@ucbalumnus Toxic culture as in wildly competitive weed-out classes for CS and professors that don’t pay any attention to their students thanks to the 6x larger population. I’ve heard far more tales of woe from Cal students than MIT/Princeton/Stanford students, but that may also be because I know more Cal students and MIT/… students might be more prepared.
I would be fine with the gritty feel of Cal, in fact I prefer its campus over Stanford’s rich greenery. I went to school in downtown - I’d feel at home in a hustle-bustle place like Berkeley. The likely fact is if I get into Berkeley, unless I get an offer from MIT, I’m going to Berkeley for the cost and the job placement. I’m just worried about how I’ll do there.