Stanford EE is notorious for its qualifying exam. And, without passing qualifying exam, it's almost impossible to find a PhD supervisor. Moreover, a large portion of the professors are busy running their own companies, which means they may not be involved in supervising their students.
Berkeley is different, once you're admitted, they'll try their best to guarantee funding for you throughout your PhD years. They have the top academic advisors like David Tse, Chenming Hu. Without terrifying qualifying exams, and with professors involved in your research, I believe it is the right way to explore students' potentials.