I wanted to be close to the city. It was has a really good reputation academically.
Course Curriculum
The academics are really good the professors are extremely smart and talented. It's a bit hard to develop a relationship with professors and get help with enrollment issues and other issues because of the large number of students in the school.
Exams
Four UC supplements for all schools in California.
Placement
They are good a lot of people end up going to work at big firms including Apple google Microsoft and big consulting firms they are really competitive but they do recruit from Berkeley so going here ( esp if your major is related to tech) is likely to help you get great connections and a good job. Going to school in the Bay Area also gives people a good opportunity to get into startups.
Internship
Yes, I am currently working at a fintech start-up based in San Francisco. I am not getting paid. I just applied to startups and did interviews.
Events
The campus life is good I have made some great friends. However, the Greek system is really big so if you are a social person you might want to consider that. As it is harder for POCs and international students to be included in Greek life ( meaning getting into fraternities and sororities) due to the racist nature of the system. In addition, despite Berkeley being a pretty diverse school people in California ( especially white people) have kind of closed mindsets and might show some racist tendencies. The Indian American and Asian American communities are huge but they are usually very into their own respective cultures but good to join if that is something you are interested in. To anyone going to UC Berkeley, I would highly recommend living in the house as it's a great community. Professional clubs and frats are also super big. They are extremely competitive but a good way to meet people and get good experience for jobs. I was part of one and enjoyed the experience.
Fees
65,000 dollars annually
Scholarship
No scholarship
Faculty
For more popular courses like basic statistics, they will be about 150 students in the class. For less popular courses they will be about 40-50 students. But we have smaller sections with GSIs ( graduate student instructors) where they are 10-15 people.
Hostel
International house $1800 a month
