What you should know before attending UC Berkeley | Downsides of CAL

[@leah.isabel]

I’m a 4th year undergraduate at UC Davis and I just got admitted to Cal for my Master’s and honestly I think my soft Davis heart is not ready for Cal… how are they only an hour away from each other? 🤣 Everyone at Davis is really smart but not toxic/competitive but rather very helpful and nice. My cohort for the Master’s program I was admitted to is only 10-15 people so I’m really scared if there’s going to be competition between us. ;-; There’s also almost no crime here it’s incredibly safe and sheltered, even more than my own hometown. I’ve visited Berkeley only once for an internship and got my wallet taken after I dropped it that day! I’m a little nervous for the complete 180 from UC Davis I’m still excited! Thank you for this video, it was helpful!

[@adamramirez1]

Wallet story is crazy but also not surprised. Not sure if the toxic/competitive culture carries over to Cal’s grad schools. I would think it wouldn’t but it’s really a coin flip. Also really depends on the ppl in your program since it’s a small group

[@Zerocool_Smiley]

Depends on what you're coming for grad school. From an engineering / STEM perspective, it is not as competitive as undergraduate studies. Mainly due to the fact that grad students don't have much "to prove" academically. Everyone in their cohort is also really interested in the same thing, and most importantly is that many grad students did their undergraduate studies at campuses other than Cal!!! So they don't come in with that cut throat mindset but rather one of more collaboration as you described experiencing at Davis. In terms of living situation and crime, if you could afford it, I would say try to find housing on the "North Side" of campus. It is extremely safe and quite the opposite from South side or west/downtown Berkeley. Many professors live on north side and a lot of graduate students do to. Hence, not a lot of social life or crime happening on North side. Because of that, I would say North Side is welcoming to those who prefer a more quiet and slower pace of life. Which might be up your alley if you're coming from Davis and are also a grad student! Lastly, since Northside is more safe and slower pace, there isn't as much public transit or lighting at night, but you should know about Bear Walk! After certain hours at night, you can request someone to literally walk you to your front door step to make sure you arrive home safely :). North side also has LOTS of trees in comparison to Southside, so if you like nature, it's nice to walk by the trees and parks and stop by the rose garden. bonus if your department / classes are on the north end of campus.

[@Di-Pi]

Stay safe in Davis!

[@matthewspankowski1992]

Not the video we wanted, but the video WE NEEDED!!!!

[@mkgaming990]

Why it is reminding my Indian Engineering experience after I am watching your video 😅 as I am thinking to apply for masters program Expect I Didn't knew about the crime and all that so thank you for that and also for food cost too. Really informative video for me even its a Rant.

[@claudiorobles63]

Your spot on Adam. I attended there as a freshman back in 2014. Always had a worried feeling with the homeless people the further i got away from campus especially around people's park. Weather wise yes its a drastic change...i never knew it xould rain that much in a week and not see the sun at all. But yeah i cant imagine paying 15 bucks for a Chipotle burrito there on telegraph when i payed like 8 bucks for it..

[@matthewspankowski1992]

Thank you for your amazing content. I've been following your work now for months and by golly it has been top tier content. Keep up the good work!

[@adamramirez1]

Thank you, Matthew Spankowski!

[@donnakona7615]

Thanks for making this video!

[@adonis4186]

That's what's up. Recently visited UCSB and I fell in love with it. It puts things into perspective - esp. when it comes to picking a school.

[@mckinseyand2022]

I love Berkeley ❤

[@adamramirez1]

Me too

[@johannawallin984]

Helpful. Cal alum here from decades back currently super sad cal rejected my 18 year old who will now go be a bruin instead. Cals loss big time.

[@WilliamWang-zz6gq]

Hey Adam, I'm a student entrepreneur at Cal with a recently funded 3D social media startup. Your content skills caught my eye-interested in discussing a core social media role on our team?

[@analisasack2845]

I'm trying to decide between Cal and Ucla and this has kind of made me feel like Ucla might be the better choice. What do you think?

[@adamramirez1]

What are you gonna be studying?

[@m.pitt765]

Student @ Ucla aren't any smarter than students at other schools. Cal students are more well rounded and prepared to succeed.& have more opportunities to network. Ucla is overated in many academic depts-with exception the Medical school.. Ucla also discriminates against African Americans & other minority students. *Cal is far Superior in academics Overall than Ucla. Enough Said

[@Sbmhdk]

There are huge cultural and social differences at those two schools, in part due to location and history. I wonder what you decided?

[@oliviagrace9739]

@@Sbmhdk what differences are you referring to? curious!

[@Di-Pi]

I’m a former Golden Bear but I would choose to be a Bruin today. UCLA is in a really good neighborhood. LA is way more fun & cheerful.

[@davidwhite4997]

Things I learned at Cal: 1) Try to avoid first year professors or even several year Assistant professors. Many of them do not know their material well. Some do not know how to teach. 2) Try to avoid very old professors who are near or older than 65. Some are lazy. Others can be senile, etc. This is doubly true for JEWISH professors. About 5% of them go through early Alzheimer's Disease, etc. Others are just really rigid in their old age (or they have stopped learning new stuff). 3) Try hard not to alienate any JEWISH professors. The JEWISH professors tend to stick together. Thus if you alienate one, any number may start working against you in future classes. You may not see this coming; and it will likely hurt you a lot. 4) If they have Black Lightning Notes (or other named notes) provided by ASUC as word for word notes, always buy them as a good reference. 5) Try to take classes only from professors vs. graduate student instructors. Some of the graduate students may be good; but some are likely to be very bad. Tenured professors are usually at least passable. 6) If you can (and you need the money), try to get a part time job in a professional field such as as a scientist (or scientist's assistant) or as an engineer (or an engineer's assistant) or as a marketer (or a marketer's assistant). You get the idea. This is often excellent experience. It gives you a leg up when you eventually hit the job market (or when you apply to Medical School if you have some hospital experience). I could go on; but too many people would likely forget what I have said then.

[@MA_808]

I have attended three UCs as grad and undergrad including Cal. Cal was the worst experience, by far.

[@kevk4908]

what was the best of your experience?

[@jimmytellez1596]

Gracias por el video paisano

[@curtistrinh5654]

I think I actually met you in April.. you were from socal? You were working at Sproul I think.

[@virginiav.1172]

Good video, thanks.

[@Elitus_knightus]

Might as well train to become Batman if the crime is too high

[@halea41]

He extremely exaggerates it. Third world country? Come on. Its not that cold either. Maybe from January to April.

[@luisgalleguillos4868]

The key to have fun at UCB is to take the least number of umits in odd subjets like Geography of the Amazon Jungle or Ancient Mimoan Culture . Stanford seems to take care of their grafuates by getting them well paid jobs in industry while getting alcanced degrees . Take one foreign lsmguage until you can travel to that country and take one sport like tenmis until you are good at it . Universities are bad for the soul and bad for the human spirit somehow. Perhaps it is more like gladiator school in Ancient Rome . Bill Gates and Steve Jobs quit.

[@Di-Pi]

Graduated ‘75, it was a mess then.

[@WhiteWolf9924]

Why the Hawkeye shirt?

[@adamramirez1]

Thrifted it but also a big Caitlin Clark fan

[@ram_say3938]

Third world country?? That’s a bit too much man lol

[@adamramirez1]

Definitely an exaggeration lol but it’s not completely far off

[@m.pitt765]

Cal is in a dangerous nieghborhood; Always shootings near campus.

[@teecmukandi]

Great, coming from a third world country, Im goonna feel right at home

[@cdandmeg]

People lying on the ground and digging through trash cans for food, plus beggars everywhere. That is the reality and it is one indicator of 3rd world conditions. I agree with the video and got a great education there, but this is a real downside. SF is similar.

[@kumaranvij]

Cal students are so silly. Waaaah I can't wear my sweat shorts and t-shirts all year round! Ooh, someone shot a gun where I go to school, it's practically a "third world" country here! OK, I'm probably being mean. I grew up in Berkeley and we always made fun of all the Cal students. They usually don't even get to know the city. My husband went there and he'd never even been to Tilden Park, a beautiful huge area in the Berkeley hills, until I took him there years later. Yeah I don't know why I was recommended this video but I watched it and just had to comment. The kids at Berkeley High are still probably making fun of all the Cal students who are scared to leave campus and keep their eyes glued to the "crime updates."

[@adamramirez1]

Keep in mind berkeley students are in a bubble of their campus. We don’t have cars to explore the rest of Berkeley which a lot of areas are nice bc of gentrification. So I’m speaking about berkeley in a three mile radius to campus, just to clarify!

[@kumaranvij]

@@adamramirez1 Yeah sorry, I'm too old now to get away with the bratty high school stuff so I should be nice. My husband's a great guy and he's a silly Cal grad too. I recommend that before you head off to your post-grad life, however, that you take the city bus or a bike, or just walk (it shouldn't be more than half an hour) to the Berkeley Rose Garden, which in by May should be absolutely gorgeous. It's part of the larger Codornices Park, through which Codornices (Portuguese for "quail") creek runs, a creek that starts as a trickle in the hills and goes through many backyards and several public parks to end up in the bay. It's wonderful there, and you'll see some gorgeous flowers and amusing local Berkeleyans, as well as some of the fabulously constructed houses for which the city is rightfully famous, if you walk or bike. I know you're probably really busy but so many Cal students miss out on seeing the Berkeley sights beyond Telegraph Ave. and the campus area, and it's a real loss. I promise no one will hurt you. Sorry, couldn't resist.

[@kumaranvij]

@@adamramirez1 Also, the city I'm talking about is not "nice bc of gentrification." If you ever have the time, do a little googling on Berkeley (the city and its residents) culture and history. We were interesting and beautiful long before the 60s! Here's one article.

[@halea41]

Good video, but I think your crime assessment is exaggerated.

[@adamramirez1]

I still think its pretty bad but fair point

[@mmaclips510]

@@adamramirez1 just fight back

[@RoyceTuncar]

doing too much 😂

[@julianmm459]

Why do all your videos have to be so pessimistic?

[@adamramirez1]

Pessimism drives views and attention. I usually try to have a silver lining at the end tho.

[@adamramirez1]

My videos encapsulates the full picture too and the truth is not all sunshine and rainbows.