Thoughts on UCSD and UCBerkeley Judaic Studies and NER?

[11Q13]

I'm from California so I've been looking to apply to 1 program not far from home since all the rest are on the East Coast. The other programs I'm applying to are either religious (Duke, Notre Dame, etc) or semi-religious/have lots of denominational support for pastoral care on campus (Harvard, Yale) but these California schools are completely secular the program design looks to be the same.

1. How would the experience be different at these UC's from the aforementioned schools?

2. How would the program/course work itself be different?

3. What are the admission standards for these schools? They both require GRE, which I didnt do well on 480v 720m 5essay. 3.7 GPA with a double major and minor all in related fields, tons of related extra-curriculars.