Does UC Berkeley actually offer small classes compared with Pomona?

No, UC Berkeley does not offer a classroom experience that is as consistently small or discussion-based as Pomona, especially in the first two years. Berkeley absolutely has small seminars, labs, and discussion sections, but many lower-division courses begin in large lecture formats, particularly in popular subjects like economics, computer science, biology, and political science. Pomona, by contrast, is built around small classes from the start, with faculty-taught courses and much less reliance on big lectures or graduate student-led sections.

At Berkeley, the more personal academic experience usually comes through discussion sections attached to large lectures, office hours, research groups, honors pathways, or upper-division electives once you move deeper into a major. That can still be meaningful, but it is different from having most of your classes themselves be small. In many introductory Berkeley courses, your professor may know the room broadly, while your TA is the person who knows your individual work best.

Pomona is a much closer match for a student who wants regular class participation, direct professor interaction, and seminar-style learning to be the default rather than something you have to seek out. The Claremont Colleges setup also helps because you get a small-college environment while still being able to take courses across the consortium.

Berkeley can still feel personal for a student who is comfortable being proactive and who likes the energy and options of a major research university. If you are excited by a huge course catalog, advanced research, and the chance to find smaller academic communities inside a big campus, Berkeley can work very well. But if your main question is whether Berkeley feels as personal in the classroom as Pomona, especially in lower-division courses, the honest answer is no.