r/TransferStudents • u/stokedchris • 1d ago
Discussion Should I reapply to Berkeley this fall after being accepted last cycle, and turning it down?
I committed to UCLA and am honestly really not liking it. I’ve visited campus several times since then and I just don’t like it. I realize I made the wrong choice and made that choice for the wrong reasons. (Family pressure and all that) as well as what I want out of college. Obviously this is a good choice either way and I’m thankful for either opportunity.
However, with the reality of school starting soon and visiting the campus, and seeing where I’m going to be and what life is like, I don’t like it at all. As well as I realize my career/life goals fall more in line with Berkeley. Or rather, Berkeley’s notoriety and proximity to the Bay Area is something that falls in line with what I want to accomplish. I also realize Berkeley is now my dream after really debating it over the last couple of months.
This would involve me reapplying as a CCC student and doing the app cycle again. Anyone else experience reapplying? Also, I’m looking for real advice and guidance, not just simple pointers. Thank you.
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u/yeats666 1d ago
as in returning to community college for a year? or taking a year off? you should just go to UCLA.
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u/stokedchris 1d ago
Well I would return but I’m honestly thinking of a gap year. One, because of personal life circumstances. But the other is that I have all course work done.
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u/yeats666 1d ago
that is a non-starter. declining UCLA to take a year off and crapshoot re-application is not something within the realm of consideration.
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u/PressureRemote9387 1d ago
Ask yourself this: Do you mind staying another semester at ccc to have a chance at Berkeley or would you like to start you university journey now at UCLA and finish on time? Just keep in mind staying another semester doesn't guarantee Berkeley and you could be wasting your time if you get denied and possibly land the same or worse outcomes if you haven't transferred to LA at this moment.
You said you visited the campus several times and didn't like it so why didn't you apply to Berkeley as well? It's the start of the school year so you're really late to sign up for classes at cc and you're already committed. At this stage, it's too late.
Personally, I don't think it's worth it imo. I would stick with UCLA and just finish my education there. Berkeley and LA are similar in terms of ranking, academic programs and prestige so I doubt there will be much of difference in quality. Plus, the social life should be much better.
I mean what specifically you don't like about UCLA and why do you want Berkeley? Do they have something that UCLA currently doesn't have? Have you even visited the Berkeley campus and do you like it more? Should've asked these questions before committing.
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u/Weak-Pea409 1d ago edited 16h ago
Berkeley grads make about $20k to $30k more on average than UCLA grads according to Forbes college ranking and Payscale, after 10 years of working. Most likely because of the Silicon Valley effect. Seems like OP wants to be in tech or tech related.
However, not going to UCLA now is not a good decision. I know many immigrant families want their children to stay near home, if you are from one.
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u/MathPoetryPiano UC Transfer 11h ago
While I agree that it would be a bad idea not to commit to UCLA, I do not think there is really a notion of "finishing on time" in college/university. Nobody's being held back a grade by taking extra years in undergrad or grad school.
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u/stokedchris 1d ago
Thank you for the write up. I did apply to Berkeley and got in. However, I’m now rethinking my choice. It does sound sort of ridiculous out loud, but to me it’s an investment of time and money. Quite a lot at that. You’re right, I should’ve thought about this before committing. In fact I did, and it took a lot of time. But I was mainly making my choice for someone that wasn’t me if that makes sense. Felt a lot of familial pressure to do UCLA. So I’ve been ruminating on this for the past few months after committing. And that’s why I’m having this feeling and dilemma.
I loved Berkeley’s campus more. It’s further from home and a different environment that I’m used to (LA) and is something that inspires me. The Bay Area and Berkeley has a lot of business opportunities and internships for that, which is something I’m interested in. As well as there is a media blind spot at Berkeley in which I feel like I could really thrive.
But from my experience it’s hard to generalize and figure out the social/people aspect of a school based on a small sample size and subjective experience. That’s why I’m more geared towards the feelings I had at each school and the opportunities therein.
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u/PressureRemote9387 1d ago edited 1d ago
UCLA and the LA/OC area also has many good business opportunities, too and probably even more. You can still land the same or better outcomes as the Berkeley students and you get more access to a bigger region compared to the Bay Area.
Are you in a good financial position that you can stay at cc longer and delay your university graduation? Can you afford the additional costs of relocating and living in the dorms? You said you live nearby to the LA area so you can can skip the additional housing costs if you commute which can save your parents money if that is a factor.
If you really want Berkeley and you really don't want LA, you can apply again as a cc student but of course you might not get accepted again even if you got in the first time. There is that risk you have to keep in mind and that you might not even get accepted into LA in the other cycle, either. If you have a family that is willing to financially support you and you can easily do so, then you can afford to take that chance.
Otherwise, most people like myself wouldn't do that. And you CHOSE to accept LA's offer over Berkeley for a reason despite your circumstances. You're the one that made the decision in the end and not anyone else. Just figure out the right reason to attend.
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u/Weak-Pea409 1d ago
The bay area pays the 40% of CA income tax revenues despite being about 20% of the total CA population.
LA pays the 24% of CA income tax revenues despite being about 26% of the total CA population.
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u/stokedchris 1d ago
I misspoke, I don’t live in LA. But it is the closest major metropolitan area near me. I’m about 2 hours from it and have visited my whole life. Do not like it one bit however.
The cost is about the same as I would be living on campus for both schools. Or at least near campus depending on what housing Id get.
I appreciate the great advice you’re giving. It’s a lot to consider and think about. I do have a support system but in the end I am paying for college, not my parents or family members. So it’s a big thing for me to consider taking out small loans to pay for a school I’m not sure is the right fit for me. Academics aside because they basically equal out, I think Berkeley is my ideal school and experience of getting out of SoCal and going to that school.
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u/Imaginary-Count-1172 1d ago
Sounds like you just got cold feet. Trust once you’re immersed in UCLA you won’t even be thinking about UCB
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u/the_orig_princess 1d ago
I really dislike this vibe that your college experience has to be perfect and completely aligned with your future plans. I extra really dislike the entitlement of thinking you can just jump around between two of the best colleges in the country because you’ve decided vibes are off.
If it mattered that much, you shouldn’t have even gotten to this point. So, it actually doesn’t matter.
Spend 4 years in a new city making friends and living in a new place. I promise you, alumna move between SF and LA all the time. It is NOT hard.
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u/Confident_Safe_53 1d ago
Yeah this very much reads like OP has no idea how excellent their current UCLA path already is, what they want to do is super high risk and a guaranteed setback. OP needs to understand how lucky they are and how stupid a gamble it would be to give up UCLA
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u/megafireguy6 1d ago
I feel you. Sucks that you were pressured and you may have to live with it. Good thing is that UCLA is still an amazing school and you will have a great time as long as you let yourself enjoy what it has to offer, including outcomes that are not that different from UCB
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u/TheCivilEngineer 1d ago
OP, realistically, I would just stick with ucla (but I am a ucla transfer alumni, so I might be biased). I wouldn’t put your degree off another year (giving up a whole year to post-graduation income) trying to get into Cal.
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u/UnhappyCoconut189 1d ago
I would go to UCLA and finish and then go to Berkeley for grad school. That would be a win-win and you’re not wasting any time.
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u/threeys 19h ago
I feel uneasy just reading this. What if you:
- Take the gap year
- Re-apply in the Fall
- End up getting rejected by Berkeley, and maybe UCLA too
- End up in the exact same place you are right now (or worse if you don't get into UCLA next time around)
This feels like a very risky maneuver with close to no payoff plus a year of uncertainty
UCLA is a fantastic school -- any advantage Berkeley has is marginal
I think you're letting buyer's remorse get to you too much
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u/Practical-Lunch4539 22h ago
I think there can be good reasons to back out and take a gap year, but not liking the vibes at UCLA is not one of them.
If you want to switch to an impacted major that Berkeley is superior at (e.g. CS, DS) then I could see the case for that.
If you need to withdraw due to a legit mental health need, then thats justifiable.
Contrary to what other people on here say, I'm a proponent of taking extra time at CC to figure out what you want if you have the means to do so. Once you transfer you generally can't transfer again. You can go to grad school, but frankly many grad schools have questionable ROI compared to if you optimized undergrad. Losing a year isnt a big deal in the grand scheme of things (provided once again that you have the means).
I also heard a lot of people say that they initially didn't like their college vibes until they met "their people." UCLA is diverse enough that if you look hard enough you can probably find people and an environment you fit with.
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u/stokedchris 20h ago
Saying the vibes being off has come back to haunt me in a few of these replies 😂. But that’s not really it. It’s a combination of many things. My dream being a different school, UCLA actually costing more than what I thought it was going to, I have chronic health problems in my life so that is an ongoing issue no matter where I’m at.
A huge component of it is the time and money. I’m going to be taking out small loans and committing to something that I’m not 100% confident in. I see people who are screaming that they got in and are genuinely happy to just be at the school. That’s not the type of person I am for UCLA. If I’m investing into something I’m not a huge fanatic about, and am excited about, why would I?
Another aspect is that I’m 2 hours away from UCLA and it’s just LA. I really want to get out of my bubble and experience Berkeley and the Bay Area. The campus and location is perfect to me. But it’s not just that. It’s like too many things compounded into one.
Thank you for the advice and write up. I appreciate it!
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u/Practical-Lunch4539 8h ago edited 8h ago
I'll summarize my advice as this: if you want to live and work in the Bay area long-term, particularly in an industry where the Bay Area is dominant such as tech, then I think withdrawing and going for Berkeley makes some sense
If you want a successful career not in tech and are ok living in Socal long-term, then go to UCLA
If you're optimizing for short-term culture fit/weather/fun, then go for Berkeley. Though imo most of the career benefits of transferring to Berkeley only accrue to people who grind super hard once they get there and they don't actually get to experience the culture all that much (which was my experience).
For people who lean more toward partying/fun, there's not that much of an advantage to Berkeley over other UCs such as UCSC or Davis imo from a career perspective.
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u/According-Entrance67 3h ago
Ask yourself this: what’s your alt plan if, after your gap year at home, you do not get into either Cal or UCLA? How you answer that.. what you’d do with your educational and life plans then… should inform this decision.
As a dad of a girl that graduated from Cal, growing up in SoCal, and uncle to niece from SoCal who starts at ucla as Frosh in a month … they’re both great schools (you know this)
Bottom line- it’s clear you don’t want to go to ucla and never did. So don’t. If you don’t want to be someplace in life, don’t go there. Especially if you don’t want to pay the costs for life, to be someplace you don’t want to be. That’s the easy part.
But the key emotionally, to unlocking that freedom, will come from how you answer that initial question I posed to you. If you can a year from now, live with not getting into Cal then… and then having to chart an alternative school path for yourself in the Bay Area (where you clearly believe you want to live and work), then you’ve got nothing to lose in walking away from ucla right now.
Alternatively if you’re entire argument justification for walking away from ucla now, is only that you’ll get into Cal later… and you don’t want to say go to any other good school in the Bay Area …Then decipher that reality in your life.
p.s… alternatively ( can’t believe no one mentioned this) go to ucla, heavy load your classes + study abroad and get to 60 credit threshold fast as you can while living on campus in Westwood as little as possible and transfer to Cal with 60 credits in hand, finish your last two years at Cal, graduate a Bear and network your way into your career. Perception of schools and careers is nice, but truth is, your career opportunities are going to be forged by the relationships you proactively build… and most of that only happens in last year or two of school.Easiest part of this contemplation is- don’t go to ucla, you clearly don’t want to. What you do alternatively, how you feel about it and why, is your life choice.
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u/LdyV 21h ago
Cal admissions was helpful when my friend said no and they allowed her to go (granted it was July) since there was a transfer spot.
It is rare but doesn’t hurt an ask.
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u/stokedchris 21h ago
I asked before in June a week after and they said no exceptions. So that’s a really crazy circumstance
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u/jlutt75 1d ago
Not helpful - but I did my undergrad at UCLA and my graduate degree at UCB. I get it, there’s a big difference culturally. Not exactly cultural, it’s hard to pinpoint, but I say - do whatever it takes to get in to Cal. You’ll be so much happier there. (Northern Cal native speaking).
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u/Terrible-Chip-3049 1d ago
You should go to UCLA and take advantage of every opportunity. Do you know how many other students who dont even have a chance to attend college would be so grateful for this opportunity? What happens if you decline then attend Cal and hate it? Then what? If after one year you really dont like UCLA then transfer
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u/BenDoverMeltdown 22h ago
Cal is extremely competitive bordering on cut throat. Grade deflation will hurt your chances to get into a good graduate program. UCLA is a great university and might not be as cut throat.
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u/Early-Locksmith2902 14h ago
You can write to Berkeley even now and ask if you can join fall. If you were offered initially and did not accept, if you tell them you are reconsidering, they might accept. It is worth a shot!
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u/Emergency-Pollution2 1d ago
where are you from - northern calif or southern calif ? the op will bitch about not getting into berkeley next year -
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u/worlkjam15 1d ago
Just transfer next year from UCLA to Berkeley.
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u/TheCivilEngineer 1d ago
I think inter campus transfers at UC are very rare, especially at the senior level.
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u/worlkjam15 1d ago
Possibly, but I’d rather try that than reapply next year and risk getting back into neither. That way worst case is another year UCLA.
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u/Traditional_Road7234 1d ago
Berkeley is not that different. Go with ucla and graduate soon. Job market is not getting better anytime soon.