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geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 18:59:52

Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 18:59:52
So, college decisions have rolled around, and I'm stuck between the frozen wasteland of RIT and UC Berkeley. I'm having trouble deciding, so I was wondering if any of the people from this forum who live in the area or perhaps attended either of these institutions have any input. The main downside to Berkeley is cost, but my mother said if I really want to go there, she'll make it happen. And since I'll be responsible for paying for it in the long run, I'm definitely taking that into account. So, for those of you in the SF area, or perhaps even from Berkeley, what do you have to say about it?
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Changdrew on Fri, 30 March 2012, 19:01:51
A lot of my friends have gone to UC Berkeley, and imo its a great college. I've visited there before, and it really is a beautiful campus. One thing to note is for some of the classes there are 100-200 people in a classroom. Also there are so many places to visit around there. The bay has so many things to do it's ridiculous.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Gin on Fri, 30 March 2012, 19:33:27
I'm EE @ berkeley. Girls here are freaking ugly.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Kisakuku on Fri, 30 March 2012, 19:33:37
Quote from: Quarzac;561985
So, college decisions have rolled around, and I'm stuck between the frozen wasteland of RIT and UC Berkeley. I'm having trouble deciding, so I was wondering if any of the people from this forum who live in the area or perhaps attended either of these institutions have any input. The main downside to Berkeley is cost, but my mother said if I really want to go there, she'll make it happen. And since I'll be responsible for paying for it in the long run, I'm definitely taking that into account. So, for those of you in the SF area, or perhaps even from Berkeley, what do you have to say about it?

So my letter of rec didn't help? Dang.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Gin on Fri, 30 March 2012, 19:37:00
The art design gals are always hanging with hipster dudes. I doubt I would have a pleasant afternoon with one, even with the secret passcode.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Kisakuku on Fri, 30 March 2012, 19:38:46
Heh, when I interviewed at Rochester, they kept pushing the fact that the wine country is close...
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Kisakuku on Fri, 30 March 2012, 19:48:20
Quote from: ripster;562024
Ugh.  You ever had NY wine?

Of course if you are like Cartman you might not like Berkeley.

God forbid, no.
Also, you seem to be unable to tell UCB from UCD.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: keyboardlover on Fri, 30 March 2012, 19:58:55
Go RIT. Come to the east coast.

Better schools and fewer hippies.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: keyboardlover on Fri, 30 March 2012, 20:01:51
Oh yes...for some reason I was imagining there was another RIT on the west coast.

Thanks ripster good buddy.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 20:06:28
Quote from: Changdrew;561987
A lot of my friends have gone to UC Berkeley, and imo its a great college. I've visited there before, and it really is a beautiful campus. One thing to note is for some of the classes there are 100-200 people in a classroom. Also there are so many places to visit around there. The bay has so many things to do it's ridiculous.
I didn't take class size into account, really. That's a good point.

Quote from: ripster;561988
Berkeley to get laid, RIT to study.

Remember, when applying for colleges look at the first google hit for "XXXX Cheerleaders".

RIT
Show Image
(http://library.rit.edu/Images/ritphotos/screen/00441.JPG)


Berkeley
Show Image
(http://www.rvgoddess.com/BLOG/2009/SEPTEMBER/Photos/092609-05.jpg)


Lol - why do all the males have both hands in their pockets!
Aaaaaand leaning Berkeley.

Quote from: Gin;562012
I'm EE @ berkeley. Girls here are freaking ugly.
That's disappointing. As someone raised on the east coast, CA girls are put on a pedestal.

Quote from: Kisakuku;562013
So my letter of rec didn't help? Dang.
Fraid not. Nor going early decision. The whole Stanford thing is delayed until grad school, I suppose.

Quote from: Kisakuku;562021
Heh, when I interviewed at Rochester, they kept pushing the fact that the wine country is close...
My sister took a "wines of the world" class. Basically got credit for wine.

Quote from: keyboardlover;562038
Go RIT. Come to the east coast.

Better schools and fewer hippies.
All my better schools on the east coast that I applied to (Upenn and MIT) didn't really pan out. A shame, but what can you do?
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: keyboardlover on Fri, 30 March 2012, 20:11:11
Quote from: ripster;562043
No problem.  After 9,422 of your posts I don't expect much.

I find that you usually underestimate me. I hope that next time you will...um..."estimate" me.

Namaste.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: fstop on Fri, 30 March 2012, 20:12:50
My girlfriend, my best friends, and even my sister go to Berkeley so I visit the campus every 3-4 weeks. Plus I've lived in the bay area all my life.

I don't like the city of Berkeley much but there's a lot to offer. Probably has the best food in the surrounding area of the college campus I've ever been to. If you love food you will literally go broke eating out everyday because there are so many promising restaurants and huge variety. Most of my favorite restaurants are in the area. If you're ever bored you can head out to the city easily (SF) and find things to do. BART trains will take you there in 20 mins or a bus ride for 30-40 will get you straight to downtown. And you can find pretty much ANYTHING on craigslist in the bay area (jobs, cheap **** like furniture or electronics, tickets for things to do on weekends.... anything, its big in the bay area).  It's much better then a college town campus in so many ways. Plus its a reputable school with a ton of resources so they will always be offering you opportunities career wise and events on the weekends.

Can't say much about RIT, but if you have any questions about Berkeley or the bay feel free to ask me.

edit: the girls at Berkeley aren't great, but you'll always find gems. LOTS of rich international students (even some HIGH-upper class from asian countries, they like the berkeley name). Of course you have the Greek system too, my girlfriend is in it and yeah, the girls are ditsy but still smarter then your average sorority girl :P. Berkeley parties pretty hard despite being considered a rigorous school.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: keyboardlover on Fri, 30 March 2012, 20:23:28
What are you planning to study?
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 20:44:00
Quote from: keyboardlover;562060
What are you planning to study?
Cognitive Science or Computer Science. Not totally decided yet.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: ironman31 on Fri, 30 March 2012, 20:52:46
Not sure if it's the same in larger colleges, but large class sizes only come into account for intro courses like chem,physics 1 and physics 2. The large classes also usually have recitations where you can get he help you need in a smaller setting. And by the time you get somewhat deep into your major, the classes get smaller. I don't feel the class size issue should be a deciding factor in your choice of college. I don't even feel where you choose for your undergrad degree matters, only where you go for grad school.

And having a good GPA helps matters enormously, at least when applying for internships. I'm not sure if it helps as much in getting into a good grad school.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Input Nirvana on Fri, 30 March 2012, 20:53:07
I did my time at Cal, wonderful experience. 5 years of athletics, girls, brain-twisting academia. I entered 2 weeks before I turned 16, so good thing I was adult-sized :) Unfortunately I copped out and became an attorney for 3 years before I found myself.

Now I just wanna be like brother-Rippy van Sant and spend time looking for a start-up in Silicone Valley to make my next fortune.

Cal and the surrounding ares are beautiful. Your educational experience will be very, very different between the two. Choose wisely.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 21:07:52
Quote from: input nirvana;562080
I did my time at Cal, wonderful experience. 5 years of athletics, girls, brain-twisting academia. I entered 2 weeks before I turned 16, so good thing I was adult-sized :) Unfortunately I copped out and became an attorney for 3 years before I found myself.

Now I just wanna be like brother-Rippy van Sant and spend time looking for a start-up in Silicone Valley to make my next fortune.

Cal and the surrounding ares are beautiful. Your educational experience will be very, very different between the two. Choose wisely.
Jeeze, you entered college at 16? That's ridiculous. Though, I did get a letter from USC about that prior to my junior year, so not that ridiculous. I thought as I typed for this post. Sue me.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Input Nirvana on Fri, 30 March 2012, 21:16:53
I skipped 8th grade, my mom took me to Europe for that year to look at graveyards, churches and anything else that was cold, wet, and depressing. Then I went to the first half of my freshman year in high school, which was sucky, then Cal. Oops, I meant 2 weeks before I turned 15. By 16 I was getting it on with 20 year olds at the dorm.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 21:26:13
Quote from: input nirvana;562085
I skipped 8th grade, my mom took me to Europe for that year to look at graveyards, churches and anything else that was cold, wet, and depressing. Then I went to the first half of my freshman year in high school, which was sucky, then Cal. Oops, I meant 2 weeks before I turned 15. By 16 I was getting it on with 20 year olds at the dorm.
If only I had met you years ago. I would have had a clear role model.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Input Nirvana on Fri, 30 March 2012, 21:30:18
Don't worry, we both know Ripster now, so everything will be alright.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 21:37:53
Quote from: input nirvana;562092
Don't worry, we both know Ripster now, so everything will be alright.
I look up to Ripster mainly due to his apparent wealth. Hey Ripster, want to pay for my tuition? I'd appreciate it!
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: keyboardlover on Fri, 30 March 2012, 21:37:57
Quote from: Quarzac;562074
Cognitive Science or Computer Science. Not totally decided yet.

Have you considered Drexel? Great school for Comp Sci.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 21:47:59
Quote from: keyboardlover;562100
Have you considered Drexel? Great school for Comp Sci.
The education you get at Drexel is not worth the cost in my opinion. I'd much rather go to RIT, which gives software engineers ridiculous opportunities. Plus, it's way too close. I was only looking at UPenn because they had a *****in' program, and one of my good friends was going there.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: keyboardlover on Fri, 30 March 2012, 21:56:28
Good point. Their tuition is ridiculous.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 22:07:09
Also, I'm totally done with the college application process. Most deadlines were ages ago.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Snarfangel on Fri, 30 March 2012, 22:12:37
My experience is 27 years out of date (I did summer research in Berkeley in 1985), but I will say this: If you are in a hard science, especially physics (where you go up the hill to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory -- we just called it LBL -- at One Cyclotron Road) Berkeley is awesome. Rather high cost to live there, granted, but a beautiful area and super smart people.

Though if you are doing Peace and Freedom Studies -- well, Berkeley is probably still a good bet, but I would have to question your job prospects. :)

(It's hard to believe it's been over a quarter of a century since I was there. Doing experiments with a high pressure time projection chamber -- basically, an electronic cloud chamber -- and ordering pizza at 2am ... wow, that was a fun time to be a student. And where else could you be shushed in a library by a Nobel Prize winner?)
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Snarfangel on Fri, 30 March 2012, 22:23:34
Quote from: ripster;562120
uhh...  plenty of places where it is more likely.



Why just the other day Obama was telling me to STFU.

Well, at the time I was there, I remember a poster on the wall celebrating the fact that UC Berkeley had one more (I think) Nobel Prize than the Soviet Union. :)

Of course, that was when there was a Soviet Union and I still had my hair. :rofl:

(I still remember the Coke machine converted to serving Henry Weinhard's in Cloyne Court. What an awesome summer that was.)
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: captain on Fri, 30 March 2012, 22:37:12
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: keyboardlover on Fri, 30 March 2012, 22:45:37
I thought the Nobel Prize became worthless ever since Obama won one?

(http://static.fjcdn.com/comments/+_64aaef5446d61f31984e91f231b5cee5.jpeg)

What DID he win it for anyway?
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: captain on Fri, 30 March 2012, 22:52:05
You mentioned UCD. I'd go there, major in winemaking, and live happily ever after.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Fri, 30 March 2012, 22:53:08
Quote from: keyboardlover;562162
I thought the Nobel Prize became worthless ever since Obama won one?

Show Image
(http://static.fjcdn.com/comments/+_64aaef5446d61f31984e91f231b5cee5.jpeg)


What DID he win it for anyway?
He won a Nobel Peace Prize. From my vague memories, it was for some sort of nuclear weapons negotiations that he hadn't actually conducted or something like that. That kinda tarnished the NPP, but Nobel Prizes in other subjects still carry a ton of weight.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Input Nirvana on Fri, 30 March 2012, 22:54:40
Quote from: captain;562153
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

I have friends that haven't left Manhattan in a couple years "Everything's here!"
I start going batty if I don't fly somewhere every 2 months or so, but I'm always happy to come back to SF.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Snarfangel on Fri, 30 March 2012, 23:00:55
Quote from: input nirvana;562172
I have friends that haven't left Manhattan in a couple years "Everything's here!"
I start going batty if I don't fly somewhere every 2 months or so, but I'm always happy to come back to SF.

Lots of ... *interesting* people live there, but it really is a beautiful place with awesome restaurants.

Maybe NYC is the same, but I've never lived there. I love where I live in Oregon, but I do like visiting SF, Napa, and (of course) the redwoods that should be part of the Great State of Jefferson. :)

(I live in Jacksonville, Oregon. Not to everyone's taste, but I love it here.)
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: mkawa on Fri, 30 March 2012, 23:04:19
serious talk: RIT is a relatively small teaching school, cal is a huge research institution. incoming undergrads would understand the world much better if they would realize this simple fact:

at research schools, no one gives a **** about you

research schools have more money, notoriety, higher rankings, etc. but the reason for this is research by faculty and grad students, not because they excel at undergraduate education in any way shape or form. so, it's quite simple: if you feel you're ready to do research as an undergrad (protip: you're not), and/or you feel that the notoriety of being at a big famous research school is important, go to the big famous research school. if you want/need to learn stuff, and want/need any help in doing so, go to a small teaching school.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: jwaz on Fri, 30 March 2012, 23:28:36
I've been in the bay area since November and it's been absolutely awesome. Tons of great breweries and places to eat.

Just moved a mile or so south of Berkeley and am loving it.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: captain on Sat, 31 March 2012, 00:02:26
Quote from: JesuswasaZombie;562203
I've been in the bay area since November and it's been absolutely awesome. Tons of great breweries and places to eat.

Just moved a mile or so south of Berkeley and am loving it.

Uh... Like East Oakland???  How many times have you been shot at so far?  :-P
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: jwaz on Sat, 31 March 2012, 01:22:12
hahah naw Rockridge/Temescal. Haven't made it to East Oakland but my dad thinks I need to get a gun regardless...
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: hashbaz on Sat, 31 March 2012, 01:39:14
I've been in the Bay area for a few years now, and I love it for all the reasons others have mentioned.  I didn't go to UC Berkeley though so I can't speak to the quality of the teaching, or the women.

I work with a bunch of Berkeley CS alums though, if you have any specific questions.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Input Nirvana on Sat, 31 March 2012, 01:45:57
If ya gotta be in Oakland, at least slide over to Alameda. At least you won't worry about 'them' coming in your windows at night.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: keyboardlover on Sat, 31 March 2012, 06:14:35
IIRC, RIT has a Software Engineering major. That's a nice alternative to CS if you're more interested in the practical rather than theoretical aspects of computer programming.
Title: UC Berkeley
Post by: Quarzac on Sat, 31 March 2012, 07:54:06
Quote from: keyboardlover;562427
IIRC, RIT has a Software Engineering major. That's a nice alternative to CS if you're more interested in the practical rather than theoretical aspects of computer programming.
Yeah, if I were to go there, that's what I would be majoring in. My sister's there in that program now, and things are going well for her. But I am interested in cognitive science, which isn't offered at RIT.