Current UC Berkeley EECS senior: I would apply to Berkeley but suggest you go to a better funded smaller school so long as its top ~15 if possible. Me, I had the choice between Berkeley, Illinois, and Carnegie Mellon. I do wish I had gone to Carnegie Mellon. The only two things that Berkeley really has going for it at this point is: it's close to tech companies (so tons of recruiters) and the degree still has a prestigious ring to it. Classes are packed even in upper division CS courses; I'm still waitlisted for 3 classes and have no idea which ones I'll get into. And it's only going to get worse as more people flock to CS and as the budget tightens.