Cal Berkeley or UNC?! (San Francisco, Oakland: chapel, transfer, public school)

[monsheree]

Hi everyone,

I am currently enrolled at both Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am a junior transfer student for this fall. I am having such a hard time deciding where to go!

For anybody who currently lives or has experienced Berkeley at one time, can you give me your take on it? I am originally from Southern California. I am young, single female and want to have a great time in college.

Are there good clubs/bars in Berkeley? Or do I have to go to San Francisco for good night life?

If anyone could share their take on Berkeley, including positive/negative experiences, I would appreciate it!!

[BerkeleyCali]

Hi, UCB alumni here, and still relatively local, but don't know much about UNC.

If you are looking for some night life, a good time in college overall, and to meet interesting, diverse, and intelligent people, then I think UCB is the best place for that. Honestly, what can any other school offer that you cannot find at UCB? Too many qualities to list here. And it is consistently a top-ranked public university at an affordable price. Just look at the US News & World report.

Of course there is going to be a more "exciting" night life in SF (very close in distance--easy drive or BART), but there is plenty to do in Berkeley--night and day, much more than bars and clubs.

More importantly, you are going to get a quality, and internationally recoginzed, education. Congratulations on getting in by the way, that is an accomplishment in itself. ... Sorry to be so biased, but I am a proud almun, and it was one of the best choices I ever made!

[CalBerkeley2002]

Originally Posted by monsheree

Hi everyone,

I am currently enrolled at both Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am a junior transfer student for this fall. I am having such a hard time deciding where to go!

For anybody who currently lives or has experienced Berkeley at one time, can you give me your take on it? I am originally from Southern California. I am young, single female and want to have a great time in college.

Are there good clubs/bars in Berkeley? Or do I have to go to San Francisco for good night life?

If anyone could share their take on Berkeley, including positive/negative experiences, I would appreciate it!!

Please don't compare any school to CAL, it is unfair for the other school! UNC is preppy, conservative, and really just a slight variation of every other school in the mid-atlantic region. Cal is fun, the weather is awesome, the faculty superb...and you will leave with more stories than you can ever tell. Cal is one of the few, truly unique institutions of higher learning - plus the further you get away from the Bay Area you go after you graduate the more respected Cal is - thus the more money your employer pays you - hence my current location

[LexusNexus]

Make sure you post this in the North Carolina room. I'm sure they'll present a very passionate view of UNC.

I don't know much about UNC, but having spent a lot of time around Berkeley, I wouldn't hesitate for even a second choosing UCBerkeley.

[gizmo980]

I agree with all of the above... Cal is an excellent school with a nationwide reputation, and Berkeley is an awesome city! I have friends who went there, and never heard anything but positive "reviews" from them. Admittedly, I know nothing about UNC or North Carolina in general, but I'd still have to recommend UCB. As for the nightlife, there's plenty of stuff in Berkeley - and like "BerkeleyCali" said, it's a quick hop to San Francisco (or Oakland, which also has lots to do).

[SandyCo]

You should go to Cal, because my daughter is there! She also transferred in as a junior. From what little she tells me, she's having a wonderful time, making lots of friends and enjoying new experiences. At the same time, she's even keeping her grades up!

[Lurker]

Not an alum, but I've recruited at UCB over the years.

Pro: Academic reputation. If you're a resident, you're getting an Ivy League quality education (and credential) at a bargain price. UNC must be fine but the name is not even in the same ballpark. The only other public school that compares is Michigan.

Con: Impacted majors. Business (Haas), econ and computer science always seem to be impacted, but there may be others too.

Con: Lack of grade inflation. Not like Stanford

[BearBranch]

Here are some UNC rankings:



Recent Rankings

Several national publications regularly publish rankings that listed Carolina prominently in categories ranging from academic quality to affordability to diversity to engagement to international presence. Recent highlights include:

1st among the 100 best U.S. public colleges and universities that offer the best combination of top-flight academics and affordable costs as ranked by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. 1st for six consecutive times since Kiplinger’s began these periodic surveys in 1998. Kiplinger’s analysis stressed academic quality, as well as cost and financial aid offerings, and cited the success of the Carolina Covenant program, which provides a debt-free education to qualified low-income students. Only school in Kiplinger’s survey that meets 100 percent of each student’s financial need.

5th best public university in U.S. News & World Report’s 2007 “Best Colleges” guidebook for the sixth consecutive year. 1st among public campuses for the second consecutive year. 9th overall in “Great Schools, Great Prices,” based on academic quality and the net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid.

Kenan-Flagler Business School: tied for 5th overall among undergraduate programs, 4th for management and 5th for marketing specialties.

One of 6 public universities ranking in the top 25 for all nine measures used in “The Top American Research Universities,” produced in 2007 by The Center for Measuring University Performance at Arizona State University. Evaluates top research universities with at least $20 million in annual federal research funding using quantitative measures such as endowment assets, private giving, faculty awards, doctorates granted and SAT/ACT range. In the seven years of these studies, UNC is one of four universities (with Berkeley, UCLA and Michigan) in the top 25 on all nine measures.

[JimmyJohnWilson]

Originally Posted by monsheree

Hi everyone,

I am currently enrolled at both Berkeley and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am a junior transfer student for this fall. I am having such a hard time deciding where to go!

For anybody who currently lives or has experienced Berkeley at one time, can you give me your take on it? I am originally from Southern California. I am young, single female and want to have a great time in college.

Are there good clubs/bars in Berkeley? Or do I have to go to San Francisco for good night life?

If anyone could share their take on Berkeley, including positive/negative experiences, I would appreciate it!!

it really depends. this seems like kind of a strange choice of schools. do you like college basketball?

[Beat02]

I've lived near UNC Chapel Hill and UC Berkeley. If you want to have a good time in college, look no further than Berkeley. It's right next to SF and options of things to do is endless. Like the guy above me touched on, if you're into college sports big time, UNC has the best college Bball team in the country. As you can imagine they have a die hard fan body.

There's a lot of awesome bars/clubs in Berkeley. It's got a great night life, considering the campus is RIGHT there. Head a few miles over to San Francisco and there's a ton more. It makes for some variety.