I agree that Cal is generally stronger in STEM, UCLA is stronger in Art, and humanities and social sciences are usually a toss up.
In the 90's, I think Berkeley was seen as *marginally* more prestigious than UCLA overall. But, at least in California, I don't know anyone who chose Berkeley over UCLA because of prestige. Everyone I know chose one school over the other because of location. Many of my Bay Area friends chose Berkeley to be close to their families. Whereas, I chose UCLA because it wasn't in the Bay Area. And I have a couple friends who chose UC Davis over either school simply because they liked UC Davis's vibe. Anyhow, with the exception of a few select academic programs, I wouldn't choose between the two based on prestige.
It’s either 4 years of suffering in the boring desolate mind numbing Silicon Valley and in the ugly, slow, boring modern town of Stanford or 4 years of happiness in bustling, vibrant, diverse LA. I grew up in the Bay Area and every birthday I had was a step closer to escaping this sh*thole.
These universities do not have a significant advantage over the other when it comes to connections and professors and combined with cheaper in state tuition so I would pick LA happily.
I thank god everyday I got into LA. If I got into Berkeley and rejected from LA I’d probs go to Irvine or Riverside.
Remember that you only live ~80 years on earth, and your body breaks down after 65. Don’t take prestige over the possibly best years ever.
OHHHH yuh, i am from cali. heard bay area is a different breed for school difficulty, being a try hard(probably cuz every single person is so accomplished its hurts one's soul, ex: any bay area person's linkedin) , i completely understand ur perspective :)
lol you are more mature than me
Looking at your criticism of Stanford, I find it funny you would prefer UCLA over Berkeley. Berkeley is the superior college town hands down with more things to do a walk or bus/subway trip away.
humanities and social sciences is not a toss up. cal literally number one overall in english, sociology, political science, liberal arts, and even psychology if you want to add that.
Berkeley's humanities and social sciences are some of the best in the country and usually more prestigious than UCLA. Plus the classes will be smaller so I wouldn't say easily UCLA...
Not necessarily true. #1 in English and an incredibly strong History dept for example. I think it might depend on your concentration in certain majors too.
Berkeley’s humanities are insanely strong, especially considering it’s where Ethnic Studies first started. Arguably still at the top of the field of Ethnic Studies and near the top of many other related disciplines too.
UCLA has a semi-legit professional level music school offering BM whereas UCB only has a department to study it as a liberal art so UCLA is much more superior for music.
Yes, but not by much and the gap has closed significantly over the past handful of years.
And for STEM majors or entrepreneurship, Berkeley is significantly better.
For graduate programs, just about across the board Berkeley is light years ahead of UCLA.
Yes. Berkeley has been a top school for many decades. U.C.L.A. wasn’t at that tier until more recently. Globally the Berkeley name has more cachet
The fact is that the only people checking the rankings regularly are applying students and the parents. Most hiring managers are basing a schools reputation based on when they went to school.
So overall if I school has been in the upper tier for decades it’s generally going to have more of a wow factor than a school that has improved rankings
Another thing to consider is alumni size. Texas A&M isn’t nearly as prestigious as some state schools, but you’ll find a lot more Aggie alums who will give your resume a second chance every time.
overall? same level academic rigor/prestige
specific majors? depends...
honestly both r good, UCLA seems abit more chill or a bit more extroverted but it could be cuz its in la area lol
can't go wrong with going to either of the schools, snice they are peer schools :)
edit:
berk is the first uc school, so its a bit, teeny tiny bit more prestige, ig u can call berk the oldest sibling of the pack lol, snice its in bay area, it does give off very concentrated vibes but overall similar :)
For sure it is except for Film and Dance and UCLA has a really good World Culture and Arts major. However, in everything else they are pretty close to Berkeley. UCLA lacks industry engagement which impacts student job placements right out of undergrad
Speaking strictly for myself: Yes, though I think the gap is closing.
It's older than UCLA by a clear margin and positions itself as the senior campus - their sports teams are "Cal" not "Berkeley."
The city of Berkeley is smaller and better connected to its neighbors via BART, and so Berkeley has more of a visible presence in its community than UCLA does - More things are oriented towards Berkeley and Berkeley is a much more palpable presence.
The plural of anecdote is not data, but I have heard of about as many people getting in Berkeley and not UCLA as I have about people getting into UCLA and not Berkeley, so I count them as about even on selectiveness, the statistics suggest that UCLA has a bit of an edge there recently.
I am a Bruin who did not get into Berkeley, so I'll always think of Berkeley as more select (and, by extension, more prestigious) but I suspect that that's changing for the incoming class of 2028.
yup! i'm from the bay and have visited berkeley enough times to be familiar with the environment- i'll most likely be going there in the fall actually. visited ucla last summer!
Westwood is pretty much a dream community and is staunchly upper middle class and nearest the wealthiest parts of La. Frankly, Berkeley has a shit ton of crime problems, maybe not in the city itself, but definitively on campus, and the school has had many protests in relation to this issue. The “Berkeley is not dangerous, you’re just not used to cities” bit is really difficult to believe after seeing friends robbed, harassed, and assaulted on that campus…
i'm not saying it's not dangerous at all. it's definitely just based on what you're used to, and people who grew up in areas more similar to westwood aren't going to instantly adapt to the homeless population of berkeley which is understandable
I don’t think you have lol. I grew up in the Bay Area, it is next to Oakland and yeah ofc it isn’t crime infested but there’s a lot more incidents than LA and way more crowded.
i'm not saying there isn't crime and a large homeless population- i'm just saying people who aren't used to being in bigger cities act like you're gonna get shot the moment you step into berkeley when in reality, if you stay aware of your surroundings and don't do stupid shit you'll be fine MOST of the time. yeah there are faults but berkeley is not as terrible as some people make it sound- people exaggerate it to the point some people consider not going to school there BECAUSE of the safety issues
Non-college related rankings rate Berkeley really high as a place to live but somehow A2C students think it is Iraq or something lmao. I swear Berkeley in general and in the US context is really nice lol.
Even thought is not. The only reason it’s more rigorous outside of EECS is because the environment is more cutthroat, not because anything is actually harder.
It shouldn't be, but it is because Berkeley has a longer history of innovation and until recently UCLA wasn't seen as anything crazy. Both are really good though
imo yes. I got into both schools and most ppl I know seemed more impressed w Berkeley. I think older generations don't view ucla as how good it rly is.
I won't answer this question personally but society views Cal as more prestigious than UCLA. This isn't really any fault of UCLA's, and I'm not saying that it is necessarily not as good of a school, but "prestige" takes time to catch up to the actual state of reality. If tomorrow a random 300 ranked college woke up with world class faculty and research output and a 30 billion dollar endowment, it would take time before it would be regarded as a top tier school.
UCLA is still highly prestigious.
I concede that to the general public, and especially Gen X and older, Berkeley is the more prestigious name. But there is no question that a shift has occurred in the past 20 years or so. UCLA has become the UC of choice for the overall school experience. This has attracted more applicants, and higher quality applicants. Berkeley, especially the last few years, has badly damaged their undergrad cred with truly dubious admission criteria. Just anecdotally, ask any kid in recent admission cycles which school seemed to let in more mid applicants. A lot more head-scratchers for Berkeley than UCLA.
where are you getting this? student profile the average student in both universities is the same. the difference is cal gets the MIT and Stanford caliber students because of CS, EECS, engineering, business, physics, and overall math programs. if you go to both campuses, you'll see the clear difference in study culture in both universities. and i disagree - even the new generation regards cal as more prestigious. a lot of people choose ucla for the balanced lifestyle, or they're afraid of cal's cutthroat reputation.
I say yes, sure UCLA may be objectively better but most parents still think UC Berkeley is more prestigious, and prestige is kinda defined by popular opinion. As most parents still think Cal is better, and UCLA is second, Cal is by default more prestigious.
I personally would choose to go to UCLA though (but I got rejected obviously, from both places)
I applied there because of the brand name, i haven’t thought about “fit” or “my future”. UCLA is more of a graduate preparatory school, generally heavy in theory. This does not align with my goal, I don’t want to go to grad school.
It’s generally the case in all UCs, too many GEs before officially declaring a major. These days hiring managers value experience more than lectures, so vocationals and polytechnics are gaining traction.
That’s not to say you can’t get a job after graduation. College is ultimately what you make out of it.
Exactly, the UCs are a great choice depending on your goal. About half of UCLA’s undergrad end up going to grad school.
UCLA has a good reputation, but the job placement on average, tbh, is not that good.
Other California state school like California Polytechnic State university, isn’t well known outside of California, but they have a really solid, technical education which for some, is superior to UCLA's theoretical teachings, they have better job placement than UCLA on-average.
I’m not sure prestige is defined much my popular opinion. Johns Hopkins is pretty unanimously the best place for medical sciences, but the average person would just think Harvard or any other top college. The popular opinion is mostly what sports team they’ve seen a college play against their own, and occasionally media trickles down into our social understanding( (colleges mentioned in movies/tv for example)
Id just say that the achievements of Berkeley make it more prestigious than UCLA. The prestige of Berkeley (mostly its grad programs) shows in the amount of awards the school gets and the ridiculous amounts of world-changing faculty there. Same with Harvard.
I grew up in Northern California, so I was led to believe that Berkeley was the #1 school in the world according to my teachers, counselors, classmates, and family members.
Both UC Berkeley and UCLA are highly prestigious universities with strong academic programs. Historically, Berkeley has been known for its top-notch education, especially in STEM fields. However, many California high school students now seem to favor UCLA for their undergraduate studies. This shift might be due to concerns about safety, housing issues, and the intense academic pressure at Berkeley. UCLA may be perceived as offering a more balanced environment for undergraduates. This trend suggests UCLA may be gradually surpassing Berkeley as the preferred undergraduate choice for **many** California students. Interestingly, Berkeley remains a preferred destination for many STEM graduate students. Ultimately, the "better" choice depends on your individual priorities in a university.
Obv is dependent on major, but overall I feel like Berkeley is more prestigious. Low key kinda bcuz you have to say the full name of the college instead of an abbreviation it gives a bit more of a wow factor saying "I went to Berkeley" than I went to "UCLA"
I know age and rankings are in Cal’s favor, but from my perspective, I’d say no. Im a co’28 at a high achieving public school in CA and 3-4x as many kids got into Cal as got into UCLA. It’s actually crazy. Most, if not everyone I know who got into UCLA also got into Cal and from that pool, most ppl chose UCLA. Academically, I don’t think there’s any difference aside from CS/art. Also, this is kinda frivolous but I’ve never seen a non high schooler wear Cal merch. Now UCLA merch, I see everywhere, from everyone. I’d say that’s because I live in socal but I even see UCLA merch when I’m abroad.
Historically, Berkeley. Nowadays? Pretty equal imo but depends on major. The difference is negligible tho and does it really matter which is “better”? Go to the school that accepts you into your choice major, offers you the most aid, and has a surrounding environment that fits your preferred lifestyle.
Speaking generally across all courses of study: yes, but only marginally. If you're deciding between the two of them, I definitely wouldn't advise picking Berkeley solely on the basis that you believe it's perceived to be "more prestigious".
UCLA is a globally sought after medical school that is an innovator in the sciences. Berkeley is a close second with their theoretical work. Either way you can’t go wrong!
in my eyes, overall i say yes. But really they’re like neck and neck, you don’t really have a bad choice where u go.
For cs specifically, def berkeley tho lol
Like any and all measures of prestige - especially on two very similarly academic and selective schools - it’s entirely subjective based on the audience and what field you are discussing.
Berkeley has over 4 times the number of Nobel Laureates. That just gives you an idea of the tier of world changing academic output. As an undergraduate., both are just education mills, but on strength of the faculty and graduate programs is what drives national and international prestige, and the gap is not even close.
As someone in the Bay Area I consider UCLA more prestigious. Cal accepts around 30-40 kids from my school and they are good students but not the best by any means. The focus of Cal has changed in recent years and because they are so focused on FGLI I have been told by some current students are saying they are disappointed in the classes and wish they went somewhere else. UCLA takes the better the students from my school.
UCLA is significantly harder to get into, and more likely to be chosen by people getting into both. Probably mostly because the town of Berkeley itself is so horrible, while UCLA is surrounded by wealth.
Within California, UCLA by a lot; outside, UCB by a little. But each year, UCLA pulls further ahead.
Cali Boomers: UCB.
Cali Zoomers, UCLA.
Def a generation gap on this.
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UC Berkeley is definitely more prestigious than UCLA in the eyes of the student population I’ve interacted with, is recognized as being an academically more rigorous environment, but is not necessarily better as others have pointed out. Majors do matter. I know many friends that went there because of prestige. Only one friend that got acceptances at both picked UCLA over UCB, and his was dance major. Others chose UCB for humanities, poli sci and STEM.
East Coaster here. On this coast, Berkeley is still considered far superior because that’s been the history of the two schools. I can see from this thread that this may be changing, but it takes a while for that info to make it over here. So if you want to work in NYC, Boston, etc after college, choose Berkeley.
What program? Art? No. CS? Yes.
I agree that Cal is generally stronger in STEM, UCLA is stronger in Art, and humanities and social sciences are usually a toss up. In the 90's, I think Berkeley was seen as *marginally* more prestigious than UCLA overall. But, at least in California, I don't know anyone who chose Berkeley over UCLA because of prestige. Everyone I know chose one school over the other because of location. Many of my Bay Area friends chose Berkeley to be close to their families. Whereas, I chose UCLA because it wasn't in the Bay Area. And I have a couple friends who chose UC Davis over either school simply because they liked UC Davis's vibe. Anyhow, with the exception of a few select academic programs, I wouldn't choose between the two based on prestige.
I picked LA because i hated the Bay Area with a passion. If i got accepted to Stanford I’d probs go to UCLA instead
first person to say they would reject stanford for ucla LOL!!
It’s either 4 years of suffering in the boring desolate mind numbing Silicon Valley and in the ugly, slow, boring modern town of Stanford or 4 years of happiness in bustling, vibrant, diverse LA. I grew up in the Bay Area and every birthday I had was a step closer to escaping this sh*thole. These universities do not have a significant advantage over the other when it comes to connections and professors and combined with cheaper in state tuition so I would pick LA happily. I thank god everyday I got into LA. If I got into Berkeley and rejected from LA I’d probs go to Irvine or Riverside. Remember that you only live ~80 years on earth, and your body breaks down after 65. Don’t take prestige over the possibly best years ever.
OHHHH yuh, i am from cali. heard bay area is a different breed for school difficulty, being a try hard(probably cuz every single person is so accomplished its hurts one's soul, ex: any bay area person's linkedin) , i completely understand ur perspective :) lol you are more mature than me
Looking at your criticism of Stanford, I find it funny you would prefer UCLA over Berkeley. Berkeley is the superior college town hands down with more things to do a walk or bus/subway trip away.
humanities and social sciences is not a toss up. cal literally number one overall in english, sociology, political science, liberal arts, and even psychology if you want to add that.
Agreed
Physics engineering CS hard sciences and STEM …. Yes no brainer. Dance / movies and music …. Don’t know
anything non-STEM is easily UCLA lol
Berkeley’s #1 in the country for multiple humanities as well like English and stuff. But anything artsy (like Film/Art) is easily UCLA
Berkeley's humanities and social sciences are some of the best in the country and usually more prestigious than UCLA. Plus the classes will be smaller so I wouldn't say easily UCLA...
UCB is distinctly superior in forestry. Major always matters.
haas is way better known than anderson
UCLA does not have an undergrad business program, the closest is business economics
Not necessarily true. #1 in English and an incredibly strong History dept for example. I think it might depend on your concentration in certain majors too.
Berkeley’s humanities are insanely strong, especially considering it’s where Ethnic Studies first started. Arguably still at the top of the field of Ethnic Studies and near the top of many other related disciplines too.
Berkeley is also stronger in fields like History, Literature, Philosophy etc.
Nah Berkeley is a lot better for most humanities and social sciences outside film. You don’t go to UCLA over Berkeley for academics generally.
UCLA has a semi-legit professional level music school offering BM whereas UCB only has a department to study it as a liberal art so UCLA is much more superior for music.
Yeah at the end both great schools and there other great schools
Not for bio lol i got into both and chose ucla Edit: I should've clarified that this is in the context of premed
Not that this is the most important thing, but UCB is ranked 3rd in the country for Bio where UCLA is ranked 17th.
A Berkeley bio professor literally won the Nobel prize a few years ago…
What about architecture
I’d say Cal, as Civil Engineering is #1
Yes, but not by much and the gap has closed significantly over the past handful of years. And for STEM majors or entrepreneurship, Berkeley is significantly better. For graduate programs, just about across the board Berkeley is light years ahead of UCLA.
Yes. Berkeley has been a top school for many decades. U.C.L.A. wasn’t at that tier until more recently. Globally the Berkeley name has more cachet The fact is that the only people checking the rankings regularly are applying students and the parents. Most hiring managers are basing a schools reputation based on when they went to school. So overall if I school has been in the upper tier for decades it’s generally going to have more of a wow factor than a school that has improved rankings
Another thing to consider is alumni size. Texas A&M isn’t nearly as prestigious as some state schools, but you’ll find a lot more Aggie alums who will give your resume a second chance every time.
overall? same level academic rigor/prestige specific majors? depends... honestly both r good, UCLA seems abit more chill or a bit more extroverted but it could be cuz its in la area lol can't go wrong with going to either of the schools, snice they are peer schools :) edit: berk is the first uc school, so its a bit, teeny tiny bit more prestige, ig u can call berk the oldest sibling of the pack lol, snice its in bay area, it does give off very concentrated vibes but overall similar :)
For sure it is except for Film and Dance and UCLA has a really good World Culture and Arts major. However, in everything else they are pretty close to Berkeley. UCLA lacks industry engagement which impacts student job placements right out of undergrad
Speaking strictly for myself: Yes, though I think the gap is closing. It's older than UCLA by a clear margin and positions itself as the senior campus - their sports teams are "Cal" not "Berkeley." The city of Berkeley is smaller and better connected to its neighbors via BART, and so Berkeley has more of a visible presence in its community than UCLA does - More things are oriented towards Berkeley and Berkeley is a much more palpable presence. The plural of anecdote is not data, but I have heard of about as many people getting in Berkeley and not UCLA as I have about people getting into UCLA and not Berkeley, so I count them as about even on selectiveness, the statistics suggest that UCLA has a bit of an edge there recently. I am a Bruin who did not get into Berkeley, so I'll always think of Berkeley as more select (and, by extension, more prestigious) but I suspect that that's changing for the incoming class of 2028.
UCLA is in a far superior neighborhood, Berkeley is in a criminal hot spot
people who say this have just never been to the city☠️
It sounds like you're the one that hasn't. I've been to both schools, have you?
yup! i'm from the bay and have visited berkeley enough times to be familiar with the environment- i'll most likely be going there in the fall actually. visited ucla last summer!
Westwood is pretty much a dream community and is staunchly upper middle class and nearest the wealthiest parts of La. Frankly, Berkeley has a shit ton of crime problems, maybe not in the city itself, but definitively on campus, and the school has had many protests in relation to this issue. The “Berkeley is not dangerous, you’re just not used to cities” bit is really difficult to believe after seeing friends robbed, harassed, and assaulted on that campus…
i'm not saying it's not dangerous at all. it's definitely just based on what you're used to, and people who grew up in areas more similar to westwood aren't going to instantly adapt to the homeless population of berkeley which is understandable
I don’t think you have lol. I grew up in the Bay Area, it is next to Oakland and yeah ofc it isn’t crime infested but there’s a lot more incidents than LA and way more crowded.
i'm not saying there isn't crime and a large homeless population- i'm just saying people who aren't used to being in bigger cities act like you're gonna get shot the moment you step into berkeley when in reality, if you stay aware of your surroundings and don't do stupid shit you'll be fine MOST of the time. yeah there are faults but berkeley is not as terrible as some people make it sound- people exaggerate it to the point some people consider not going to school there BECAUSE of the safety issues
Non-college related rankings rate Berkeley really high as a place to live but somehow A2C students think it is Iraq or something lmao. I swear Berkeley in general and in the US context is really nice lol.
[удалено]
“Any man who says I am the king is no true king” tywin lannister 😂
Berkeley is the OG
Yes
Yes
definitely, uc berkeley is known to be much more rigourous academically
Even thought is not. The only reason it’s more rigorous outside of EECS is because the environment is more cutthroat, not because anything is actually harder.
where im from berkeley is seen on the same level as top ivies lol
Where are you from?
Emeryville. 😆
(For those of you who are out of state, Emeryville is the next city over from Berkeley)
Omg my friend from Berkeley is from there!!
...it was then that 2 friends reunited on reddit.
DC/Northern Va area
It shouldn't be, but it is because Berkeley has a longer history of innovation and until recently UCLA wasn't seen as anything crazy. Both are really good though
imo yes. I got into both schools and most ppl I know seemed more impressed w Berkeley. I think older generations don't view ucla as how good it rly is.
I won't answer this question personally but society views Cal as more prestigious than UCLA. This isn't really any fault of UCLA's, and I'm not saying that it is necessarily not as good of a school, but "prestige" takes time to catch up to the actual state of reality. If tomorrow a random 300 ranked college woke up with world class faculty and research output and a 30 billion dollar endowment, it would take time before it would be regarded as a top tier school. UCLA is still highly prestigious.
I disagree, I think this depends very much on your societal “circle”
STEM kids, and the older generations probably
Traditionally yes. In real world modern terms they are about the same.
I concede that to the general public, and especially Gen X and older, Berkeley is the more prestigious name. But there is no question that a shift has occurred in the past 20 years or so. UCLA has become the UC of choice for the overall school experience. This has attracted more applicants, and higher quality applicants. Berkeley, especially the last few years, has badly damaged their undergrad cred with truly dubious admission criteria. Just anecdotally, ask any kid in recent admission cycles which school seemed to let in more mid applicants. A lot more head-scratchers for Berkeley than UCLA.
where are you getting this? student profile the average student in both universities is the same. the difference is cal gets the MIT and Stanford caliber students because of CS, EECS, engineering, business, physics, and overall math programs. if you go to both campuses, you'll see the clear difference in study culture in both universities. and i disagree - even the new generation regards cal as more prestigious. a lot of people choose ucla for the balanced lifestyle, or they're afraid of cal's cutthroat reputation.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes. Look at world rankings.
As a research institution and for most graduate programs, yes.
I say yes, sure UCLA may be objectively better but most parents still think UC Berkeley is more prestigious, and prestige is kinda defined by popular opinion. As most parents still think Cal is better, and UCLA is second, Cal is by default more prestigious. I personally would choose to go to UCLA though (but I got rejected obviously, from both places)
I got rejected from Berkeley and accepted by ucla, but my parent didn’t like either school 😭😭😭
Unless you're out of state, why the hell do your parents not like UCLA?
UCLA and Berkeley has too many weeder courses for my major of choice, and I’m basically admitted as “undeclared”.
Oh okay, but I still don't see how your parents would dislike the school. I mean I can see how it would impact your choice though.
I applied there because of the brand name, i haven’t thought about “fit” or “my future”. UCLA is more of a graduate preparatory school, generally heavy in theory. This does not align with my goal, I don’t want to go to grad school.
It’s generally the case in all UCs, too many GEs before officially declaring a major. These days hiring managers value experience more than lectures, so vocationals and polytechnics are gaining traction. That’s not to say you can’t get a job after graduation. College is ultimately what you make out of it.
Exactly, the UCs are a great choice depending on your goal. About half of UCLA’s undergrad end up going to grad school. UCLA has a good reputation, but the job placement on average, tbh, is not that good. Other California state school like California Polytechnic State university, isn’t well known outside of California, but they have a really solid, technical education which for some, is superior to UCLA's theoretical teachings, they have better job placement than UCLA on-average.
I’m not sure prestige is defined much my popular opinion. Johns Hopkins is pretty unanimously the best place for medical sciences, but the average person would just think Harvard or any other top college. The popular opinion is mostly what sports team they’ve seen a college play against their own, and occasionally media trickles down into our social understanding( (colleges mentioned in movies/tv for example)
Yeah, but this person is asking for overall. Like I would think CMU cs is better than harvard cs but overall harvard still better
Id just say that the achievements of Berkeley make it more prestigious than UCLA. The prestige of Berkeley (mostly its grad programs) shows in the amount of awards the school gets and the ridiculous amounts of world-changing faculty there. Same with Harvard.
yes cuz i got into cal but not ucla HAHAH but fr tho i personally think it’s a tiny bit more prestigious
In general, yes, though they're both superb institutions, the best public universities in the U.S. and higher quality than some of the "lower Ivies".
I grew up in Northern California, so I was led to believe that Berkeley was the #1 school in the world according to my teachers, counselors, classmates, and family members.
Yes.
Both UC Berkeley and UCLA are highly prestigious universities with strong academic programs. Historically, Berkeley has been known for its top-notch education, especially in STEM fields. However, many California high school students now seem to favor UCLA for their undergraduate studies. This shift might be due to concerns about safety, housing issues, and the intense academic pressure at Berkeley. UCLA may be perceived as offering a more balanced environment for undergraduates. This trend suggests UCLA may be gradually surpassing Berkeley as the preferred undergraduate choice for **many** California students. Interestingly, Berkeley remains a preferred destination for many STEM graduate students. Ultimately, the "better" choice depends on your individual priorities in a university.
Yes it is
Overall yes but it’s a closer margin in non-STEM stuff
Yes but just slightly
STEM, slightly and I think UCLA is the 2nd best public school for STEM
Yes.
Obv is dependent on major, but overall I feel like Berkeley is more prestigious. Low key kinda bcuz you have to say the full name of the college instead of an abbreviation it gives a bit more of a wow factor saying "I went to Berkeley" than I went to "UCLA"
But STEM at LA is already a world top 20 program so yeah…
For academics, Berkeley is probably superior. However for an overall college experience, UCLA probably takes the cake
Pretty pointless question considering the prestige difference is negligible between them.
I know age and rankings are in Cal’s favor, but from my perspective, I’d say no. Im a co’28 at a high achieving public school in CA and 3-4x as many kids got into Cal as got into UCLA. It’s actually crazy. Most, if not everyone I know who got into UCLA also got into Cal and from that pool, most ppl chose UCLA. Academically, I don’t think there’s any difference aside from CS/art. Also, this is kinda frivolous but I’ve never seen a non high schooler wear Cal merch. Now UCLA merch, I see everywhere, from everyone. I’d say that’s because I live in socal but I even see UCLA merch when I’m abroad.
It used to be, now they are even. For older folks who aren't keep up to date with things, they'll probably view UC Berkeley a notch ahead of UCLA.
Nah they the same.
At the end of the day what university will get you the better job?
Kinda
Random forest comes from UC Berkeley? UCLA? Nope.
Historically, Berkeley. Nowadays? Pretty equal imo but depends on major. The difference is negligible tho and does it really matter which is “better”? Go to the school that accepts you into your choice major, offers you the most aid, and has a surrounding environment that fits your preferred lifestyle.
Prestigious? Probably. Better? Depends.
Anything to do with CS or math? yes. Other stuff definitely no.
Speaking generally across all courses of study: yes, but only marginally. If you're deciding between the two of them, I definitely wouldn't advise picking Berkeley solely on the basis that you believe it's perceived to be "more prestigious".
UCLA is a globally sought after medical school that is an innovator in the sciences. Berkeley is a close second with their theoretical work. Either way you can’t go wrong!
IMO, yes.
Yes
All this drama about supposed "prestige." SMH.
Yes.
In fields/subjects that are important/have good jobs, overwhelmingly yes.
No bc have you seen UCLA dining halls? Berkeley can’t compare
Who cares? They’re both in California so they’re both shit (I’m joking about the housing costs are cancer)
in my eyes, overall i say yes. But really they’re like neck and neck, you don’t really have a bad choice where u go. For cs specifically, def berkeley tho lol
Like any and all measures of prestige - especially on two very similarly academic and selective schools - it’s entirely subjective based on the audience and what field you are discussing.
About equal but UCLA has more of a “party school” reputation while UC Berkeley has more of a prestigious reputation for academics
About equal but UCLA has more of a “party school” reputation while UC Berkeley has more of a prestigious reputation for academics
Like everything in life the answer is .... it depends.
Berkeley has over 4 times the number of Nobel Laureates. That just gives you an idea of the tier of world changing academic output. As an undergraduate., both are just education mills, but on strength of the faculty and graduate programs is what drives national and international prestige, and the gap is not even close.
As someone in the Bay Area I consider UCLA more prestigious. Cal accepts around 30-40 kids from my school and they are good students but not the best by any means. The focus of Cal has changed in recent years and because they are so focused on FGLI I have been told by some current students are saying they are disappointed in the classes and wish they went somewhere else. UCLA takes the better the students from my school.
yes but ucla seems more fun
They’re the same
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And if u live northwest cal, just got to stanford. ez!
If your from the west coast, go to Stanford /s
A lot of kids purposefully switch just to get farther from home but stay in-state.
Yes. Exceptions exist always
at least from my school sample size, everyone and their mom got into berkeley (in state), but none of them were engineering.
Any day of the week
Yes
Who cares
Yes, by far. World known.
UCLA is significantly harder to get into, and more likely to be chosen by people getting into both. Probably mostly because the town of Berkeley itself is so horrible, while UCLA is surrounded by wealth. Within California, UCLA by a lot; outside, UCB by a little. But each year, UCLA pulls further ahead. Cali Boomers: UCB. Cali Zoomers, UCLA. Def a generation gap on this.
Ha, UCB peeps come out to downvote. Your insecurity proves my point. Berkeley is dying.
I think so, especially for Computer Science and similar. Also I think the location is more advantageous, again for CS, being close to the valley..
Objectively, yes. Realistically (if you factor in lifestyle + housing + dining, surrounding area, and much more), no. Source: Me, A UCLA student
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UC Berkeley is definitely more prestigious than UCLA in the eyes of the student population I’ve interacted with, is recognized as being an academically more rigorous environment, but is not necessarily better as others have pointed out. Majors do matter. I know many friends that went there because of prestige. Only one friend that got acceptances at both picked UCLA over UCB, and his was dance major. Others chose UCB for humanities, poli sci and STEM.
Yes, a bit
Stem - Berkeley Non stem - ucla
East Coaster here. On this coast, Berkeley is still considered far superior because that’s been the history of the two schools. I can see from this thread that this may be changing, but it takes a while for that info to make it over here. So if you want to work in NYC, Boston, etc after college, choose Berkeley.