<p>I understand Sakky’s point, I guess – I know people who considered Berkeley a safety, and barely made it to “lower” Ivies and went to those. The funny thing is, internationally basically many overlook that these Ivies even exist, and chant Berkeley’s name more prevalently, given international reputation tends to be more about how world class the departments are. I guess the point is, Berkeley easily has the attractive offerings to be exactly the same as HYPS, because its academics are at that level in quite an overwhelming number of departments. </p>
<p>What was brought up, though, is that Berkeley admits students in the spirit of a “public school” – now I agree it could be even more selective than it is, though I pray that it doesn’t resort to less predictable admissions criteria, given that’s one of the things I like best about it. But sure, choosing not to admit fluffy students is a good idea. </p>
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<p>See, here’s the deal – this is part of Sakky’s point, I think, and it’s well taken. These are the kinds of schools people I know turned Berkeley down for in favor of, while considering Berkeley a safety. It’s funny how on one end people go * holy crap it’s BERKELEY*, referring to the departments + the world class people working here, and on another, people think of it as just the local public university that’s a backup to the more selective schools! </p>
<p>Now, how far one should change the current state of affairs is up for debate, and I don’t have a clear opinion yet.</p>