Columbia vs. Berkeley Forum

[jbagelboy]

Whoever says that people in Cali don't consider Cal to be élite are trolling. In California, UC is a strong brand name, and Cal is the flagship. On the west coast it is second only to Stanford (maybe Caltech if you're engineering) even for UG. And honestly, if it weren't for the fact that it is 1. Public 2. on the West Coast, it's undergrad ranking would be quite higher, probably around 15th with Brown and Cornell

I agree with you on everything except I call major BULLSHIT on the bolded (for UG).

Stanford/Caltech > Pomona > CMC/Mudd > Berkeley > (USC somewhere) UCLA > > Others

[enigmabk]

Whoever says that people in Cali don't consider Cal to be élite are trolling. In California, UC is a strong brand name, and Cal is the flagship. On the west coast it is second only to Stanford (maybe Caltech if you're engineering) even for UG. And honestly, if it weren't for the fact that it is 1. Public 2. on the West Coast, it's undergrad ranking would be quite higher, probably around 15th with Brown and Cornell

I agree with you on everything except I call major BULLSHIT on the bolded (for UG).

Stanford/Caltech > Pomona > CMC/Mudd > Berkeley > UCLA > > Others

been in LA all my life, ^ is TCR.

Berkeley is great, but not elite.

when someone mentions that they went to cal tech or CMC...elite

[Big Dog]

been in LA all my life....

.....

when someone mentions that they went to cal tech or CMC...elite

Correlation? (Hint; CMC is practically unknown in the rest of the state, particularly up north. But carry-on.)

[The Brainalist]

been in LA all my life....

.....

when someone mentions that they went to cal tech or CMC...elite

Correlation? (Hint; CMC is practically unknown in the rest of the state, particularly up north. But carry-on.)

Most Californians don't know any private colleges outside of Stanford and USC. It's part of our prolishness compared to east coasters that we aren't really tapped into the idea of a social elite or buy into history and tradition. We like new things, like gated cookie-cutter communities. Schools like Vassar or Bowdoin never enter our lexicon, and are considered elite private liberal arts colleges elsewhere. Yet, Pomona College in So Cal is ranked higher in USNEWS than both those schools, just below Swarthmore.

[Dr. Dre]

So people who diss berkeley are trolling? DAFUQ.


That guacho guy is just trying to raise his self esteem—i mean he did go to TTT ucsb.

[sinfiery]

Yeah, but a Berkeley grad degree in so many fields beats like everything ever in the elitism circlejerk.

All those small liberal arts colleges are a joke to someone at UCB in their chem or math or engineering grad programs

[Dr. Dre]

Bro, those people from small private universities go to berkeley for its graduate programs.


Whereas the undergraduates from berkeley don't really end up into the graduate programs.


Also, your comparison of small private school kids to the kids in Berkeley's graduate program is fucking stupid.

[sinfiery]

Maybe but still, Berk is more of a powerhouse in its entirety than all those TTT schools. But yeah, can't speak for the UG.

[jbagelboy]

Yeah, but a Berkeley grad degree in so many fields beats like everything ever in the elitism circlejerk.

All those small liberal arts colleges are a joke to someone at UCB in their chem or math or engineering grad programs

for graduate school, I totally agree with you. and who gives a shit about "elite" when your employed.

there are small lib arts colleges expressly FOR engineering tho. I'd MUCH rather be a Harvey Mudd or Caltech senior than a Berkeley senior looking for a job in CA right now in math/CS/engineering since those schools have more employers come to campus than students, and Cal is quite the opposite. It's a huge advantage.

[Dr. Dre]

No Berkeley is only a powerhouse in its RESEARCH and CERTAIN graduate programs. Das it.

[jbagelboy]

No Berkeley is only a powerhouse in its RESEARCH and CERTAIN graduate programs. Das it.

Maybe but still, Berk is more of a powerhouse in its entirety than all those TTT schools. But yeah, can't speak for the UG.

sinf is right tho that having the "powerhouse" university in proximity can help even for UG; if your a lucky undergrad and you get close to a major prof, you can do graduate level research more easily at Berkeley than at a smaller college. however, its not many students that get this privilege

[sinfiery]

There was just a bit too much hate on Berk so I felt the need to change the scope of argument because berk is a POWERHOUSE, but yeah not really for most UGs (though exceptions exist ie: jbagels idea)

[Dr. Dre]

jbagelboy, I'm surprised by your defense of the UC's and California. I get that you grew up there, but come on man. You have dat ivy league swag in your family. You're going to CLS. Please don't lower your standards.

[jbagelboy]

jbagelboy, I'm surprised by your defense of the UC's and California. I get that you grew up there, but come on man. You have dat ivy league swag in your family. You're going to CLS. Please don't lower your standards.

Haha its funny on some threads (i.e. Rubenstein) im defending private UG vs UC, sometimes I have to defend Cal. See my other comments on this page you'll see im not rly supporting it at all for UG. There just are some special cases and exceptions but your right Dre they are not the main trend

[monathenomad]

If you didn't submit a deposit to CLS by the May 1st deadline, do they automatically rescind their offer?

Btw the city of Berkeley is getting a lot of hate and sure it's not the most aesthetically pleasing but we're comparing it to NYC which is equally if not more disgusting (and in NY there is no where close to escape to, whereas there are some pleasant albeit very bourgeois places near Berkeley). The point is Berkeley>Morningside Heights and SF>all of Manhattan. And yes I grew up in California and went to Cal for undergrad so yes I am very biased.

Berkeley's UG rep is hurting mostly because of its size. With 30,000 undergrads, it's damn near impossible to turn out 100% employed post-grads. If Berkeley were more selective (re: "elite" - this is the way I meant to use the term in my original post), then maybe it would be seen as more "prestigious".

Anyway, I'm pretty sure how I'd choose between these two schools, mostly based off of personal factors. Very grateful to all the people on this thread who tested my loyalty to Berkeley.

[Dr. Dre]

OP, don't be a dumb ass — go to Columbia Law School. Party with jbagelboy, get em' nice ivy league ladies, make $$ post-graduation, profit.

[jbagelboy]

Anyway, I'm pretty sure how I'd choose between these two schools, mostly based off of personal factors. Very grateful to all the people on this thread who tested my loyalty to Berkeley.

lol okay, no offense then but, why did you create the thread?

5 pages of dung for naught

[monathenomad]

Anyway, I'm pretty sure how I'd choose between these two schools, mostly based off of personal factors. Very grateful to all the people on this thread who tested my loyalty to Berkeley.

lol okay, no offense then but, why did you create the thread?

5 pages of dung for naught

I posted hoping to get constructive comparisons or feedback from people making similar decisions. I would say about 5% of the posts on this thread for that description. I have to admit, it was all pretty entertaining to read though.

I was legitimately undecided when I started the thread, like a 60-40 split in favor of Berkeley. But all these anti-berkeley posts have drawn out the hidden Berkeley pride in me (though I'm not blind to Berkeley's faults - I think I've just gotten comfortable with them). That plus the initial excitement of getting into Columbia has worn off. I'm not sure if I need to formally withdraw at this pony though because the May deadline has passed.

[monathenomad]

OP, don't be a dumb ass — go to Columbia Law School. Party with jbagelboy, get em' nice ivy league ladies, make $$ post-graduation, profit.

I'm a straight female so unless those nice (single) ivy league boys outnumber the girls (significantly), not much of an incentive on that first point. Two out of three ain't bad but it's not enough to tempt me away from California sunshine.

[JamesDean1955]

Btw the city of Berkeley is getting a lot of hate and sure it's not the most aesthetically pleasing but we're comparing it to NYC which is equally if not more disgusting (and in NY there is no where close to escape to, whereas there are some pleasant albeit very bourgeois places near Berkeley). The point is Berkeley>Morningside Heights and SF>all of Manhattan.

--ImageRemoved--

[dixiecupdrinking]

Anyway, I'm pretty sure how I'd choose between these two schools, mostly based off of personal factors. Very grateful to all the people on this thread who tested my loyalty to Berkeley.

lol okay, no offense then but, why did you create the thread?

5 pages of dung for naught

No reasonable person could have predicted the sheer volume of bullshit this thread would spawn.

[JamesDean1955]

Anyway, I'm pretty sure how I'd choose between these two schools, mostly based off of personal factors. Very grateful to all the people on this thread who tested my loyalty to Berkeley.

lol okay, no offense then but, why did you create the thread?

5 pages of dung for naught

No reasonable person could have predicted the sheer volume of bullshit this thread would spawn.

TBF, OP explicitly stated she finally decided on Cal on page 1. There was absolutely no reason for you guys to keep on going 4 more pages lol.

That said, OP clearly had her mind 99% made up from the start and should not have bothered with a thread.

[Real Madrid]

No Berkeley is only a powerhouse in its RESEARCH and CERTAIN graduate programs. Das it.

Berkeley is ranked in the top 10 in something like 97% of its graduate programs. So if by "certain" you mean "almost all," then yeah, you'd be right.

If you are this retardedly argumentative in real life and just flat-out refuse to accept facts, you're going to have a rough time in law school/life in general.