarily be at the top of the class anymore. From what I have seen, it makes the students way more competitive and less likely to help eachother. I think this is sad because sometimes the best way to succeed is to ask for help.

The most frustrating thing about this school is the + and - grading system which can hurt your GPA since an A- counts a like a 3.87 or something like that.