kevster1001

What are some of the commonly known Pros and Cons of UCB and UCLA?

pirt8528

let's see--they're in california. con.

suze

They have some great graduate programs but undergrad is a second thought with huge classes, horrific curves and unfriendly competition. It takes many more than 4 years to graduate. Stingy financial aid heavy on loans. Major budget problems, lack of housing.

Pro: they are respected in Cali and you can get good jobs in state.

kevster1001

"It takes many more than 4 years to graduate."

About what % of the total UCLA or UCB undergraduate population graduate in 4+ yrs?

infamy

UCB
pro-great academics, great sport teams (go bears!), beautiful campus/buildings, good people
con-competition, very hard to survive, somewhat bad neighborhood

but i wish i got in

MUZICMANn8

uhhhh, berkeley is sooooooooooooooooooooo far from being a bad neighborhood

berkeley is an AMAZING neighborhood that's very eclectic ethnically, with anything and everything being the norm there...... aka it's perfect

Genesis

Pro - cheap for in-state students
Con - large class sizes, impersonal

infamy

i love berkeley a lot dont get me wrong-but like maybe .5 miles away from the campus there's a ghetto. believe me, i passed by it a lot of times, since my family always drive to cal to visit my brother (we're a 45 min drive away). it's a real interesting neighborhood, but what i meant by bad neighborhood is more along the lines of that u need to be street-smart when ur in berkeley.

MUZICMANn8

berkeley is not that scuzzy of a town at all. i live in a small town that borders berkeley and i spend most of my time there (as an escape from the woefully homogenous suburbia that i live in) and berkeley is a really nice and not dangerous town. granted, i'm used to living in a large area. if one were to be from a small town, berkeley may seem scary.

in oakland, yes, there are neighborhoods that are not that nice at all. but in miles in all direction around UC berkeley, the neighborhoods are generally all very nice and i wouldn't think twice about walking around them by myself at day or night

kevster1001

thanks for all the comments. We could separate UCB and UCLA, and list the pro's and con's for each one.

suze

Haas by far beats any major at UCLA. If you think you can go the distance and make it in, Cal is the much better choice.

UCLAri

Overstated.

http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/peers/c...ve/class20.htm
http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/peers/c...ve/class50.htm

bluebayou

suze:

the 4 yr graduation rate is a canard. The reason that many students do take fiver year is that they HAVE to work....at 33%, the UC's accept one of the highest, if not the highest, % of low income kids in the nation; compare with UVa at 8%. Since state policy requires self-help, many kids do work part-time bcos they might also have to help support their family back home.

The UCs are extremely liberal with AP credit -- a 3 or better earns full college credit.

The vast majority of kids, graduating in 4 years is easily doable, as long as a kid doesn't mind an 8:00 am classw (oh, the horrors), nor, possibly class on Fridays (which means skipping weekend ski trips).

kevster1001

If I was to get accepted to both schools (in the future), it would be a very hard choice to make. (UCLA or UCB) since UCLA is near-to-home, but UCB's atmosphere, much more laid-back environment, trees, near cities/villages are stunning too..

flopsy

I could argue that UCLA is actually more laid-back than UCB, but whatever.