University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

emily is a junior and part of a group called shape designed to prevent abuse against women. she is also a transfer stud

she is a freshman, and in the coop scene/ choosing cal over davis and about picking a co-op for living sophomore year

Most are very determined and always willing to learn more. A lot of students go to office hours to get help if they do not understand something. They are persistent with their work and are constantly studying. Most are pretty friendly but there are also those really competitve students who have to have everything their way and willing to do anything to get that grade they want.

Racial, religious, and ethnic groups seem to be somewhat segregated at Berkeley. I think this, in part, comes from Berkeley being such a large place. Most students try to find some sort of community while there, and for many, the community they find is one based on a common ethnic/religious/racial/cultural background. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much contact between many of the student groups. People find their niche and stay there, it seems. Most students wear something casual to class - whether it's a sweatshirt and jeans or full-on hipster costume with skinny pants, strategically messy hair, and a striped shirt. Beyond those that look like they raided the nearby Urban Outfitters, there is usually at least one person in every class who takes it up a notch. This was especially true in Art History classes, in which there were always a few girls (usually members of sororities) who wore extremely put-together outfits and carried a purse in lieu of a backpack. Most Berkeley students are from California. It was exciting to meet someone from out-of-state, even, dare I say it, a little exotic. I'd say a middle-class financial background is probably most prevalent - with an upper-middle class background being more common within the Greek system (and probably among certain majors). There are also many students from lower-income backgrounds and those who work their way through college. Berkeley is a diverse place, and this diversity definitely applies to socioeconomics, though with rising tuition costs, it will probably be more difficult for many students to attend Berkeley. Students tend to be politically aware, but as I said before, not necessarily very politically active. Berkeley is known to be a hotbed of activism, and disappointingly, it does not seem to be anymore. There are definitely a few active groups who support a particular issue or cause, but they often have few members, and those members are often the members of the other active student groups (as my cousin said, the same guy who heads the Socialist student group is also the president of the Stop the War Coalition and about five other clubs). The majority of the student body seems politically apathetic - generally leftist, but uninvolved in political activities on campus. When my friends and I talked about our future earning-power, we generally agreed we'd be making pennies and/or unemployed. I imagine Business students do talk about their eventual earning power and that that discussion includes some talk about "six-figures".

One word: Diverse. We have people from all over, from all different walks of life, and with varied interests. This means that you can meet people from all over the country, and the world, and get to know what life is like outside your own "bubble". More importantly, there are groups for just about anything, so its not hard to find some place to fit in.

as a mexican american student, i sometimes feel as if i am outnumbered in a campus primarily filled with asians. sometimes it feels that since they have more people, they have more groups, and therefore they get more funding. Berkeley is not well rounded when it comes to race or ethnicity. and most racial groups stick together.

The campus may be fairly diverse, but my major is not. The male to female ratio in EECS is as high as one would expect, so it's important to branch out into other departments to meet different people. Again, you can find whatever type of person you want to hang out with, if you look.

Students are generally drones. Though it is predominantly people of color populated, much of that population unfortunately suffers from internalized racism, particularly those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. Many students are liberal-minded but they fail to see past "pro-choice" and pro"poor-people stances. They generally do not see the systemic failures and structural oppression that they themselves perpetuate.

NEEDS TO BE MORE DIVERSE! More people of color need to be given the change here. The use of SAT scores are not an accurate form of measuring who can succeed at a school like UC Berkeley especially when many students are not able to attend private schools or more economically privileged public grade schools.

Most students are very casual in their style of dress and appearance. Being from Southern California i found there was a clear distinction between the atmosphere up in the bay then where I grew up... it is very relaxed here. People seem less interested in what other people are wearing in the bay. I think there is less pressure to "look good" and impress, which was a nice change. Most students are politically aware and very involved in student groups and issues. It can be quite intimidating how driven and determined some students are, even if they are not involved in social issues like say my roommate who was a Business major...they can be very involved in their education and active in extracurricular activities that pertain to their area of study like internships, professional fraternities, jobs, etc. Many people are very aware of where they are, where they want to go and how they are going to do it (and they certainly do a lot to get there!!)

I love Berkeley because it feels like the cliques have disappeared (no more popular group, nerdy group... etc). Although there are certain majors that have certain stereotypes (EECS = nerdy) all students seem to be genuinely interested in each other and the atmosphere seems much less hostile than high school. There are many students whose parents didn't attend college or come from a poor background. Although there are often political events going on in Sproul, many students are not politically aware (including me...).

i'll be honest - i hate how many asians are on campus. i don't have anything against asians, but i wish for every asian person i saw, i also saw a latino or black or native american or SOMETHING person. berkeley has a strong history of diversity and agency, but the current student population does not reflect this past.

it seems like a lot of UC Berkeley students are from Southern California. a lot of students are interested in politics and the welfare of our communities. it's great to see students fighting for good causes and for the preservation of what they really believe in. it's great to see them voicing their opinions and suggestions.

In theory, I don't think any student should feel out of place at Berkeley. I would hesitate to say that a wealthier student, used to the spoils of growing up in a very rich house, might be uncomfortable with the housing accommodations at UC and in the city of Berkeley. I don't think students are as politically active or aware as they used to be.

The student body is too diverse to describe in a few words. Of course, there are the standard hippie-esque liberals you come to Berkeley expecting, but there are also Republicans and very academically-focused people and sorority girls and everyone else. Simply because of the sheer number of students who congregate here, I think anyone can find a crowd of people to fit in with.

Students tend to be politically aware. The most vocal ones are left. The school is mostly asian and white, but there are a few other races.

Berkeley's campus is large enough such that everyone will find some sort of place, but will constantly feel alone. Most Berkeley students come from California; I don't know if that's a good thing. It is so difficult to get into Cal from out of state that it seems out-of-state students are automatically of a higher caliber than California students. If only Berkeley would admit students based on merit and not where their parents pay taxes, I feel like we would have a more intellectually equal campus. Most Cal students are pretty liberal, but I've heard rumors about a strong conservative uprising. I've found that depending on major, students don't really talk about how much they will earn one day. The only exceptions are Haas douchebags.

There are a lot of people. Honestly, most of them are total assholes. Most people at Berkeley were socially awkward losers in high school. A lot of them try to compensate and turn into cool people in college. A lot of them do this by joining frats. This is a failing strategy. In general I would recommend staying away from people in frats because they're generally losers and assholes. A lot of people are anti-social, too. There are a large group of very social cool people though. Give me a call and I'll tell you where the party's at.

There's a little something for everyone at Berkeley, I feel. We're just a big, diverse jumble. We're suspiciously short on black students, given that the Bay area has a pretty high population of African Americans. But we have yellow students aplenty, which makes sense given that the Bay area has a pretty high population of Asian Americans. I should probably note here that I've become more free with my racism since coming to Cal. The liberal bent to humanities and social science classes here can have that effect on people. If they keep telling you that society is whack, and has been since forever, you start to feel like nothing you do really matters in the end. Racism, war, whatever. there will always be hate. And then you start getting loose with your racial slurs and stereotypes...you start to accept war as part of human nature, and maybe even support it because it helps keep our population in check...you start to think that maybe all you can hope to do is look out for your own self interests. Well, if you choose to take the jaded route instead of the blind idealist route. But you have to pick one or the other, or else life'll just start getting to you. The world will just start to get to you. That's the thing I had so much trouble with initially. Berkeley forces you to think long and hard about things, forces you to think really critically about them. If you're not careful, it can get you down. Wow, didn't mean to digress quite so far... Nutshell answer: if you're the sort of person who can get into Berkeley, and who wants to go to Berekeley, you'll find people to hang with.

-I have many male gay friends and I feel like there is a large gay presence here at Berkeley that I hardly even take notice of anymore. I have noticed that I can walk around Berkeley and hear people speaking 10 different languages within the course of a day. I feel like a lot of students here are from middle to upper middle class background, but I do know a very small few that are from poorer homes. -I honestly really cannot think of anyone that would feel out of place here. I think there is something for everyone here and that everyone has a niche. There are people from all backgrounds, nationalities, with all different tastes and personalities that I cannot imagine someone not finding a group they fit into or a class they didn't like. I guess the type of person who wouldn't fit in is someone intolerant of diversity or someone who does not like to study hard! -Wear: Jeans plus a Berkeley/Cal sweatshirt or north face jacket and some Rainbow sandals or running shoes or ugg boots, with a north face backpack, no joke. - Different types of students interact all the time, it is impossible not to. -Four tables: well, i guess that there are the athletics who sort of give me the impression like they feel somewhat superior to us regular students. there are the business majors who all they think about is how they can get into Haas school of business (or recruit you into their club). There are the radicals. And then there is everyone else. really, the first three are minorities though. -Most Berkeley students are from California. -Financial backgrounds most prevalent are middle to upper middle class. -Yes, we are politically aware. Definitely left. I was conservative before I came here and now I consider myself very liberal. -Earn one day: I am a history major, so we mostly talk about how poor we are going to be!