University of California-Berkeley Top Questions

There are two primary stereotypes of a UC Berkeley student. 1. The Hippie Stoner: Because of our history in the 60's, when you say "I go to Berkeley", many people think you are an active protester, smoke pot all day, and only eat tree bark. 2. The Over-Achiever: This type of student has virtually no social life and keeps their nose in a book, so they can become a Doctor/Lawyer/I-Banker. Both stereotypes are partially true. Most of the students on campus lean to the left politically and every semester someone is protesting something. However, the largest group on campus is the Berkeley College Republicans, so there is some diversity of opinion, and while there is the occasional protest, most are small and most students tend to avoid them. Because Berkeley is academically rigorous, it also attracts the "Over-Achiever" but most people maintain a social life while earning "A"'s. We don't spend our Saturday nights in the library and spend just as much time talking about funny cat videos as we do talking about Schrodinger's Cat.

The stereotype that I had of Berkeley students previously to attending school here was of hyper-liberal and very intellectually driven individuals. As it turns out, the hyper-liberal students tend to be less intellectually and more emotionally driven as they get caught up in the current of political activism. The intellectually driven students are often quiet, somewhat introverted, and low-key. The political extremist "hippie" image of the 60's and 70's has been reduced to representation through the more liberal faculty and the aging burnouts that roam the streets, homeless and befuddled.

The stereotype that I had of Berkeley students previously to attending school here was of hyper-liberal and very intellectually driven individuals. Since then, I've encountered many other stereotypes of students that are probably more accurate than the one I had. The hyper-liberal students tend to be less intellectually and more emotionally driven as they get caught up in the current of political activism. The intellectually driven students are often quiet, somewhat introverted, and low-key.There are a lot of Asian students, many of which speak surprisingly little conversant English. Walking around on campus it seems like most of the students are Asian. The political extremist "hippie" image of the 60's and 70's has been reduced to representation through the more liberal faculty and the aging burnouts that roam the streets, homeless and befuddled.

yes, but students here party a lot more than you would think. and no, berkeley really is not a school filled with the socially awkward. visit schools like davis and you'll find more of those. at berkeley, we study hard and then we party hard

Partially true.

There are definitely tree-sitters, potheads, and stressed out students. However, those stereotypes do not even begin to properly describe the Cal population. Perhaps one of the best things about Cal, is that the people who come end up discovering that they're not so special anymore. They may have been the best and brightest wherever they were before, but now they may be average or dull compared to other people. So, people take up bag piping, archery, or take to wearing only purple. Thus, people become a lot more accepting of eachother's differences, because they understand how important it is to be different.

Liberal? Sure, plenty of that. Hippies? Not really in style these days among our generation, but I still spot a couple every once in a while. Marching in protest a la 1960s Free Speech Movement (for which UC Berkeley is probably most known for)? A far cry. UC Berkeley today is full of students who, while liberal, as would be expected of 20 year olds living in California, are as professional about living their college lives as any other college in the nation.

Yes and no. There are some extremely liberal people, but they exist largely on the fringes. Most students are pretty apathetic and often politically moderate, but sometimes care about, and become advocates for, one specific issue. There are a lot of intelligent people at Berkeley and quite a few nerds. Intelligence, however, does not always translate into social intelligence.

There are some supersmart students who can answer every question in class. But most students are normal, just like me, never consider myself very smart. Some exams are tough, but are reasonable if you know the right way to study. Some (most) exams are just not too hard, not too easy. It is very competitive at UC Berkeley. You have to study hard and study smart to excel.

This stereotype is pretty true. There is always something crazy going on (protests, demonstrations, strikes, walkouts, random yelling).