This is a biased article.
I can’t deny my favoritism towards UCLA because, obviously, I attend UCLA. I’ve never even ever stepped foot on the Berkeley campus. The furthest north in California I’ve been is Santa Barbara (so I guess this is also a “Why I chose UCLA over UCSB” article). But, that being said, this decision was one of the hardest things I ever went through!
I checked the Berkeley box on my UC application last minute because I thought that I would never get in. So, I was absolutely shocked when I got into Berkeley a week after being waitlisted at UCLA. When I got off the waitlist at the end of May, I turned to the internet to read every article and watch every single Youtube video on Berkeley versus UCLA to help me make an informed decision. That isn’t saying much though because there are probably four videos mostly from Berkeley students’ perspectives. So, I’m here to diversify the conversation and tell you why I switched (at literally the last possible minute) from Berkeley to UCLA.
I am not a Berkeley student, so I don’t know first hand, but I have heard the club culture is extremely scary and intense. Clubs were a huge part of my high school life, and I knew I wanted to continue that in college. Here at UCLA, I am part of about five clubs that I love and that are helping hone my skills for the future, and while Berkeley has those, I think that they are way more exclusive and overall stressful to both get into and be a part of.
Berkeley and UCLA have a very similar location aspect about them in the grand scheme of schools. This is something I didn’t realize until I came here, so knowing that it probably would have been less of a factor in making my decision. LA doesn’t have bright shiny warm sunshine 365 days of the year. I spent most of my winter quarter drying out my shoes, socks and shirts because I refused to buy an umbrella. I still had to wear leggings and a sweatshirt on the first day of Spring Quarter. They also both have the same type of public transport to get to the big landmarks and destinations of their respective cities. I think that the biggest thing about location is Berkeley’s less safe vibe as opposed to UCLA which is sandwiched between Beverly Hills and Bel Air. Although it is not 100% or even 75% safe in Westwood, overall, it is much more safe than Berkeley. Also, I personally valued being closer to San Diego, the beach and a lot of other aspects of being in Southern California as opposed to up north.
Los Angeles is also the hub for any field you could think of. Besides coding or a couple of other STEM paths, I think that we beat Berkeley in location for proximity to internships, alumni and so forth that really help us with our studies. This isn’t just things like the entertainment or music industries, but also engineering, business, marine bio and so much more. LA is ginormous, so it has it all.
I know that you can have fun at both schools, but so much of what I do in my free time is only possible because I go to UCLA. I organize the sisterhoods (chapter events) for my sorority and most of my events are LA-based: first Fridays in Santa Monica, hikes to the Hollywood Sign, trips to Barry’s in Brentwood, etc. There is a party scene at both schools, but I have heard that it is better here because we are in LA, and even non-partying activities are better in LA (again, obviously in my opinion).
Dining halls were an embarrassingly large part of how I decided where I was going to school. But honestly, my boyfriend goes to UVM where the food is below average, and it negatively affects students’ eating habits and, therefore, lifestyle! I knew if I couldn’t get three meals a day that I actually wanted to eat, especially freshman year, I wouldn’t function as well. Let’s just say only one school can have the number one dining halls in the country.
This is a no-hate-to-Berkeley article, seriously. Berkeley had my dream major which I ended up sacrificing for other aspects that UCLA beat it out on. One thing Berkeley does have is the semester system. Ten times a day, I wonder what I am really gaining from staying in school a month and half past all of my hometown friends and going through three finals weeks instead of two. At the end of the day, both schools are unbeatable, and you are already unbeatable if you got into two of the best public universities in the world. So just go with your gut, and, possibly this article!