Full disclosure: I will have one child attending UCB in the fall and one at UCLA. UCB is a much tougher sell than UCLA is. This goes for parents as well as students. We visited every one of the top UCs in the state and my kids wouldn’t even consider UCB until after the 3rd visit when they had more personal exchanges with school personnel.
At the UC open house at UCR, all the admissions chiefs got up on stage to sell their respective schools. They were very positive and energetic, with the notable exception of the Berkeley officer. He seemed almost sullen compared to his “competitors” and was almost apologetic in answering questions about housing.
UCB has a tremendous asset in their great history of academic excellence, and that’s the way I sold it to my kids. But truly, I don’t see any other big guns in their arsenal. When you compare it to UCLA with its spotless campus, smiling faces, great dining options, far better housing stock, and great academics, UCB is the less attractive package. I would go further to say that UCI and UCD also present themselves as better packages than UCB does, as long as your choice isn’t centered solely on academic reputation.
I think UCB is quite conscious of how they stack up against other UCs. After my UCB campus tour, there was a question on the survey relating to how I felt about the school before the tour and how I felt after. To me this signals that they know what their challenges are. It’s just a question of whether they will rise to the occasion and up their game.