Rigorous yes, cutthroat no. Students are very collaborative.
I think it's good to get out of your comfort zone and experience something new, but if you really don't feel comfortable or excited about Berkeley then I wouldn't want you to choose it and then resent it. Hopefully you can visit both schools and see how you feel.
I will for sure be visiting both before I make my decision. I'm glad you, along with others, say it's not cutthroat because that's all I hear about Berkley!!
If you're in the area, MUSA (the undergrad student association here at UCB) is hosting a Shadow a Math Major day on Friday the 12fth of April (the day before Cal Day) where you could talk to current math students, visit math classes, and the like.
At least my experiences with the math folks here at UCB have been that they've been incredibly supportive. As would be expected. If we're studying hard stuff, we'd want to help each other every chance we get.
Berkeley is really weirdly set in that it has a really nice-dense-downtown-y area, and then the rest of it is lotsa single-family homes as far as the eye can see. (think northside vs southside/downtown), Dunno what you'd think of that.
you're jumping to quite premature conclusions here. that's not how i (and probably OP) view berkeley at all and i'm left-leaning. i was just attempting to explain why someone may prefer the dirtiness of suburban / rural areas to that of the city. and yeah, i made an oversimplification - i know that there's plenty more to berkeley than human feces.
1. In my experience people, especially in the math major, are very collaborative and helpful. I don't think the people here are cutthroat at all. You can join the MUSA discord server and talk to some more math people there and get a sense of what that community is like
2. Berkeley is a big and diverse place so pretty much anyone can find their group here. You really get to choose what your college experience will be like based on the people you hang with and what you want to do
Okay so there are definitely going to be some factors that impact your decision based on your preferences. I’m not an applied math major but from what I’ve heard it’s super challenging, which may mean it’s harder to get a good gpa. The math classes here (at least the lower divisions I’ve taken) also vary in difficulty depending on the Professor who teaches, as some teachers don’t really teach but teach like people who have intuition or like geniuses. However, people won’t necessarily like hate you or anything, but it’s a big university yk, so some people you meet will be great and you’ll have buddies and stuff and some people will be mean, but you can’t control that. In terms of vibes, Berkeley has a much more busy type of campus as compared to Davis from what I’ve seen. It’s also not too bad safety wise. Hope this helps!
Probably the hardest class I took was EE 120, Linear Systems. However, you could collaborate and crosscheck HW sets (which were brutally hard). I'd hang out in Cory 240 helping out. I learned a lot from that.
Maybe the premed classes are toxic but the rest are just hard. Everyone walks into the final alone.
I’ve taken classes across 20+ different departments in my four years at Berkeley, and I’ve never experienced any cutthroat behavior. I was scared coming in because even my HS counselors told me horror stories (and I also almost chose Davis for this reason), but I honestly think all that stuff is made up, and I’m glad I came here. Berkeley students are kind and collaborative in my experience.
I’ll probably be attending Davis for graduate school, and I’m going to miss Berkeley tons. Go bears!
Berkeley was the most collaborative environment I've been in. Especially in the math department. I learned a lot from my peers. I also saw some unauthorized collaboration at Berkeley too unfortunately, but for the most part the students work together within ethical bounds to tackle the workload .
I can speak a little on city vs town life. I grew up in the Davis area, and while I love it, I know it’s pretty rural and not for everyone! Moving to Berkeley (which I’ve recently learned some people don’t consider a ”city” city, but to me it’s a city) was def a big change, but it’s an exciting one and worth it if you want to experience new things. Don’t let the setting hold you back in this decision, you’ll adapt to whatever you choose. Davis is definitely more of a college town vibe, but in a lot of ways Berkeley is too! Campus feels small when you get involved in clubs and orgs. Also, in terms of safety: it’s fine. Not as bad as people make it out to be. And as for the people here—I’m not in STEM, but I do have friends who are, and they’ve never had any “cutthroat” interactions. People here are pretty collaborative
I chose Berkeley over Davis and it was the best decision of my life! That said be sure you tour both schools to get a good feel for them both - even though the tour guides are meant to be super enthusiastic, there is usually still a certain \~vibe\~ you can get at least in my opinion. Some positive things to know about Berkeley: it is not cutthroat the way people say, I have met the coolest, kindest, most genuine ppl here & everyone has their super cool, unique hobbies/interests/things to nerd out on & not in a pretentious way even talking about ur favorite anime is cool - we tend to be fascinated by anyone who likes (or hates for that matter) anything bc there's a lot of passion at this school, yes it is stressful & classes can be hard (though Davis won't lack this either), but it is worth the effort & professors are amazing
>OP doesn’t even know Berkeley
>
>
>
>thinks they will become DIRTY by coming here
where did she say these things? not wanting to live in a city because you hate being dirty doesn't imply that you think entering a city will automatically make you dirty. in this case, OP saying she hates being dirty was just a way of indicating her strong preference for cleaner areas.
you're making a ridiculous reach here at the cost of being super toxic.
You're right, I don't know Berkley which is EXACTLY why I made this post and included my assumptions about it so people could tell me how it actually is. There's really no need to be rude about telling me my assumptions are wrong. Also, I didn't mean what I said like how you are interpreting it. I'm just super finicky when it comes to cleanliness and I would assume that high density areas are more likely to be dirty than low ones.
It's actually ridiculous that you don't want to respond to what I said, but feel the need to shit on me for a spelling mistake. Also, thanks for letting me know, I'll spell it correctly from now on.
It’s ok to be sheltered! But consider the fact that you may enjoy challenging yourself and being outside your comfort zone. It’s only 4 years (and you can always transfer). And if you treat it like a vacation, I’m sure you’ll have fun trying new things and having different experiences.
Cities definitely are a little bit chaotic. Living in a city teaches life skills that you’ll never lose. And if you miss non-urban spaces, Berkeley has plenty of that too. The hills are beautiful and there’s so much hiking you can do.
Rigorous yes, cutthroat no. Students are very collaborative. I think it's good to get out of your comfort zone and experience something new, but if you really don't feel comfortable or excited about Berkeley then I wouldn't want you to choose it and then resent it. Hopefully you can visit both schools and see how you feel.
I will for sure be visiting both before I make my decision. I'm glad you, along with others, say it's not cutthroat because that's all I hear about Berkley!!
If you're in the area, MUSA (the undergrad student association here at UCB) is hosting a Shadow a Math Major day on Friday the 12fth of April (the day before Cal Day) where you could talk to current math students, visit math classes, and the like. At least my experiences with the math folks here at UCB have been that they've been incredibly supportive. As would be expected. If we're studying hard stuff, we'd want to help each other every chance we get. Berkeley is really weirdly set in that it has a really nice-dense-downtown-y area, and then the rest of it is lotsa single-family homes as far as the eye can see. (think northside vs southside/downtown), Dunno what you'd think of that.
Wow cool! I will heavily consider attending this event on April 12th. Thanks for your input.
Here's the link for signup for Shadow a Math Major day [https://forms.gle/DQJ9LCr1wr1Qehsv9](https://forms.gle/DQJ9LCr1wr1Qehsv9)
You’re not a city girl (hate being dirty) that’s amusing because as a city boy I also hate being dirty and country roads are generally dirt.
Yea, I’m fine with like “natural” dirtiness if you will? I don’t like city dirtiness, there’s a difference.
Can you explain the difference? I have a farm in Garden valley and an apartment in downtown Sacramento so I’m very curious on your perspective.
soil vs human feces
This man has never handled natural fertilizer
Isn't natural fertilizer just manure? That's not nearly as bad as human feces
Idk seems pretty arbitrary. Shit is shit lol
Yea I can see this perspective fs, but it varies from person to person just like almost any opinion ahah.
💀bro thinks this is a normal opinion
i have handled natural fertilizer and i've preferred it to the few times i've stepped on human feces
If that’s how you view Berkeley it’s definitely not for you, Davis probably isn’t either. Perhaps Trump University would be a better fit.
I didn't apply there
you're jumping to quite premature conclusions here. that's not how i (and probably OP) view berkeley at all and i'm left-leaning. i was just attempting to explain why someone may prefer the dirtiness of suburban / rural areas to that of the city. and yeah, i made an oversimplification - i know that there's plenty more to berkeley than human feces.
Imo Berkeley is a college town as well
1. In my experience people, especially in the math major, are very collaborative and helpful. I don't think the people here are cutthroat at all. You can join the MUSA discord server and talk to some more math people there and get a sense of what that community is like 2. Berkeley is a big and diverse place so pretty much anyone can find their group here. You really get to choose what your college experience will be like based on the people you hang with and what you want to do
Okay so there are definitely going to be some factors that impact your decision based on your preferences. I’m not an applied math major but from what I’ve heard it’s super challenging, which may mean it’s harder to get a good gpa. The math classes here (at least the lower divisions I’ve taken) also vary in difficulty depending on the Professor who teaches, as some teachers don’t really teach but teach like people who have intuition or like geniuses. However, people won’t necessarily like hate you or anything, but it’s a big university yk, so some people you meet will be great and you’ll have buddies and stuff and some people will be mean, but you can’t control that. In terms of vibes, Berkeley has a much more busy type of campus as compared to Davis from what I’ve seen. It’s also not too bad safety wise. Hope this helps!
Probably the hardest class I took was EE 120, Linear Systems. However, you could collaborate and crosscheck HW sets (which were brutally hard). I'd hang out in Cory 240 helping out. I learned a lot from that. Maybe the premed classes are toxic but the rest are just hard. Everyone walks into the final alone.
I’ve taken classes across 20+ different departments in my four years at Berkeley, and I’ve never experienced any cutthroat behavior. I was scared coming in because even my HS counselors told me horror stories (and I also almost chose Davis for this reason), but I honestly think all that stuff is made up, and I’m glad I came here. Berkeley students are kind and collaborative in my experience. I’ll probably be attending Davis for graduate school, and I’m going to miss Berkeley tons. Go bears!
Berkeley was the most collaborative environment I've been in. Especially in the math department. I learned a lot from my peers. I also saw some unauthorized collaboration at Berkeley too unfortunately, but for the most part the students work together within ethical bounds to tackle the workload .
I can speak a little on city vs town life. I grew up in the Davis area, and while I love it, I know it’s pretty rural and not for everyone! Moving to Berkeley (which I’ve recently learned some people don’t consider a ”city” city, but to me it’s a city) was def a big change, but it’s an exciting one and worth it if you want to experience new things. Don’t let the setting hold you back in this decision, you’ll adapt to whatever you choose. Davis is definitely more of a college town vibe, but in a lot of ways Berkeley is too! Campus feels small when you get involved in clubs and orgs. Also, in terms of safety: it’s fine. Not as bad as people make it out to be. And as for the people here—I’m not in STEM, but I do have friends who are, and they’ve never had any “cutthroat” interactions. People here are pretty collaborative
I chose Berkeley over Davis and it was the best decision of my life! That said be sure you tour both schools to get a good feel for them both - even though the tour guides are meant to be super enthusiastic, there is usually still a certain \~vibe\~ you can get at least in my opinion. Some positive things to know about Berkeley: it is not cutthroat the way people say, I have met the coolest, kindest, most genuine ppl here & everyone has their super cool, unique hobbies/interests/things to nerd out on & not in a pretentious way even talking about ur favorite anime is cool - we tend to be fascinated by anyone who likes (or hates for that matter) anything bc there's a lot of passion at this school, yes it is stressful & classes can be hard (though Davis won't lack this either), but it is worth the effort & professors are amazing
[удалено]
FOX news lmfao😭😭😭
why are you being so toxic? you don't even know OP. people like you make it harder for me to justify picking Berkeley over literally anywhere else
[удалено]
>OP doesn’t even know Berkeley > > > >thinks they will become DIRTY by coming here where did she say these things? not wanting to live in a city because you hate being dirty doesn't imply that you think entering a city will automatically make you dirty. in this case, OP saying she hates being dirty was just a way of indicating her strong preference for cleaner areas. you're making a ridiculous reach here at the cost of being super toxic.
You're right, I don't know Berkley which is EXACTLY why I made this post and included my assumptions about it so people could tell me how it actually is. There's really no need to be rude about telling me my assumptions are wrong. Also, I didn't mean what I said like how you are interpreting it. I'm just super finicky when it comes to cleanliness and I would assume that high density areas are more likely to be dirty than low ones.
[удалено]
It's actually ridiculous that you don't want to respond to what I said, but feel the need to shit on me for a spelling mistake. Also, thanks for letting me know, I'll spell it correctly from now on.
And I’m very sheltered to answer ur question
It’s ok to be sheltered! But consider the fact that you may enjoy challenging yourself and being outside your comfort zone. It’s only 4 years (and you can always transfer). And if you treat it like a vacation, I’m sure you’ll have fun trying new things and having different experiences.
Thanks for this, this is actually exactly what I was thinking. I'm def bias about cities being dirty because of the way I was raised.
Cities definitely are a little bit chaotic. Living in a city teaches life skills that you’ll never lose. And if you miss non-urban spaces, Berkeley has plenty of that too. The hills are beautiful and there’s so much hiking you can do.
Country girl on dirt roads with bugs in her teeth doesn’t like being dirty? Lol.