Berkeley is a great institution and just about any subject you want to study is likely going to be very well regarded in academic circles and/or professional fields.
The facilities are fairly dated and I was surprised how run down some of the older buildings were. The facilities team clearly has a tough time keeping up with the campus maintenance needs. I was originally going to attend the University of Notre Dame until a difficult family situation forced a change of plan and I attended UC Berkeley instead. It was noticeable how much nicer the facilities were at a private school like ND vs a state school like Berkeley which gets less and less funding each year from the CA state legislature.
In my experience, there was not much hand-holding for undergrads, but for academically motivated students, all you needed to do was show interest and professors were generally very helpful with coursework, assisting you with research jobs in labs, writing recs, etc. But you had to take the initiative, which was fine for most undergrads who came in with good time management skills, but a few people I knew struggled to balance school with social life.
One knock I hear a lot about Berkeley is that it’s “so competitive.” High school students seem to believe that claim. That was not my experience at Cal – students were cooperative not competitive. I loved my time at Berkeley and it will always be a special place to me.