Thank you. She is not worried or afraid of Berkeley, it is me. She loved the vibe of Berkeley and is one of the main factors wants to go there.
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Semesters are split by the winter holiday break, too 
The difference between semester system and quarter system does affect when school starts and ends. Semester system starts earlier in the fall, but also ends earlier in the spring. This can sometimes make a difference when planning summer activities.
Very true. What I meant really is that for Spring Break during semesters, you still might have coursework in the back of your mind – that’s one advantage of the quarter system is that winter quarter is fully wrapped up. You are right about the beginning and ending of the school year. Quarter system schools don’t start until very late in September and get out later in the spring. So far that hasn’t posed a problem in terms of summer jobs. My daughter will be home June 7th and start work June 10th. But that does mean she doesn’t really get a summer “break” until mid-August when her job finishes. That said, she’ll still have more than a month before college starts again!
Has Berkeley already given out scholarships?
Regents scholarship recipients have been notified at time of the regular decision date on March 28 along with invites for the Seeds scholarship to several admitted students.
The youngest sibling of UCB (UCM) that doesn’t get mentioned much here in the big brother’s thread is also semester system.
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I went to both UCSB and Cal and very much prefer the quarter system.
The big difference I see between UCSD and Berkeley is the off campus community. UCSD is in a safer area with less crime, but doesn’t have much of a college town. Berkeley is an urban campus, but has more shops, restaurants and college social scene adjacent to campus.
Edit to add: Weather is another big difference between the two schools, especially during the school year. Compare the Climate and Weather in Berkeley and La Jolla - Weather Spark
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Since you live in Berkeley, I am wondering what your thoughts are in terms of student safety? A family friend said their daughter felt fearful walking to class and always pretended to be on a phone call to avoid being confronted. My D24 (OOS) was unexpectedly accepted and we are going to visit in a few weeks. We have lived in NYC and Dallas and she is in search of an urban environment. I feel like she has street smarts but we don’t live in an urban location. I have also read the articles about parents paying for private security around the dorms. I wondered what your thoughts/feelings are as a resident? Sometimes these situations are blown out of proportion but I don’t want my daughter walking around in fear for four years to/from campus.
For someone who does not qualify for financial aid, what are the other benefits of the SEED Scholars Program?
I’m a Berkeley resident and my son attends UCB. There’s some discussion of that particular subject in this thread: Parents paying for private security at UC Berkeley
As far as your bigger question, I think a visit would definitely help you and your D to get a sense of the environment around UCB. Walk around campus, and also the immediate surrounding areas where most students live both on and off campus (Southside, Northside, and downtown). Southside is very lively, student-centered and urban; downtown is more of a typical urban area, but of course has lots of student activity, too; Northside is quieter.
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Hi! I don’t think people walk around in fear all the time. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Berkeley has all of the advantages of a small city but with access to a much bigger city. But I suppose it depends on where your child is coming from. If as you suggest she’s got basic street smarts, she’ll be fine.
I haven’t really weighed in on the whole issue of the private security being paid for by parents, but my first instinct is that it seems unnecessary and overkill.
I’ve definitely written on this topic before, so I’ll link a few comments from the past: UC Berkeley Freshman Class of 2026 Discussion - #1547 by GoldRush2
And here: UC Berkeley Freshman Class of 2026 Discussion - #1631 by GoldRush2
And here: UC Berkeley Freshman Class of 2026 Discussion - #1651 by GoldRush2
Actually, you could definitely do a look-over of old threads and see this topic discussed in detail, but your best bet is probably to hear from those who have students currently enrolled.
As a parent raising kids, it’s a great place to live!
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Have you read the other benefits available from the website? Priority enrollment is the major benefit.
- Housing for Summer Rising and first Priority Class Enrollment: SEED Scholars are among a very select group of students who receive priority enrollment for classes.
- Financial support including scholarships
- Financial Literacy Counseling: Bears for Financial Success (BFFS)(link is external), UC Berkeley’s peer-to-peer financial literacy program, offers special workshops and counseling to help scholars learn to manage money and expenses.
- Advising by culturally sensitive staff with experience working with students from diverse backgrounds
- Faculty Mentoring: Scholars have access to UC Berkeley faculty mentors to provide guidance on academic and professional endeavors.
- Short and long-term research opportunities beginning the summer after first year
- Funding for research and internship opportunities
- Access to organizations, community spaces, and social events
- Professional development including science communication, mock interviews, and resume/CV consultations
- Holistic wellness support and resources
- Invitations to networking events with academic, science and technology leaders
- Attend and present at conferences
- Meet recruiters from leading graduate schools, tech companies, and private industry
- GRE/MCAT preparatory course funding support
- Graduate school application support
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Thank you so much for this response! We look forward to our visit in a few weeks.
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We live nearby (Oakland), and our D22 lives off-campus in Berkeley this year. She’s very open in communicating her thoughts / feelings with us, and she’s never articulated a concern for her safety on/around campus, and certainly not while walking to class. She did spend her teen years in SF / Oakland, so it’s possible others might feel discomfort where she doesn’t, but personal safety (or anxiety around it) has not been an issue for her, nor have I heard her describe it as being an issue for her friends (including OOS and international friends).
Echoing others, I’m glad you’ll be able to visit in a few weeks, and I hope it helps clarify the situation for both you and your daughter!
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I feel the same way. Yes, there is crime and you need to be careful and practice good personal safety (be aware of your surroundings, don’t be distracted by your phone or hold it out while sitting near BART doors, don’t walk around alone at night, etc). But I have never felt particularly unsafe around campus.
Yeah, there’s that group…I think they are popular with non-local families. I was a member for three days and left because of their scapegoating of the unhoused (which I personally will not tolerate and will not be a part of any group that does so). So while I don’t care one way or another about the private security - it’s their money, they can do what they want with it - I personally do not support the group behind it. And I very much hope that these security people don’t use their position to harass the unhoused.
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It depends on where you live. Living in the Berkeley Hills is quite different from living in certain neighborhoods of south and west Berkeley. Not too long ago a UC Berkeley undergraduate student was murdered walking on Dwight street
Due to UCB not guaranteeing housing for more than one year, i have seen students live in all kinds of unsafe neighborhoods in Berkeley.
I have never felt particularly unsafe walking in downtown, but Shattuck between University avenue and Dwight is very filthy.
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Another difference between UCSD and UCB is that it seems UCSD does not have a football team! So it does not have football tailgating culture, which is really nice for a large state school. they may also have less of a frat party scene which is another nice thing.
In my opinion, the main advantage of UCB lies in its proximity to a very active job market in Silicon Valley, and San Francisco. Also, humanities departments at UCB are more politically connected with Federal and State administrations and that offers opportunities for networking and jobs for humanities majors.
I do not have a student at UCSD, but I wonder if part of that is related to the geography of their campus which does not have a “frat row” (unless I missed something). UCB is an older school and has a row of big traditional frat houses, as I imagine many schools of its era may have? (For example, I remember that we had a similar row of big houses at the “junior university” in Palo Alto that I attended.)
From what I can gather, the frat party scene at UCB is easy to avoid and is not at all necessary in order to have a good social life. But yes, there definitely is a frat row and a frat scene.
yes, it could be due to UCSD being a relatively new campus. i made the above comment more in jest as some people associate “football” with school. based on what i have seen, “football” culture is pretty anti-academic. i am sure it is easy to avoid frat party scene at UCB.
Both of these are true, and in one case my UCSD daughter doesn’t care because she doesn’t care much about sports. In the case of the social scene, I’d say she considers it a drawback that UCSD doesn’t have fraternities and sororities nearby because it does mean that there’s less organization around parties and things to do. Even though she’s very much not a sorority-girl type, one downside to UCSD is that it’s a large, not very centralized campus and since parties take place away from campus, it’s a little harder to participate. And not having big-time sports (around which social life can revolve) is another barrier on that front.
Part of the reason there are no fraternaties and sororities at UCSD is that fancy people in La Jolla do not want them there. That said, my kid has developed a healthy social life in other ways, and not having as much to do on campus on the weekends helps get them out into San Diego proper or to go to the beach, etc.
UCB has great access to job prospects in SF, Sacramento, Silicon Valley, etc. But I wouldn’t say that UCSD (not to mention many other campuses within proximity to other cities) do NOT have good opportunities. If you are into biological sciences of any sort, you can’t really do much better than San Diego.
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