I attended Berkeley as an undergrad; here, I want to express my many frustrations. I attended Columbia University for graduate school, and LOVED NYC. I wish I had attended a top Ivy for undergrad. If I could redo my education, I would NEVER EVER even think of applying to Berkeley.
The first thing that I noticed is how depressing the city of Berkeley was. It’s just an outrageously gloomy, sad, and depressing place. From the moment that I began my education, I felt that the campus was broken. Yes, I know that Ronald Reagan waged war against Berkeley in 1966 when he unleashed 2,700 national guards to attack the campu. I felt like many of the students were wanting to be in a private school instead.
The other thing that I found disgusting about Berkeley was the surplus of ugly and pathetic protesters. I never found them entertaining. I am not political, and my focus lies primarily in academia. Why do I need to see half naked students on campus advertising a sexuality course? Is that necessary? (By the way, I am NOT religious at all). One day I opened my front door to go to school, and there were approximately 30 old men and women, completely naked, just walking in the street. I was horrified and disgusted. When I asked them what they were doing, they simply replied “haven’t you heard? It’s the ‘How Berkeley Can You Be Parade.’” I was traumatized. There are other methods in which one can express themselves, and it should not include traumatizing innocent undergrads like me, who was at Berkeley just for school, not to see 30 naked senior citizens walking in the street. It’s disgusting and unnecessary. One day, while I was in class, I saw a naked man and woman ON CAMPUS dancing around a tree, and the man was playing a Ukulele. This should not be allowed on a college campus. Some of you might be wondering why I chose to attend Berkeley. Well, it’s because I simply did not know about the political history of Berkeley at all. I solely chose it because of its good academic reputation, and didn’t have a clue regarding the disgusting city and depressing campus.
When I was at Cal, it was a well-known fact that the athletes were dumb and the “played for Cal” while non-athletes “studies at Berkeley.” I experienced hostility from some of the swimmers while I was at Berkeley, and I was shocked that they didn’t know their place, since they were beneath the students who gained admissions to Berkeley via strictly academic means. I know that some of you might find this rather insulting and an elitist comment, but let me tell you that I am an elitist New Yorker at heart and make no apologies for anything that I say. There’s a reason why so few athletes become Doctors, Dentists, Pharmacists, and Lawyers. I only know of one Stanford swimmer, Jenny Thompson, who swam at the Olympics, and then attended Columbia University Medical School afterwards, but she is an exception.
Now you might be thinking to yourself that this is one long rant, but there are things that I liked about Berkeley. I liked the swim team, and how the Cal swim team has so many Olympic gold medalists. In fact, they won more medals than any swim team in the US in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games. I also liked the abundant restaurants around Berkeley, and how the Professors were attentive, and students’ needs were highly prioritized. Please don’t wrongfully interpret this essay as me saying “I wish I had gone to Stanford."
If you didn’t agree with the messed-up hippies, they were outrageously rude to you, and made you feel stupid. Now that I am older and understand more, I am very upset that Berkeley was so harsh to those who did not agree with all of their disgusting political agendas. NO, I am NOT a republican, I did NOT vote for Trump & I am NOT from the SOUTH. Stop assuming! I simply didn’t care about politics, and guess what, I STILL DON’T. I just wanted to feel a sense of pride in my school. I found that at Columbia University. In NYC, people are extremely civil, polite, classy, worldly, and confident. At Berkeley, I found MANY trying to prove something, fighting for a lost cause, and making up for their insecurities through their nasty harsh attitudes. I felt dead when I was at Berkeley, but I have never felt more alive than when I was in New York City. The students at Columbia were WAY smarter than Berkeley in my opinion. No wonder there has never been a president that has attended Berkeley, but 3 presidents have attended Columbia (i.e. Barack Obama, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt), and Columbia is ranked 2nd for winning the most Nobels, only behind Harvard. Columbia owns NYC, which truly is the center of the world. No city comes remotely close to New York, NONE! Columbia University’s president makes more than any other Ivy president, a whopping $3.3 million per year. Columbia is the 5th oldest school in the US (est. 1754), and I personally think that the undergrad Columbia campus is more beautiful than Harvard, Stanford & Berkeley. It’s simply stunning! Before many of you tell me that Stanford is “better” than many east coast Ivies, I will have to warn you to watch your tongue. Remember that only 1 president has ever gone to Stanford (i.e. Herbert Hoover), and Stanford has only become prestigious in the past 50-60 years. It does not have the same history and tradition of the Ivy leagues, and it is my belief that east coast Ivies are Berkeley and Stanford’s elders, and one must respect their elders. Stanford is ranked #8 for most Nobel prizes, behind Harvard #1, Columbia #2, University of Chicago #4, MIT #5, and Berkeley #6. On the other hands, Stanford is a beautiful campus, has great research programs, and does have a nice name due to a few Silicon Valley CEO alumni.
Now I know that I am digressing a bit, but I do think that this is somewhat related, since I am also discussing Stanford and Columbia. Another thing that I hated about the Berkeley and San Francisco area were the disgusting subways. I hated the BART subway stations. I never felt safe in them. Now some of you might be thinking to yourselves that the New York subways are also disgusting, but I loved the NYC subways, I found them to be nice, functional, and much safer and entertaining than the disgusting BART subways. I must say, California is just inferior to New York in so many ways. Yes the weather is nice, blah blah blah, but I would never chose a school based solely on weather, unless there were daily tornados, hurricanes and tsunamis on campus.
Undergrad and grad school make up a huge part of one’s life, and often have lasting effects. I would much rather pay more than ever attend a disgusting, traumatizing, miserable, broken down, and radical “school” like Berkeley. I felt like I was caught in the middle of a psychotic political war while I was there, and hated it more than anything in the world. I regret ever attending, and if you agree with any of the above, perhaps Berkeley is not for you. Remember, Columbia and Stanford are not for everyone either. Stanford would be outrageously boring for me, and I find the culture of Stanford to be childishly and disgustingly off-putting. I view Stanford as a family who has just won the lottery, and doesn’t know how to contain themselves. I am sad to say that 100% of the Stanford grads whom I have met at Columbia were hatefully arrogant. If Stanford would keep their attitude to themselves (like Columbia students), then they would be less hateful. I can tell you that few at Harvard, Yale and Columbia grad schools care for Stanford. In my opinion, the difference between New York and California is that in New York, people are respectful, and have a proper attitude even though they are somebody, but in California, nobodies with money act out when they need to shut up and know their place.
In conclusion, these are just my opinions and experiences. I hope all of you chose your schools wisely and love it. Good luck
It sounds like Berkeley wasn’t a good fit for you. Maybe you didn’t do your homework ahead of time? It is however a world class research university and a great opportunity for the right students.
You sound so angry. It is over, move on. It wasn’t the place for you, I don’t think it was just UCB, it is probably the entire west coast that isn’t a fit. It seems you must have skipped a visit or researching anything before you went. The Berkeley lifestyle isn’t a secret!
Most of the things you experienced that offended you actually made me laugh. Not at you, but at what happened. I know people that would love to have seen naked people dancing around a tree. People are different and are entertained and like different things.
Haters gonna hate hate hate I suppose. Enjoy your time in NYC.
Yes, these things made me angry. It wasn’t just the things above that upset me, it was other things as well, but College Confidential only allows me a limited space to post my thoughts, otherwise I would write a book. Writing is soothing, and a way in which to express my frustrations in a civilized manner, so I wrote here after many years. Yes, I have moved on, it’s just that sometimes the things that have happened in the past resurface, and I need an outlet. I recently saw a Cal alum in a store, and went to say hello, and he was the absolute epitome of arrogant and rude, and it kind of brought back some negative experiences. Believe me, Columbia is not perfect, but it was so much more “normal” than Berkeley.
I laughed at your “Haters gonna hate hate hate I suppose” lol.
P.S. I have a few typos in my original post that I wanted to fix, but missed the 15 minute mark that this site allows. Sorry for the typos.
LOL
LOLOL
Dear Lord. Grow up.
You should gave titled your rant “Disgusting Berkeley” since you used that word so many times!
Thanks for sharing- its good for potential students to hear “real reviews”. Sounds like Cali wasn’t a fit… Too bad you didn’t transfer out sooner.
Well, that may be related to the poor fit you found.
Man I can’t believe I read that whole rant
Funny, but only because it’s true in many ways.
My son and nephew graduated from Cal and I felt that their education and outcomes were much weaker than my other kids at WUSTL and Vanderbilt.
No comparison, really.
I am sorry you didn’t do your research earlier and attended school that was not a fit. You have few good points in your post about Berkeley and I hope it will help future applicants. But why are you still so angry?
I disagree with the above posters. I’m glad you ranted and shared your opinion. Many people will find it helpful, especially those who cannot afford to fly across the country to visit a school.
Plus, I’m glad that SOMEONE else has finally ackowledgd that berkeley really isn’t that great, and it is not a typical, sunny, “California” school.
A less hyperbolic critique would probably have carried a little more weight and solicited a more positive response.
SuzyQ7, I’m happy you found my post somewhat informative. I’m brutally honest, and don’t like to sugar coat anything or write like Shakespeare. I just like to get to the point, like a New Yohkahhh.
I’ll share another thing, when I was in downtown Manhattan, people don’t have time for attitude. Everyone is in a hurry and they just do their thing. When I was in San Francisco, I saw 50-60 year old men and women with Cal & Stanford clothing, as if the mascot had vomited all over them, and they were indirectly giving each other attitude with their facial expressions, trying to look away immediately when they saw one another. How do people have so much time on their hands that they play these childish games? Seriously.
People in Northern California CONSTANTLY criticize those from Southern California, as if Northern California is a Mecca for intelligence, when it’s just as annoying as Southern California. The difference is that in Southern California, the stupid people are showing off their fake noses, cars, parent’s money, and bodies that are rotting in the sun. And in Northern California, people are showing off their academic accomplishments.
Both Berkeley and Stanford are great schools, I’m not questioning their academic reputation, I’m just saying that Cal & Stanford are 2 younger schools, that have very off-putting environments. Perhaps it is just a West Coast curse. I always felt like life in California was fake, somewhere where New Yorkers move when they’re older and just want to “chill.”
I recently read that Stanford was the hardest school to get into (5.1% acceptance rate), but I hope you all realize that it’s because MORE students apply to Stanford due to the spoiled, wealthy, country club feel, and Cali weather. Columbia’s acceptance rate is 7%, Berkeley is like 16%, but let’s say 2000 people are admitted to Stanford & Columbia. If more people apply to Stanford, then the denominator is greater and hence a lower acceptance rate. My point is that Stanford is not that special. It really isn’t. With an endowment of FIVE times that of Berkeley, Stanford can’t seem to match Berkekey’s Nobel prize counts. What a shame.
I also didn’t like that Berkeley took the Stanford rivalry so seriously. I remember one instance where I was in a cafeteria in Berkeley and a Stanford student was eating there with his Cal friends, and had a Stanford shirt on. One immature Cal frat trash started harassing the Stanford student aggressively, which I felt was so unnecessary. We all go to different school. Get a life you stupid frat trash. I hated the fraternities at Berkeley. They walked around thinking they’re Harvard & Columbia MDs when in reality they were poorly raised, dysfunctional children with drinking problems who were desperately seeking to belong to a group, even if it meant harassing students, and the homeless people in Berkeley to feel anything. Yes I know fraternities in many schools have their share of problems, but the one at Berkeley had a particular sense of entitlement that I hate with a burning passion. I wonder how many of the frat boys at Cal lead functional lives after graduating. A while back, I saw on the news that a Berkeley frat boy had gotten into a fight with a man (non student), and the man stabbed the Berkeley frat boy to death.
It’s your right to think I’m merely ranting, but I can tell you that my time at Columbia was infinitely more civilized, classy, functional, and fulfilling than my miserable time enduring the garbage at Berkeley.
Sincerely,
Proud New Yohkahhh
Doschicos, I already mentioned that I don’t sugar coat things, and I don’t like writing fancy. I like to just get to the point. What the hell are you talking about “hyperbolic critique?” Am I writing a PhD dissertation? NO.
Am I critiquing a scientific article in the New England Journal of Medicine? NO
Please don’t use fancy words in an attempt to appear intelligence and down play my post for what it is. And your use of the word “hyperbolic” is wildly inappropriate because you are falsely interpreting my factual experiences as an eggageration. I’m sorry to say that you are exactly the type of person who annoys me, and who I avoid like the plague. Lastly, I’m not looking for a “positive response.” My post wasn’t seeking any type of response. Once again you falsely interpret my post and intentions, and speak when you have no idea what you’re talking about. My post was merely to express my frustrations about my experience at Berkeley, THAT’S IT. You state “carry more weight” but we’re not in a court room arguing a landmark case, so I’m not trying to argue anything that carries any weight. You must be an undergrad who wants to speak WAY above your level. And you use the word “Solicit” when once again I’m not trying to solicit anything. For god sake take a course in proper and accurate interpretation.
Save your fancy English for a graduate level creative writing course.
“I recently read that Stanford was the hardest school to get into (5.1% acceptance rate), but I hope you all realize that it’s because MORE students apply to Stanford due to the spoiled, wealthy, country club feel, and Cali weather. Columbia’s acceptance rate is 7%, Berkeley is like 16%, but let’s say 2000 people are admitted to Stanford & Columbia. If more people apply to Stanford, then the denominator is greater and hence a lower acceptance rate.”
=)) Yup, that’s how an acceptance rate works.
Dear Diary…