Hao Chen

Review of UC Berkeley

One of the best and famous universities in the wor...

One of the best and famous universities in the world. Renowned for its historical academic achievements, staffs, and atmosphere.
Facility-wise, old and new interlocked; major-wise, liberal arts and science exchanged; inhabitant-wise, intelligence and passion fused.
That said, some buildings and structures are antiqued enough to be historical monuments, but more are plain old and heavy-mood. New buildings are erecting, but they are a whole different story. Berkeley, or Cal, is known for its iconic Campanile and the hilly campus (and fogs), meaning if one isn't at least minimally physically fit, one better not take classes that would require repetitive up-down walking daily.
Downtown Berkeley is both ghetto and renovated, in the sense of one could experience very sophisticated and liberal events, while also spotting mess-up incidents right next. All in all, it is a "well balanced" scene.
---and this unique mixture extends well inside the campus (well, there are not really any practical walls blocking it, while the University has multiple off-campus buildings buried in the town; and there are frats and srats), except with a much thicker academic feelings, and higher chances hearing intelligent exchanges of words.
Education here is inspiring and thoughtful. Although some majors are fiercely competitive and popular, while some are the exact opposite. The spirit of sparkling new ideas and merging different ones are common everywhere. Undergraduate classes often aren't ideal in the area of class size and chance to interact with professors, but some of the liberal literature / general education classes unrelated to one's major, could have longlasting effects throughout life and career, which I think is valuable.