Phd Universities

The University of California at Berkley has been considered one of America's elite universities for decades. And if you need proof, check out all the parking spots with an "NL" notation. That means the parking spot is reserved for a Nobel laureate and there seemingly everywhere.

Engineering, architecture, and business are the most renowned courses of study at the crown jewel of California's public state university system. The University of California at Berkeley was well-known for its political activism in the 1960s. Things may have toned down a bit from the 60s on campus, but in comparison to the average college or university, Berkley is still teaming with flower children, political activism, and body pierced students.

The University of California at Berkley's gorgeous campus is set on 1,200 acres overlooking San Francisco Bay. In addition to the beautiful views, the campus is dotted with parks perfect for a game of Frisbee or just relaxing in the sun.

But it's not all fun and games. The academic competition at the University of California at Berkley is intense as you can imagine with so many academic overachievers crammed into such a small space. Nearly every single one of the over 20,000 undergraduate students was a top student in high school and many of them can't accept being less than the best. Unfortunately something has to give as not everyone can be in the top 1% of the class.

The competition can be made especially tough on freshman. Some of the most popular classes have enrollments of over 800 and it's not always easy to find the professor after class. The University of California at Berkley is world-famous for its research and graduate programs most of which are ranked among the best in America. As a result the professors are under pressure too. They live in a sort of "publish or perish" situation where they are expected to publish their research findings. As a result, the professors are generally more focused on their research than they are at teaching.

Many of the students enroll at the university in hopes that the trickle down theory works. They gamble that the high quality of the professors will make up for the lack of face time. After all many of the books used to teach courses throughout the nation were written by University of California professors and who better to learn from than the professor who wrote the book. One student explains it's better to stand 50 feet from excellences than 5 feet from mediocrity as you would at an ordinary college or university.

As you might expect, student applications for admission to the University of California at Berkeley are approaching record levels. And considering the quality of the applicant pool, admission to the Cal-Berkley is not assured by a long shot. So put your best foot forward but it's probably a good idea to have another college or university to fall back on. There are several other quality colleges and universities in California.