The school had a rigorous curriculum with great professors. "Life-study balance" was good.

Since it is a public school, it is not great with networking opportunities, which I believe can improve.

I would strongly encourage students to consider attending this school.

Yes

Quality of faculty

Small, walkable campus

Deep roots in California

Prominent reputation

Location/surrounding areas

Gigantic class sizes

Lack of personal attention

Lack of career guidance

If you are considering attending a large public university in California, Berkeley is one of the best options. The professors are great, the school has a solid reputation, and spending your college years in the Bay Area is amazing. However, the class sizes are large, guidance (especially with respect to post-graduate careers and further education) is minimal, and students are expected to make their own way in many respects. For an independent student, this is not necessarily a bad thing. However, some students who need more hand-holding might find this daunting.

Yes

Diverse environment

Rigorous academics

Near a lot of fun things to do in the Bay Area

A lot of clubs and opportunities to find your place on campus

Target school for many companies

Very competitive and sometimes demoralizing environment (especially premed and STEM majors)

Large school so sometimes you don't receive individualized attention

High cost of living/rent

Visit the campus and see if you enjoy the vibe, don't just pick the school based on prestige because this is a place where you're going to be for the next four years at minimum. It doesn't matter how good the school is if you're not happy here because your grades will reflect that, and student mental health is a large epidemic here.

Yes

Great learning atmosphere, meet life-long friends, professors and GSI are very helpful, no regret for choosing to go to Berkeley

sometimes you can be stressful when you realize that you have four midterms a week - yet right now is October and it is only the first wave!

There are a lot of clubs in Berkeley. I am really glad that I join the clubs in Berkeley and meet a lot of awesome people there.

Yes