osaycanUC;842140272 said:

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We'll have to agree to disagree...don't agree with that statement. I went to Cal and another "lesser" UC and found the student quality and drive to be comparable. Both schools had their fair share of geniuses and dummies. Personally I found the tests at the lesser UC to be harder. Maybe because the profs took the time to craft them personally (whereas at UCB that sort of task was often assigned to a GSI).

To lend some perspective, consider that the average incoming HS GPA for UC Davis freshman in 2013 is in the 4.2-4.3 range. Yeah, yeah, "grade inflation these days", but still. I can't imagine UCB incoming GPA profile being much higher. Source: http://www.theaggie.org/2013/04/11/admission-to-uc-davis-tougher-every-year/

The admit rate for UCD is now below 40%. The UCB admit rate is 21%. I'd imagine a measurable portion of the 79% rejected had no business applying in the first place,[COLOR="RoyalBlue"] but checked the "Berkeley" box just in case luck was on their side. It's a big name and "ya never know"...that sort of thing. It's "Berkeley" so might as well check the box just in case. [/COLOR]Anyway, if you exclude that pool of folks from the stats, the UCB admission rate would probably be a little higher (admittedly this is an assumption on my part). And thus again we see that the gulf between UCB stats and UCD stats is not so vast. Yes, Berkeley is a bit more selective, but this isn't a night-and-day difference we are talking about. Quality students fill both schools.

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That has not been the way UC applications work in a LONG time. You do not just "check a box." You have to apply to each school individually.

One of the more pathetic threads I've seen on this board. Isn't this a football board?

You guys need an academics board...

calumnus;842140302 said:

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That has not been the way UC applications work in a LONG time. You do not just "check a box." You have to apply to each school individually.

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When was this change made? Back when I applied almost a decade ago (holy crap it's been that long?) it was a checkbox and you just paid n*$95, or however each application cost. I knew people that had fee waivers so they just checked off all the boxes, though I'm not exactly sure what's the point of applying to Cal and UCLA, and also UCSC and UCR on the same app.

Interestingly enough the couple people I know that applied to all the schools did get into Cal, UCLA, UCSD, etc. but got rejected from UCSB, UCSC, UCR, and UCM. I'm guessing those schools figured there was no chance that they would be able to "outrecruit" the top tier UCs, let alone the plethora of private schools they probably would have gotten into with their scores.

BowDowntoWashington;842140314 said:

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One of the more pathetic threads I've seen on this board. Isn't this a football board?

You guys need an academics board...

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At least we have strong enough academics to even have this discussion :p.

osaycanUC;842140187 said:

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OP, what a b.s. post!

Whether some arrogant fools are willing to admit it, the reality is that most of the UCs are pretty similar from and undergrad standpoint and most very worthy of the "public Ivy" moniker. Quality programs and quality students at all the schools. Yes, Cal is slightly more selective (only slightly...the other UCs are catching up in this regard), but this doesn't mean the quality of instruction any better.

At my company there are all sorts of fresh UC grads: Cal, UCLA, Davis, Irvine, San Diego. All are very competent and qualified employees.

UCB and UCLA have a leg up over the other longstanding UCs in athletics, but in undergrad academics, nah. Speaking from experience here (intra-UC transfer).

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I agree that the UC's do not get the level of respect when compared to the "Ivy's" especially from the point of view of faculty. When our kids were in HS and my wife and I were visiting campuses, we took applicant tours of the key UC's. I was impressed with the status of the faculties at the UC's compared with the faculties of the other key East Coast premier colleges. Harvard, Yale, Brown, NYC, Columbia, Penn, Georgetown, Northwestern. (The last two I know are not official Ivy's).

However I disagree that the faculties at Cal and UCLA are the same as the faculties at the other UC's or that they offer the same high level of quality in the same courses. There are spots where Cal and UCLA have it over the other UC's. Not to a degree that Cal and UCLA grads should be overly arrogant - but a clear difference.
A recent faculty member in Political Studies at Davis recently joined the Cal faculty. She admitted that the Davis department was top notch. But she also admitted that her real heart's desire was Cal.

BTW could you please call it "Cal" and not UCB. It takes the same number of keystrokes.

BowDowntoWashington;842140314 said:

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One of the more pathetic threads I've seen on this board. Isn't this a football board?

You guys need an academics board...

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0-11

Happy now?

OskiMD;842140360 said:

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0-11

Happy now?

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Don't be a jerk, OskiMD. They were 0-12.

osaycanUC;842140272 said:

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We'll have to agree to disagree...don't agree with that statement. I went to Cal and another "lesser" UC and found the student quality and drive to be comparable. Both schools had their fair share of geniuses and dummies. Personally I found the tests at the lesser UC to be harder. Maybe because the profs took the time to craft them personally (whereas at UCB that sort of task was often assigned to a GSI).

To lend some perspective, consider that the average incoming HS GPA for UC Davis freshman in 2013 is in the 4.2-4.3 range. Yeah, yeah, "grade inflation these days", but still. I can't imagine UCB incoming GPA profile being much higher. Source: http://www.theaggie.org/2013/04/11/admission-to-uc-davis-tougher-every-year/

The admit rate for UCD is now below 40%. The UCB admit rate is 21%. I'd imagine a measurable portion of the 79% rejected had no business applying in the first place, but checked the "Berkeley" box just in case luck was on their side. It's a big name and "ya never know"...that sort of thing. It's "Berkeley" so might as well check the box just in case. Anyway, if you exclude that pool of folks from the stats, the UCB admission rate would probably be a little higher (admittedly this is an assumption on my part). And thus again we see that the gulf between UCB stats and UCD stats is not so vast. Yes, Berkeley is a bit more selective, but this isn't a night-and-day difference we are talking about. Quality students fill both schools.

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I got my PhD at UCI a few years back and can mostly agree with this.

I'll add that UCI, and presumably the other UC's, has its fair share of superstar faculty who could get hired anywhere if they wanted to. There's at least one in every department, especially in the hard sciences. My old boss turned an offer from MIT down in order to stay at UCI.

pingpong2;842140333 said:

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At least we have strong enough academics to even have this discussion :p.

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We need to put a moratorium on academics discussions until we crawl out of the Pac-12 cellar in APR.

YuSeeBerkeley;842140367 said:

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We need to put a moratorium on academics discussions until we crawl out of the Pac-12 cellar in APR.

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One could argue that our APR scores are low precisely because our academics are so rigorous and challenging :p.

pingpong2;842140397 said:

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One could argue that our APR scores are low precisely because our academics are so rigorous and challenging :p.

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Yes, I'm sure that's what college football recruits look for. More time in the classroom and less time on the field. Great pitch.

YuSeeBerkeley;842140405 said:

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Yes, I'm sure that's what college football recruits look for. More time in the classroom and less time on the field. Great pitch.

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I was referring to the merits of our school being strong academically, the impact on athletics notwithstanding.

calumnus;842140302 said:

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That has not been the way UC applications work in a LONG time. You do not just "check a box." You have to apply to each school individually.

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Unless this changed in the last 3 years, you definitely just check the box.

OskiMD;842140198 said:

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....... "public Ivy," ....is (a) slightly disparaging .....term.

The last thing I want is for people to start calling Cal a "public Ivy"... since Cal is much more than just that.

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I refer to Harvard and Yale as "private UC schools".

BowDowntoWashington;842140314 said:

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One of the more pathetic threads I've seen on this board. Isn't this a football board?

You guys need an academics board...

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BDW, I'm glad you post here, as I value perspectives of fans from other schools. Plus you've typically been rational, reasonable, and respectful in your posts.

But the above comment .....wow, you really do not understand the Cal fan base.

YuSeeBerkeley;842140367 said:

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We need to put a moratorium on academics discussions until we crawl out of the Pac-12 cellar in APR.

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If people here were trashing UCI student-athletes for being below par in the classroom, then I'd agree.

But people here are comparing the schools and the student populations overall. The Cal football APR, while currently an embarrassment, is irrelevant to this discussion.

BGGB2;842140474 said:

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I refer to Harvard and Yale as "private UC schools".

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Dream on.

concernedparent;842140414 said:

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Unless this changed in the last 3 years, you definitely just check the box.

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Yeah pretty sure you just check the box.

Cal and Irvine. Difference? Well, no one applying to Irvine gets redirected to Cal.

OdontoBear66;842140282 said:

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I guess since this started out with the public ivy comment that the entire focus here is on academics. I think that is pretty well sorted out by any number of rating services (which may disagree a bit in detail, but are generally similar).

As we assist our granddaughter with college selection I think you must consider a total experience. Of the UC campuses, I think Cal and UCLA, along with UCD offer that the most.

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Agree that Cal, UCLA, UCD have great campus and tight-knit campus communities that a proud of their school. I'm especially fond of the "college town" feel that Davis has. Very nice place and gotta love the bikes! Though for football nothing beats Memorial Stadium.

calumnus;842140302 said:

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That has not been the way UC applications work in a LONG time. You do not just "check a box." You have to apply to each school individually.

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Definitely just checked boxes about 8 years ago. Everything online and easy as can be.

68great;842140339 said:

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BTW could you please call it "Cal" and not UCB. It takes the same number of keystrokes.

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I can oblige My bad, there is already enough confusion between "Berkeley" and "Cal" with many not knowing these terms refer to the same school. No need for me to add to the confusion. Will try to get it right from now on. My shift key thanks you for the time off!