<p>ok, I'm admitted to School of Computer Science in CMU and L&S in Berkeley (the only 2 out of 5 US universities I've applied) and I'm having trouble deciding which one I want to go to. I'm from Singapore, and so I don't really have too much opinion about different locations in the US, but there are A LOT of Singaporeans in CMU, and well... I don't want to go for overseas study but stay in mini-Singapore.</p>
<p>Well, Berkeley and CMU are so closely matched academically that I'd just take whoever gave me better aid/scholarships, but the critical difference is the big-school vs small private school atmosphere, now, that depends on your preference.</p>
<p>My son looked at Berkeley and ended up deciding not to apply. I love the weather, the landscape, the town and surrounding area and the school, but I think for an out of state kid the tuition and the disadvantages may outweigh the advantages. Things that concerned us:</p>
<p>Impacted majors. If you want to do a popular major, you may have problems being allowed to do them, if your grades aren't good enough.</p>
<p>Quite a few very, very large intro classes.</p>
<p>Severe housing crunch. Most sophomores don't live on campus. (I didn't think my son was ready for this kind of independence.)</p>
<p>There is a huge Asian population at Berkeley especially in certain majors - I couldn't tell you however whether you'll feel like mini-Singapore or if they are from other parts of Asia. We peeked into one biology class while on tour which appeared to be 100% Asian kids. I knew there was a large Asian population (I believe it's around 40%), but I hadn't imagined it quite that overwhelming.</p>
<p>I felt like Berkeley was a better place for grad school than undergrad, but that may well be true at CMU as well.</p>
<p>You should post on the Berkeley board if you haven't already and ask for opinions about their undergrad programs.</p>
<p>did so already, and found that my major is (no longer) impacted, so no issue there... and I don't really have much opinion for school atmosphere, since... well I haven't the chance to experience the difference. What I know about atmosphere, I know from the internet, and that's a source not to be always trusted especially on subjective things like atmosphere.</p>
<p>Zero fin aid from either, since I'm an international, so no deciding factor there...</p>
<p>i don't believe the financial aid for anyone has arrived yet, including US applicants (citizens + permanent residents)</p>
<p>There's a ton of asians at CMU, but so long as you make it a point to not just hang out with them you'll have no problem getting an ethnically diverse group of friends (meaning, at CMU, Indians and white kids).</p>
<p>CMU. Congratulations. You will get more attention at CMU.</p>
<p>? by "get more attention" are you referring to class sizes? I heard that some classes are so crowded that people just stay in dorm rooms and watch the video lectures...</p>
<p>CMU doesn't give fin aid to internationals. we are expected to pay ourselves (or get money from elsewhere)</p>
<p>CMU is very small, with only about 1500 undegrads per year IIRC. Thus, more attention.</p>
<p>I think classes which are recorded actually have lower turnouts than classes that aren't. I mean, who's going to wake up for a 9 AM class when they can sleep until noon and watch it at their leisure?</p>
<p>You will meet and associate with some very smart people from all over the world at CMU. S has toured China with roommates and visited Chinese classmates while there. He is now in India and attended his roommate's cousin wedding. He soon will be off to Singapore for sightseeing trip then to Europe-where he will also see classmates of '06.</p>
<p>Although Carnegie Mellon is well known for its graduate CS program, it's undergrad is still very good (and the job recruitment is awesome.) </p>
<p>I was doing some research (I also applied, but was rejected to Berkeley's L&S, CS) into Berkeley's CS and realized that it might not be as good for getting a job - because a CS degree from Berkeley's L&S (and not, say, EECS from Engineering) is a BA, and most companies will want a BS.</p>
<p>I guess there are some very lucky kids at CMU to be able to afford international travel visiting their friends.</p>
<p>China trip was a graduation present (reallocation of set aside savings) for doing well and getting into a MS CS program on full scholarship and fellowship. The India trip is courtesy of his MS professor at U of Toronto and Microsoft. He finished his project dissertation in 13 months. The side trips are on his dime. </p>
<p>side note: S gave up an internship at CMU on an APPLE project to go to China. </p>
<p>His Berkeley BSCS '06, roommate at U of Toronto, is also very smart. But he had other occupations that kept him not as focused.</p>
<p>He has a very easy personality as does his friends. I believe CMU kids avoid preconceived notions and good things happen more often. I believe opportunities can be found more easily at CMU, keeping in mind that I have no direct experience with Berkeley.</p>
<p>To thisoldman: Congratulations on the many fantastic opportunities/ MS scholarship and fellowship coming your son's way. He made very nice friends as well. Clearly, CMU was the perfect match. My son wanted SCS. Denied at SCS, wait listed at CIT-ECE and accepted into some other engineering programs at CMU. My son thinks the SCS program is the crown jewel at CMU and since he was denied acceptance at SCS, he does not want another program at CMU. I assume your son is in SCS. Can you please ask him if the CIT-ECE program has the same opportunities has SCS or is my son correct? Thank you and again, many congratulations on all of your son's awesome success.</p>
<p>The ECE program is also top-notch, I'd argue the people I met that were in ECE had better options than those in CS, even. I had friends in ECE that were also recruited by Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, and all those other popular tech companies as well as all of the consulting and banking firms that are popular at CMU.</p>
<p>I think it should matter more to him about doing what he really wants and not just assuming because he's in a certain program he'll be guaranteed the best job ever.</p>
<p>I agree completely with RacinReaver. One should do something he loves to do, and let money follow that.</p>