The University of California - Berkeley

The problem I had with Berkeley is that they put too much attention on their graduate (chemistry) program (which is not surprising because they are consistently ranked #1), and not enough on their undergraduate program. I had a hard time finding a professor who would accept me into his/her group to do undergraduate research. I ended up not having any undergraduate research experience at Cal (thankfully I interned at a company so I had research experience to show when I applied to grad school). Basically just from completing all the course work required for the BS degree, I left Berkeley feeling somewhat inadequate in my training and not entirely ready to join the industry as a BS chemist.

I went to UCLA for my PhD, and from my interaction with the undergrads there, mostly as a TA, I got a pretty good impression of their chemistry undergraduate program. Their program is much more comprehensive and I feel that the chemistry undergraduates there get a much more well-rounded education. The professors are also more enthusiastic about taking in undergrads into their group.

Basically, if I get to do it again, knowing what I know now, I would have gone to UCLA for undergrad, and then apply to Berkeley for grad school.

Alumnus Male -- Class 2000

One thing i would recommend to students interested in Cal, do not buy into the Berkeley hype. Before going there have a good idea of what you want to major in, and make sure you can get accepted to that major. Your major determines alot about your experiance at Cal. Some departments are very competitive and difficult, while others are a joke. Some very difficult majors are Economics, Business, Engineering, and the sciences (make sure you can play ball if you chose one of those). The city and surrounding areas are very undesirable, which can be depressing. There is not much diversity here, the student body is heavily Asian. Classes are very large and impersonal. Student body is not really all that impressive. Berkeley is quite an experiance and is much different than any other University. It has both its good and bad, but be damn sure you know what your getting yourself into before you decide to come here.

1st Year Male -- Class 2010

Education Quality: A, Collaboration/Competitive: F