My oldest is a STEM major at UCB. She wanted a top, big research university and she got it. The faculty is amazing and there are unbelievable research opportunities. But… we learned some things and our second student is off to Northwestern. Berkeley is tough. Stem is tough but Berkeley is Navy Seals tough. STEM kids study like crazy, the curves are insanely low, there is NO grade inflation. STEM kids bring their sleeping bags to the library during finals. So its hardcore. I do think an undergrad degree from Berkeley gets a lot of respect and there is a little if you can make it here you can make it anywhere. So if you have that give me the hardest challenge and let me prove I can do it, I think Berkeley would be a good fit. My kid kind of has that mentality. Other challenges are that schedules are done by lottery and can be difficult and housing is nuts. My other kid is going to go to Northwestern and I think a smaller school with more sports etc., while still very challenging, is a better fit for this one.