University of California - Berkeley Reviews

"Overall, there's a lot to love about the Berkeley experience. The coursework is very rigorous, but the staff is likewise world class with programs like Engineering. Computer Science, and the life sciences all among the top few in their respective rankings. The campus is also beautiful. with iconic landmarks like the Campanile and Doe Library and views of the entire bay."

"I had an overall good experience at Cal. Some professors were more knowledgeable than others, and you can often tell which ones truly enjoy teaching versus the ones focused on their own research. But, I got a good enough background to do well in graduate school without needing to teach myself new concepts. The social life, diversity of the student body, and the city itself were great."

"Very good school to get a broad liberal education, especially for California residents who pay instate tuition. Even though it’s a big public university, there are plenty of chances to interact with professors and get research opportunities for career planning."

"UC Berkeley holds high prestige as a world renowned university. Although often compared to UCLA, UC Berkeley has a deep and rich history and many accolades when it comes to research, discovery, and achievements. When I first joined UC Berkeley, I was especially proud to be a part of a community of hard working, intelligent students. However, with extremely smart students comes extremely high standards set by both the school and its professors. Known to have grade deflation, UCB's classes were mostly set on a curve and students had to work hard to maintain a high GPA. Some professors are just researchers and are not natural born teachers. It pushed me to be a better student and I was motivated by my peers. Unfortunately, my education at UCB has not made a huge impact on my career. However, that is not UCB's fault. The changing landscape of the job market due to AI has impact many people and unless I pursued an education with a technical/STEM background, all jobs are at risk.Read Less"

"I attended University of California, Berkeley for computer science and the experience was extremely challenging and often exhausting. The coursework was very rigorous and required a huge time commitment. I frequently found myself staying up very late to finish assignments and prepare for exams, and lack of sleep became a common part of the routine during heavy workload periods.Despite how difficult it was, the program pushed me to grow a lot. I improved my problem solving skills, learned how to manage stress better, and became more disciplined with my time, even if I was not always perfect at it. The environment was competitive, but it also meant I was surrounded by highly motivated and intelligent peers, which made discussions and group work very enriching.Overall, the experience was painful at times because of the intensity, but it was also very rewarding in the long run. It prepared me well for real world engineering work and gave me a strong foundation in computer science concepts.Read Less"

"There's a lot of quality opportunities and education at UC Berkeley. Also, the atmosphere of students has a work hard, play hard type of attitude where students do sleep-overs at the library and then have 3-day benders. I was able to see and work with a ten million dollar microscope that images molecules. There was a lot of high and lows at Cal."

"UC berkeley was as rigorous as it was worldly. Classes were interesting, professors were participating in interesting research projects, the campus itself was beautiful, and the surrounding area and cities were great to visit. It was a competitive environment as well."

"UC berkeley is a great school with prestigious and extremely accomplished faculty and professors, however given the size of the school, many majors are impacted and do not have adequate resources or support for students to succeed easily. the onus falls upon the students to seek help."

"I have gone to this school for undergrad and graduate and I love it. Campus is beautiful and people are great . Professors are nice and of course it is reputed. The campus is located in downtown Berkeley and is accessible through BART and public bus. I recommend living off campus"

"UC Berkeley provided an excellent education to their students, with great care for their students. They had compassionate professors, who were truly interested in your educational path. My program included lots of hands on learning that allowed me to connect classroom content to real world projects. Student admin support was also great, advisors were always available and financial aid was available for poor students."

"I did have a nice time at Berkeley overall, but I felt at times that it was unnecessarily difficult. A lot of academics focused on weeding people out, and on focusing on the tiniest irrelevant details as opposed to general high quality learning. It felt like a large part of attending was suffering for the sake of suffering. The admin really does not care about the student body, who is largely mentally unwell. Everyone I know experienced drastic mental health improvements upon graduation. Despite this, I look back on my time fondly. The campus is nice and I made some wonderful friends, and there is no question that the name carries prestige.Read Less"

"Although my time at UC Berkeley was impacted by COVID-19 (resulting in my sophomore year being online and my junior year being a hybrid), I genuinely enjoyed my time there. While Berkeley has a stellar repuation for being one of the top (arguably, the top) public university in the world with a powerhouse roster of distinguished alumni, some prospective students are put off by its notorious reputation for being competitive and cut-throat. In full transparency, the rigor of many classes (especially the lower division pre-requisites) were challenging and the school did attract some high-strung, but extremely motivated students. However, it is truly one of the best universities in the world for academic and networking opportunities. For example, I was able to conduct scientific research for a semester abroad in Japan due to the university being well-connected and well-regarded in the scientific community. Likewise, I was very well-prepared to enter the workforce due to the coursework and internships I chose to pursue during my time there. Similarly, I had a great social life in Berkeley because I chose to spend time with people who value work-life balance like myself. The university has a student population of over 30,000 students, so you are bound to find your community! Many Cal students and alumni are very proud of attending Berkeley and community events are always lively. Even years after graduation, I still talk and meet up with friends I made there. I definitely recommend going to "Cal Day" and experiencing the beautiful campus and all the wonderful opportunities Berkeley has to offer before making your choice.Read Less"

"UC Berkeley is a great school. There are ample opportunities for research, clubs, and other extracurriculars. You will be surrounded with brilliant students and faculty who are all motivated to do well in whatever field they're in. It is a great place to be challenged and push yourself."

"UC Berkeley's English undergrad program is not as well known or appreciated as its graduate program, but it is a place with fantastic opportunities, interesting classes, and students will get out of it what they give to it. The honors thesis program is useful and interesting, and I would recommend students pursue it. The lower-division, larger lecture-style classes such as the 45 series are tedious and students that take them are definitely not completing the reading load required, but the lectures themselves are interesting. The upper-division seminar classes are where the program truly shines, and allows for closer student and professor connection than I thought possible at such a large school. I'm satisfied with my education at Berkeley.Read Less"

"I went to the top public university in the U.S. It was a great experience from learning to developing other skills such as networking. However, my experience was not complete as my second semester in, COVID came and made us go online. After March 2020, I did not return to a classroom until January 2022."

"I loved attending Cal. There was a great range of people, professors are amazing. There's lots of opportunity for students to be involved in whatever they want professionally and socially. Berkeley also has a great reputation and has most certaintly helped me in job applications. I love Berkeley as a location as well -- it's a great town on its own, but then is so close to San Francisco and Oakalnd."

"UC Berkeley provided me with a strong academic foundation and numerous opportunities for research, internships and networking. The professors are knowledgeable and passionate and the campus environment encourages collaboration and personal growth. While the workload can be intense, the skills I gained have been invaluable in preparing me for my career in environmental policy and sustainability. Overall, I highly recommend this school to anyone looking for a challenging and rewarding college experience.Read Less"

"UC Berkeley helped shape me into the person I am today. While I did not enter a career that aligns with my bachelor's degree, the academically focused environment at Cal helped boost my confidence, and I started to hold myself to a higher academic standard. I am now going into a healthcare profession, something that I never thought I could achieve. I attribute my career success to the rich experiences I had while attending UC Berkeley."

"UC Berkeley gives you exactly what you ask of it and nothing more. To succeed you have to be very driven and intrinsically motivated, nothing is every handed over. Organizations are difficult to enter and courses tend to be graded harshly (depending on what classes you take). However, opportunities are available even as competition is fierce."

"Paying in state tuition to go to UC Berkeley is probably the best value college experience available. Tuition was like 13k a year and it is a highly regarded university. But when you get to campus, classrooms are crowded and access to teachers and aides is limited. You can do whatever you want, no one cares, there's very little guidance. Your grades and classes basically don't matter. Somehow you have to find internships and jobs on your own."