Apologies for a stupid question, but I’m seriously considering SIR-ing to Cal in the next week or two. One thing that bothers me is that literally everyone talks about Cal students being unhappy and depressed. I get the point that in a good school the academic rigor is challenging, but I don’t ever hear that students are depressed at UCLA, Brown, UPenn or other great schools. Is it true that the majority of student body is unhappy at Cal? Am I signing up to the four years of misery?
The more competitive the school, the more stress there is which can lead to unhappiness. Places like Cornell and Cal (and other schools) where there is little grade deflation, and which the students complete heavily against each other will inevitably have a disenfranchised group of student’s who are unhappy that they are not doing as well as they thought they would (or had previously in high school).
@CU123 Thank you. That’s exactly my point - there’re a lot of competitive schools, for example - UCLA, Brown, and UPen are as competitive as Cal and those schools have a bright, ambitious and hardworking student body. But I’ve never heard about many students being depressed, unhappy, and in need for mental health help from other schools. Most stories are about Cal. Is it a myth or reality?
It’s a myth. It’s almost sort of like Cal’s brand now. It’s almost sort of a brag, such as “Oh, I was in library for TEN hours and I’m dying”…“Well, I haven’t slept in 2 days and I’ve only been drinking soylent for the past 3”. Yes, Cal will be stressful. Yes, there will be times where you feel the pressure. But you will definitely find camaraderie amongst fellow Berkeley students as we go through hard times and easy times together.
There have been several news stories over the past few years about “Penn Face,” or Stanford’s “Duck Syndrome,” where students are struggling and unhappy but feel they have to hide it to look perfect. Unhappiness isn’t specific to one school.
It’s not specific but it is certainly going to be higher at a place like Cal especially in STEM. Unfortunately races tend to stick together when collaborating so being a URM makes it really difficult.
What are your other choices?
@CU123 - thank you for your responses: I’m not a URM and was mainly asking about an overall Cal’s reputation of having an unhappy and depressed student body.
@doschicos - my other choices are Carnegie Mellon (too expensive), CalPoly SLO, Tulane with merit, Emory with huge merit, all other UCs (with the exception of UCLA - waitlisted there). I’m a California resident.
@collegefind1234 Why not Emory then? My daughter is there now and although kids work hard, she finds it to be a pretty wholesome and happy place overall. Were you hoping to stay in CA?
What major? Are you going to Cal over the other in state schools because of prestige?
My D was an EECS undergrad there and she chose Cal among 5 comparable offers for CS PhD. She must have missed the memo…
Not that I know of.
I don’t know. Like everything else in life, some love it, some hate it, some don’t care, some haven’t made up their minds…
@SC Anteater I’m interested in Business Undergrad or Econ. Hoping to get into Haas, I know getting to Haas is very competitive but I hope that because I’m a Regent scholar I can get all the prerequisite classes. Prestige is definitely a part of it but most importantly I like the fact that Cal is located in Silicon Valley with tons of start-ups and high tech companies - so great opportunity for internships and a good job market.
@chemmchimney At Emory I got admitted directly into the Biz School which is a huge plus, at Cal I would have to apply and hope to get into Haas, if not I’ll just major in Econ. I visited both schools and Emory is nice but Atlanta isn’t my thing and I would really prefer staying in CA.
yeah, go to Cal.
My son is a freshman at Cal and LOVES it! He has never worked harder but has made a ton of friends, has a very active social life and feels like Cal is such a great place for working hard and playing hard. He’s gone to concerts, hikes, into the city to eat, played beach volleyball and met people from all over the world. I think people in some forums (reddit especially) like to go on and on about Cal being horrible and everyone being depressed. He’s never seen it and every time I visit if seems like everyone is enjoying themselves. You can be miserable anywhere I guess but I don’t think Cal will bring it on you unless thats the kind of person you are. Good luck and Go Bears!
The pre-business process at UCB may create a more competitive environment in many of the prerequisites for the business major, though probably not as heavily competitive as in courses filled with pre-meds. If that is not to your liking, that may not be favorable to you.
@Goldenbearmama - thank you! it’s really reassuring that your son is happy at Cal and finds time to enjoy life - not just study. Your post gives me hope 
@ucbalumnus - yeh, I’ve heard stories about pre-Haas students being super competitive and that’s an important factor for me to consider. I don’t mind working hard at all but I do mind when you think of your schoolmates as your competitors rather than your friends.
I have two boys there, junior and freshman, both engineering students and they love Cal. Is it competitive academic ly? Yes, but like some have stated, work hard and play hard. Try to find a healthy balance. I think it’s a myth that everoneone is stressed, unhappy and liberal at Cal. Just like every other school, some people love Cal, some don’t hate, so don’t generalize. Good luck wherever you go.
Because UCB engineering is direct admit, meaning that students do not have to compete for grades to enter or stay in their majors, I would expect engineering students to be less stressed or unhappy compared to pre-med, pre-law, and pre-undergraduate-business students. A B+ grade may be no big deal to an engineering student, but may be seen as the beginning of the end of the possibility of getting into medical school, top ranked law school, or undergraduate business major.
@ucbalumnus Totally agree with that as a premed student
My son is really struggling with the same concern. The internet is full of students reporting how Cal students love to stab each other in the back and everyone is miserable and depressed. Almost like it’s Game of Thrones U. He is a direct EECS admit, but still concerned about the environ even though he is already in his major for sure unlike most. He likes collaborative environs. The real question is if it’s as bad as people make it out to be. The grade deflation issue is another concern when grad school is considered for the future. Waiting for him to go to Cal day to see if he can find the reality vs bad press. Other options are UCSD w CS direct admit, UCSB (not CS direct admit), CS direct at Vandy, Georgetown, Washington U. Oh, and U Wash as out of state (but not CS direct admit). UC’s lower relative cost, Vandy a close second.