University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

Students are famous for wearing pajama pants to class. You can't really blame them, it's warm weather and who wants to wear clothes anyway.

I would say that it would be difficult to feel out of place at UC Berkeley. Nearly every kind of person or group imaginable is represented. I have never seen as much diversity anywhere as at UC Berkeley. I've had experiences with many different groups on campus, and for the most part they're been positive. My only concern is that sometimes such groups can be rather exclusive, and not open to individuals who are different from them. Most students wear casual, comfortable, or fashionable clothes to class. It's pretty much what you'd expect college students to be wearing, with nothing too out of the ordinary. Most students at UC Berkeley seem to be from either Northern or Southern California. I would say middle to upper-middle class backgrounds are most common. Students are very politically aware and active. I would say there is a slight bias towards the left politically, but most people are probably moderate, and there are a fair amount of conservative individuals. Students don't really talk about how much they'll earn one day. At least not eh people I associate with.

This campus is incredibly diverse. It is not just Asian, as people like to say. Campus groups are very active and their tables line Upper Sproul, the main square that extends from Sather Gate. In fact, it is hard to get through that area on a regular school day without ten people handing you a flyer about their improv show or local protest. Looking around campus, one could quite literally see every single variation of dress - from hippie to hipster to sorority Barbie. The Berkeley campus is quite a stylish one, which is contrary to my image of the student body when I was applying to Cal. Birkenstocks are NOT the only footwear worn on campus. Bikes are very popular among the student body for transportation, but it is part of the culture of this town as well. Most students, despite the image they project, are middle class. Living in the dorms or the coops, however, is a very equalling experience and a student's financial background is not obvious. Students are smart. They just are. Even people that don't pontificate about French politics or labor practices in Bolivia have a knowledge of a wide range of subjects and could converse about almost anything. My brother came to visit me one weekend, and couldn't believe the conversations my friends and I were having at a party. Students here like to learn, or they wouldn't be here. When I have to do group projects for class, it isn't like high school where one person does all the work while the other people lay around. At Cal, people participate. I constantly feel dumb here. But in a good way. In a way that makes me want to be as smart and work as hard as other people in my classes.

Frat- large, well dressed. Probably wealthy, all aroung good kids, can be shallow. Hipster- small, often bad haircuts and tight jeans. Don't look great by themselves so they make up for it by being witty and cultured. However, despite lots of wierd looking small people also has the REALLY REALLY beautiful people. Asian- studies, premed. Coop- dirty, friendly, probably more promiscuous sex than in the frats but hard to say. Lots of drugs besides booze. Not necesarilly presentation focused although stong alliance with hipsters.

My experience is good, generally. No one should feel out of place here. Unless you are in the KKK. Students usually wear clothes to class. Different types of students usually interact with each other. Most students I feel like are from Mars. Most people have money, although not all. It's expensive to travel between here and Mars. Students are a/pathetic. Predominantly left of right to center. Only my girlfriend talks about how much she earns in a day. Or prostitutes...

Having lived my formative years in largely white suburban neighborhoods, the high ratio of Asian, particularly Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, students was a cultural shift for me. Despite what I feel to be ethnic homogeneity, Berkeley does not lack in experiences and intellectual interests. Most of the students come from relatively well-off, middle or upper middle class backgrounds, and most students are from California. A noticeable rivalry exists between students from Norcal and students from Socal; although all in good fun, the lack of international and out-of-state students has been disappointing to me personally, as I come from an international background and thrive in a multicultural environment. Students from the same background tend to be drawn to each other. Overall, Berkeley students are a curious, intelligent bunch. For the most part, Berkeley students encourage and celebrate differences.

I cannot imagine any student truly feeling out of place at Berkeley, except perhaps one that deeply needs a small-class environment and the consistent personal attentions of the professors. This is a legitimate need, and if you have it, I encourage you to attend a smaller school. I myself do not, and thus I feel that I have benefited from lacking such academic amenities. The fact is that if you don't want to deal with crazy people, you don't have to; most students don't. But they are there, wandering around and being crazy, and if you want to kick it with them you should go for it whenever possible. It's easy to talk about "broadening your horizon" and sound like a douchebag, but if you are sincere and maintain your own personal integrity, I am convinced one can do well in any of the multitude of social and political circles to be found at Berkeley. Most of the students are from California, as it is a state school, but there are numerous international students, and a few out-of-staters like myself. Stepping out onto Sproul Plaza in the middle of the day and wading through its packed environs will get you showered in offers of all kinds ("Do I *look* like I want to join Asian Business Women for Christ!?"), or at least accused of having sex with your cell phone or iPod by the crazy guy who hates technology and have your small-minded academic concerns mocked (?) by the sonorous "Happy, happy, happy" of Happy Happy Man. It's a lively place. Feel free to wear your pajamas all day. I can't say I have, but it looks pretty comfortable-- more so than the tight pinstripe pants worn by the Asian Business Women for Christ. There aren't actually any Asian Business Women for Christ. ...I think.

I feel out of place here. I like to dress well and am kinda into fashion, but when I'm on my way out to class, I often get asked "where are you going?" because people think I'm dressed up. Most people wear sweatshirts and jeans to class. Most girls do not wear makeup. Most students are here on financial aid and have had to take out several loans to come here. Because of that, a lot of people are penny pinchers and do whatever they can to save a buck-- not that there's anything wrong with that, but a lot of times people will turn down a chance to go to a movie or out to dinner because they can't afford it.

i think everyone wants to appear tolerant or liberal or "open-minded". sadly, i found very few people who were any of those things. they were only accepting of things that were main-stream and in-line with their personal view. what's to be expected among college students? however, the few people of conviction that i met were a pleasure to talk to and a challenge to me personally to stand firm on my beliefs.

One thing about UC Berkeley is that as a public school, with something like 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student population from California, is that lots of people already know each other when they get there. Which can make social networking easy - or difficult, depending how you operate. It's pretty easy to find people you like because there are just so many damn people - you'd have to be pretty vanilla to not find at least one person to get a slice at Blondie's with. Nobody's extremely rich, nor extremely poor - unless a person decides one of these is their primary defining characteristic. Which is, of course, lame. Everyone you meet is from California - and from one high school in LA or another. To be honest, I think once people settle in groups around second or third year, they tend to stay there and not mix it up outside these groups. But there are a lot of different things people build groups around - major, religion, living situation, and random extracurriculars.