[noremedy]

Hey guys,
 
I know some of you went to UCA, and am therefore asking you college students and alumni for some advice.
 
I am currently at the University of Manchester UK, and we get offered exchange programmes to visit foreign universities.
 
One of the ones on the list is the University of California, and Berkley is listed. I know this is an outstanding college with an exceptional reputation, but this cannot be guaranteed. Other UCA campuses are listed, however is the standard of education homogenous, or is Berkley a stand out?
 
There are other colleges in the US listed such as Arizona State, but I understand these are very much second rate universities. If anyone could comment on any of these universities that would be greatly appreciated, but I am mainly interested in UCA.
 
 

1. Arizona State University
2. University of California
3. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
4. University of Maryland, College Park
5. University of Massachusetts at Amherst
6. University of Missouri at Columbia
7. University of Tennessee at Knoxville
8. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Other opportunities include:
 
Hong Kong and Sydney.
 
If anyone has anything to say regarding these, please do share.
 
Thanks,
 
Ben

1.  

 

[Moontan13]

Having come from that area, Berkley is very hard to get into as a freshman, much easier as a sphomore and nearly open to juniors. I know of a few that started college elsewhere then finished at UCBerzerkley.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Cal is pretty good, but you'll have more fun at ASU.
 
I wouldn't get hung up on the prestige angle.

 

[chadbang]

1. Arizona State University - Large. fair reputation. Not a springboard as a "prestige" school, though.
2. University of California - which one?
3. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign - Very good school with a great reputation. Good for techical folks. MIddle of nowhere
4. University of Maryland, College Park - Good school. Medical oriented, I think.
5. University of Massachusetts at Amherst - Moving towards Ivy league, if not quite there. But very well respected
6. University of Missouri at Columbia - eh.
7. University of Tennessee at Knoxville - A good school. Solid. But the deep south.
8. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - Very good school. Very pretty location.

No real bad choice. My top pics would be (Calif schools aside) Amherst, Champaign, North Carolina

 

[nealric]

 University of Massachusetts at Amherst - Moving towards Ivy league, if not quite there. But very well respected

 
You must be confusing UMass Amherst with Amherst College. The average SAT score at UMass for incoming freshmen was 1170 last year- hardly Ivy level. Amherst College's was a tick over 1400- near that of many Ivy league schools. . 
 
 
BTW: the Ivy league is just a sports conference. Plenty of elite schools are not in the Ivy league (Stanford, MIT, Caltech, etc.). I don't think the conference has any plans to expand anytime soon. 

 

[daigo]

Being a UC Berkeley alumni, I would vouch for the university.  The best public university in the US and among the best universities in the world.  Some classes may be ultra competitive so it may not be the best if you're looking for a party school, but the college atmosphere is still among the most unique, as long as you are open to alternative view points. 

 

[noremedy]

I would like to emphasise I DO NOT need to apply as a freshman, therefore class selection wouldn't be an issue - this is an exchange programme for 1-2 semesters.
 
Thanks for the replies so far.

 

[rds]

You should state what your major is.  
If you're in engineering Caltech, Stanford, and Berkley are among the best engineering schools in the world (and are all in california)... the only better school you could choose is MIT.  Their repuation holds for science in general, and actually overall they are very prestigious.  I don't know how difficult it would be to get in on an exchange program, but I know for graduate degree programs those schools are extremely competitive (in science basically 4.0 GPA from a reputable university and high GRE scores or forget it).  

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Hey guys,
 
I know some of you went to UCA, and am therefore asking you college students and alumni for some advice.
 
First off, just an FYI.  The University of California system is the U.C. system.  Including Berkeley, Los Angeles, Riverside, Irvine, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Davis, etc.  I went to UC Irvine myself.  The system requirements and standards are homogeneous, aside from admissions, except that Berkeley is fortunate to use the Semester system.  Everyone else uses Quarters so it feels more accelerated.  I do a lot of osmotic learning so didn't really appreciate the pace of the Quarter system and it took me time to adjust.  My advice to you is to focus less on the prestige angle and more on your chosen area of study and the kind of experience you want to have.  Exchange programs aren't necessarily about learning in the classroom IMO but experiencing culture and learning intangibles that your home institution can't provide you.  Trust me, I used to be hung up on names but learned what your accomplishments are and who you connect with are the important considerations.  I've sat on selection committees and more often than not a graduate from a no name college got the position over the Harvard or Yale applicants for various reasons.  The question you should be asking is which school has the best department or faculty to impact my major and offer me an opportunity to progress and succeed in my field.  The next question is which location is going to offer the best cultural learning experience to find out more about the world and yourself.  Perhaps challenge your preconceived notions.  Just an opinion. 
 

1. Arizona State University
2. Party school, hope you like Pac10 sports and lots of alcohol
3. University of California
4. see above

1. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
2. University of Maryland, College Park
3. Medical focus, proximity to DC?
4. University of Massachusetts at Amherst
5. Not Amherst College
6. University of Missouri at Columbia
7. University of Tennessee at Knoxville
8. pretty good school, big football program and southern environment.  Attend during football season for sure.  Hope you like Barbecue.
9. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hil
10. pretty good school as well, best ladies Soccer program in country and always top1-5 in mens Basketball.  Do not miss a Duke v. UNC BBall game.  Ditto on the Barbecue.

The others I can't comment more directly but to my knowledge none and academic slouches and should be considered if they offer you the things I mentioned above.  If you think you are of a progressive Liberal mind I would consider a school like Tennessee.  If I were a staunch Conservative I would go to Berzerkley.  But that's just me.  You have some thinking to do.  Hope this helps.
 
One last thing.  Wherever you decide in the US, if you do, try to see as many different states as possible!  Who Americans are on a local, state and regional level is a consideration most foreigners don't understand or comprehend.  If that matters to you.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Being a UC Berkeley alumni, I would vouch for the university.  The best public university in the US and among the best universities in the world.  Some classes may be ultra competitive so it may not be the best if you're looking for a party school, but the college atmosphere is still among the most unique, as long as you are open to alternative view points. 

I don't know anyone can claim to be the best.  Even the US News rankings are quite contrived once you learn how they compute the scores.  Along w/ Berkeley, University of Virgina, William and Mary, Michigan, UCLA are fabulous as well.  I still think Departments matter more.

 

[Khanate]

You seem to prefer the US to HK and Aus. In which case I'd first check UCLA and UCBerk for better recognition abroad.

 

[noremedy]

My "major" is Economics.
 
Thanks for the great advice so far.

 

[LostOne.TR]

Quote:

You seem to prefer the US to HK and Aus. In which case I'd first check UCLA and UCBerk for better recognition abroad.

A very fine point, although I don't particularly know which schools have more recognition abroad.  It is however something that should be considered, if any from your list of choices are well known/looked upon in the UK.

 

[eucariote]

Went to UC Berkeley and UC San Diego - loved both universities.  As noted above, the University of California system has 10 universities.  All are good academically, but many are in locations that are remote or boring.  For the best combination of location and academics, UC Berkeley, UCLA and UCSF are the best imo (the last only has post graduate studies, mostly in medicine).  UC Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and San Diego are in beautiful coastal areas but are attached to relatively small (UCSB, UCSC) or boring (UCSD) towns.  Also consider Stanford for the location and academics, if you don't mind their exorbitant tuition.

 

[noremedy]

Stanford is not on the exchange programme, and I am not looking for a U.S transfer.
 
Thanks so far, and you would be right in assuming I prefer the US option, I love it in the US.
 
As for HK, I have a friend who went there last year and am discussing that with him.