<p>@Cayton, have you considered trying to get into Cal for grad school? (if you want to go to grad school…).</p>
<p>@AnthroFlo </p>
<p>No, because honestly, I have no plans for graduate school. Even if I did, I don’t think I have the skill or intellect to get into any prestigious graduate school, much less succeed in one. </p>
<p>@Cayton, nonsense! If you don’t want to go to graduate school that is one thing but to say you don’t believe you have the skill or intellect to get in or be successful is another. You have a stellar GPA and just got accepted by two of the most well respected universities in the country, I know undergrad is a different game but the skills needed to be successful in grad school don’t just come out of nowhere, you obviously have something great to work with! </p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, what do you plan to do after university?
I often wonder if grad school is right for me, everyone else seems to think so but I am hesitant; however, I am inclined to give grad school serious thought simply because I have no clue what to do after I graduate. </p>
<p>the Cal acceptance package was a letdown, the star was cute though :)</p>
<p>what summer classes are you guys taking?</p>
<p>Aww, thanks for the kind words @AnthroFlo. But, to be fair, philosophy at the graduate level is one of the most difficult courses of study to do well in. The level of rigor at that level in that discipline would probably require that I take way more than the minimum number of philosophy classes to graduate with a degree in it…which I actually plan to do. I love philosophy that much. :P</p>
<p>I’ve no idea what I’ll do after college. 
I’ll figure it out, though.</p>
<p>I don’t want to say that graduate school is a bad idea for you to consider, but it comes with a lot of risks.</p>
<p><a href=“http://100rsns.blogspot.com/”>http://100rsns.blogspot.com/</a></p>
<p>This blog lists dozens and dozens of reasons not to go to graduate school. I’ve independently verified most of the cited reasons on that blog, so I believe the person writing in the blog definitely knows what he/she’s talking about. If you do decide to go to grad school, think about getting just a master’s degree. Ph.D. level work is insane and often has a low return on investment intellectually and financially. The blog I linked to is targeted towards those who seek to obtain Ph.D.'s.</p>
<p>Overall, though, a degree in anthropology from UCLA(Berkeley?) will be pretty cool to have and may open doors that might not otherwise be opened. A lot of businesses and companies(As well as nonprofits, possibly) may find it useful to employ someone who knows a great deal about human culture and various other aspects of humanity.</p>
<p>@Cayton is there anything you want to do after graduation (like travel)?
A particular field within the job market you would like to explore?
I hope you are able to do something wonderful after you graduate!</p>
<p>If I were to go to grad school (which is something I am very skeptical about) I would not go into a PhD program, but get a masters (as you suggested). Personally, I don’t think a masters degree would be worth it when it comes to what I want out of life, but I like school and I like anthropology so I might give it a go ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for the link to the blog, I’ll give it a read. Maybe use some of those points when people tell me I need to go get a PhD :p</p>
<p>Really @randombookie? I thought the package was quite cute. From what people were saying I thought it was going to look like what UCSB sent out 
</p>
<p>I really liked the Cal package! The gold star is cute :)</p>
<p>@AnthroFlo </p>
<p>I’ve considered teaching in history, joining the military, becoming a police officer, and other stuff over the years, but one by one, I’ve found that they weren’t for me.</p>
<p>I might try and get into business or something, I don’t know. It appears that philosophy is getting more appreciation from the business world these days according to the Huffington Post and Wall Street Journal. And thanks for the good wishes! I’ll need them. Good luck with grad school if you decide to go. If, at some point, I can afford to get a Master’s degree, I might apply to some master’s programs and get myself a master’s degree in philosophy. It’ll make me a little smarter. Definitely no Ph.D.'s, though.</p>
<p>Also, I just got UC Berkeley’s acceptance package today. It was pretty nice. Not as nice as UCLA’s, but pretty close.</p>
<p>@loyshi, is it a 3.0 combined between summer and spring session? Or do you need a 3.0 for summer session specifically? That would be insane to get a rescinded by taking one summer course and receiving a B-…</p>
<p>@JewBacca It’s per semester… not combined. But if you’ve just got the one class and it’s a Berkeley class, I doubt they’ll rescind you for it. I know other students who only had one class in a semester, and they were told a B- was okay… but check with admissions if you’re worried.</p>
<p>@cayton Going over the blog you shared, I’m seriously reconsidering a phd pursuit. It’s not like I was not curious about the life of grad students or their difficulties, but my curiosity had never taken me far enough to realize the serious detriments of that path; I had automatically drew a positive correlation between intellectual achievements and employment opportunities/quality of life. Thanks for sharing the blog. :)</p>
<p>@oongaboonga </p>
<p>No problem! Glad to help.</p>
<p>Although I believe most of the cited reasons in the blog, I think you should still do more research and perhaps talk to some of your professors about life in graduate school and possibly how difficult the job market was for them. It’s best to consult multiple sources when making significant life choices such as studying for a doctorate.</p>
<p>@AnthroFlo I would say you should talk to your TAs first. One of the few consistent things I’ve experienced here is that most of them will suggest against going to graduate school. They make almost nothing and the opportunities when you graduate are very slim. I’ve found that most people go to graduate school because they don’t want to leave school and face the realities of the working world. Although, like Cayton said, I think a masters degree could be a valuable investment for when you start looking for a job, especially if you decide to be a teacher.</p>
<p>This probably has already been asked, but I was wondering if you guys know which are the best housing options at Berkeley? I feel terrible for declining UCLA knowing they have a med school, but UCB does have connections with UCSF…</p>
<p>@ucastell </p>
<p>You’ve declined UCLA?!?Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! :’(</p>
<p>Nah, but in all seriousness, it’s all good. I hope you enjoy Berkeley. I actually felt pretty bad myself declining Berkeley’s offer of admission yesterday, even though I had already SIR’d to UCLA.</p>
<p>But I will say this: going to UCLA seems to increase your chances of getting accepted to its medical school. 20% acceptance rate for UCLA alumni versus 4% for all applicants. Not sure that the same could be said of UCSF and Berkeley. :P</p>
<p>But you’ll be fine, I’m sure of it. :)</p>
<p>@Cayton, I haven’t officially declined UCLA haha a Berkeley rep is coming to my school on Tuesday so that’s the day when I will finally SIR. She’s the person in charge of TAP so I’m just going to ask her all this questions I have about Berkeley, she told me the week before decisions came out to simply make an appointment with her regardless of the outcome, and that she would answer any of my questions about UCs. She is going to tell me about programs for TAP students, as well as other opportunities for me :). I have a friend that works for UCSF and he told me that nearly half of UCSF students come from UCB, I’m not sure if that’s true since I’ve never asked an admissions officer, but I do know UCSF has close ties with UCB, and UCSF is top 2 in the nation haha. </p>
<p>@UCAstell: UCLA may have a Med School, but UCB students who apply to Med Schools with decent GPAs/mCAT scores are pretty cut-throat.</p>
<p>has everybody already gotten their admissions packet? </p>