JUST BE READY FOR IT

Introduction
From what I have heard, other schools seem to be harder than Berkeley, but I personally think that this is a misconception, having lived at UC Berkeley for the past month and a half. The science, yes, are extremely difficult; u get all those people trying to get into premed, etc who need the grades in those classes so the distribution of grades is wide because the teachers are hard. But, if you are planning to go into social sciences: econ, language, asian american studies, political science... CONSIDER BERKELEY YOUR HOME. The classes are not all that competitive and there are definitely teachers who are easier than others. I don't think you get this choice in teachers on the science side.

Campus Life and Social Life
SUCKS!! unless you want to party or get drunk. If you are politically "committed" and do not want to join a Christian club, DO NOT COME TO BERKELEY. Teachers are extremely biased here; if you want to get the full picture of politics, go to another school. Berkeley is huge though and, by the law of large numbers, you got to find someone you like over here ;). Advertisement
Academics
if you are in a big class(e.g. econ 1, astro C10, Math 1A...) RESEARCH your GSI. Some GSIs do not even help you with the class; they just lecture on whatever they want;(. It is very important to have a good GSI; it can make the difference between an a and a B. Otherwise, English classes are relatively easy; just usual work...essays and such...but they are just mostly testing your material knowledge, not your writing style, unless u take upper div courses or take creative writing classes. Language classes are easy, just lots of work. SCIENCE IS REALLY REALLY TIME CONSUMING. Try to avoid the big lecture classes (600+ ppl) IT IS INSANE. Plus these classes take lots and lots of work. If you want to fulfill breath requirements for your college, take a seminar or a smaller class. SEMINARS CAN BE A BOOBYTRAP. MY seminar requires the most work out of all my classes and I only have it once a week, BUT it is insanely fun ;).

Student Body
diverse. depends what your definition of diverse is. Yes, we do have all the colors of the rainbow (so to speak) but as far as diversity. The asians hang out together, the whites hang out together and the blacks hang out together. Don't expect to become friends with people outside of your own culture. People at Berkeley tend to gravitate towards their own kind. SUCKS but thats how it is.

In Closing...
Think twice before turning down a private for Berkeley. I know a lot of my friends are super depressed that they turned down a school like MIT or Columbia to come here. Its an okay school, but if u get into a fantastic school, GO WITH IT.