Berkeley?

[nyucknyuck]

Note: this is not to start a flame war.

A person and I have had a "discussion" on the views of Stanford students toward Berkeley students. I think you'd be pretty hard-pressed to find a Cal student who thinks that Stanford students are "subpar" in any way. But I don't think it'd be too difficult to find a Stanford student who turns his nose up at

Comments

[disquesinge]

I really don't think there is much of a rivalry from Stanford's side. Yeah some folks feel that way, I guess, but overall there isn't that much hostility I feel towards Cal.

I think Cal is a good school. I have one friend who goes there. From everything I perceive, Cal is ridiculously full of Californians, the classes are way big, and logistical problems can be nightmares. But that's what you get as school size increases, regardless of private/public status.

I don't like the huge stereotypes of Stanford that Cal has (and others, too) as far as wealthy students are concerned. Yes, there are quite a few VERY wealthy people, but Stanford seems to have more working class people than Cal, which includes me. I don't have a BMW and I never will. I wanted to go to Berkeley, but they don't offer sufficient financial aid, especially to out of staters, and Stanford pays for nearly everything. So I feel that Cal students must be decently well-off to be able to afford to attend, since they actually have to be able to pay for school.

I think that depending on what you study, you could get vastly different experiences in education at either institution. Overall, while I wanted to go to Cal, the lack of regional diversity and the lack of financial aid offered (and their statement that they want to pay for California students with money from out of staters, even poor Oregonians) make me not like the institution anymore. Oh, and the rich people.

[nyucknyuck]

It's been a while since this was posted, but I feel more knowledge now in answering.

You said:

"the classes are way big"

In my research, only about 5% of Berkeley's classes have over 100 students; this is only slightly higher than Stanford's. In addition, more than 60% of classes at Berkeley have fewer than 20 students, compared to about 70% at Stanford. So not substantially different -- I think the "big class" image is what most people tend to attach to state schools.

"Yes, there are quite a few VERY wealthy people, but Stanford seems to have more working class people than Cal"

Agreed. Both have about the same % students on financial aid, though Cal's student body tends to have more low-income students. But that's really just what happens in private vs. public.

"So I feel that Cal students must be decently well-off to be able to afford to attend, since they actually have to be able to pay for school."

Nah, Cal's just half of the price of Stanford. Plus, Berkeley grads on average graduate with less debt than Stanford grads, by about $1000, so generally, financial aid packages are going to result in the same amount of student/family contribution.

http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=3387&profileId=2
http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=988&profileId=2

[nyucknyuck]

knowledgeable*

screw nouns.