<p>Aside from the issue of cost, why did you choose Berkeley over an Ivy school?</p>
<p>i know a lot of people who chose it over cornell/dartmouth, a few over upenn, one over harvard</p>
<p>I passed over 2 Ivies for Berkeley. Nearly half if not more of the Regent scholars + others have passed over one or more Ivies for Berkeley-- cheaper, larger group of brilliant faculty, nicer weather, closer to home, better departments (i.e EECS, math, Poli Sci, engineer, Chemistry, English, History etc etc).</p>
<p>I would imagine cost is a big factor, so are majors choices…</p>
<p>I’m going to do L&S; If cost is not an issue, most likely I’ll pick a ivy. But with 150K extra to pay to go to an ivy, it’s a hard choice. Well, I may come here to ask again once I know which schools take me.</p>
<p>I would pass any ivy besides HYP for Cal. It has a lot to do with weather, location, money ( well it used to be, now the ivies give so much finaid that it can be cheaper at the top ivies), again major choices, etc.</p>
<p>Eh, it’s fine to joke and all, but to give one meaningful reason, the assortment of departments here is unique, and Berkeley is big, and while people complain about this, it actually means some departments are really diverse and well-populated in terms of wonderful faculty. Way more so than many great schools in some departments. </p>
<p>Someone I know turned down Columbia for EECS here. </p>
<p>The way I actually see it for someone of my tastes, why consider an Ivy at all when I get a bigger department full of more diverse world class faculty, better weather, great food, and no trouble getting into classes or simply just doing as I please?</p>
<p>I gave up Cornell.</p>
<p>I’m international, and Berkeley’s international reputation >> Cornell.</p>
<p>^Not in every part of the world, but there definitely are reasons to choose Berkeley over an Ivy.</p>
<p>I have a friend who passed up a rowing recruitment from Yale to go to a Berk.</p>
<p>One of my friends turned down Princeton for EECS.</p>
<p>As an international, yes, over here (Southeast Asia), Berkeley is regarded more highly than Cornell, if only slightly.</p>
<p>I also know someone who gave up Cornell eng for Berkeley eng. Cost wasn’t a factor.</p>
<p>
Let’s do the math. So far anecdotal evidence is merely suggesting that people only turn down Ivies for Berkeley if they’re (EECS) engineers, which reflects less favorably on the university than I suspect posters would like.</p>
<p>Stanford admitted: 2400
Stanford matriculated: 1725
Lost Stanford admits: 675</p>
<p>Of those 675 admits, Berkeley received 2% – a mere 13 students out of a class of 4800. </p>
<p>Do students at Berkeley pass up Ivies? Sure. In large numbers? Unlikely.</p>
<p><a href=“Note:%20I’m%20aware%20that%20Stanford%20is%20not%20an%20Ivy,%20but%20it%20could%20pass%20for%20such%20for%20the%20sakes%20of%20this%20thread.%20Furthermore,%20one%20would%20expect%20Stanford%20to%20fare%20worse%20against%20Berkeley%20than%20many%20of%20the%20Ivies%20considering%20how%20many%20Californians%20apply%20to%20both%20Stanford%20and%20in-state%20Berkeley.”>size=-2</a>[/size]</p>
<p>Warblersrule, Stanford is Stanford. Stanford beats out all Ivies but HYP. If Cal beat out Stanford with 13 students in one year, there are likely roughly 50 students at Cal who chose it over Stanford. And if 50 students at Cal chose it over Stanford, it is safe to say that the number of students at Cal who gave up the non HYP Ivies and other peer institutions runs in the 100s.</p>
<p>I’m gonna go ahead and say that unless you’re in something Cal is well-known for, namely EECS and related majors, you wouldn’t (in my eyes) be the brightest bulb to pass down an opportunity to go to a school like Columbia/Princeton/Stanford/etc, not factoring in costs of course especially at this time when UCs and Cal states are getting squeezed. </p>
<p>Hell, I would switch (provided I get in) in a heartbeat if I had the chance to redo senior year and actually apply to those schools instead of being a lazy ass. The only school I know people consistently turn away from is Cornell and that’s because Ithaca is just so bloody miserable or they’d rather just stay at Berkeley because they’re doing engineering.</p>
<p>Son was waitlisted at Stanford and accepted to Cal. Turned down Cal because no scholarship offered and accepted a lower tier school with full ride. However, he very likely would have gone to Stanford if accepted and we would have paid the bill. Concerns regarding Berkeley were budget cuts, size of classes, lack of mentorship and connections with professors during first year. In his chem class this year he was shocked when the prof addressed him by name when he walked by him. You won’t get that at a large public, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>turned down columbia for berkeley. originally wanted to do economics but had a change of heart and decided that i might try engineering. sometimes i do regret my decision since i have to apply to transfer from L&S to COE and it’s not guaranteed. and i don’t know if i’m cut of for engineering either. i had to apply as an international student (though i attended HS in CA) and getting into berkeley was almost as rewarding as getting admitted to columbia. i also do think that berkeley’s international reputation (esp. in engineering, no contest) is greater than columbia’s.</p>
<p>one of my roommates turned down stanford for berkeley… and she’s FPF! if i had gotten into stanford, i sure as hell would have gone there, admittedly.</p>
<p>@Bigtime:</p>
<p>I am addressed by name by more than one faculty member on a daily basis, and it’s because I made an effort to stand out from the crowd. What you learn from a large public school is to be proactive. You aren’t forced to learn that life-skill at a small private institution (which is fine, but I like my newfound go-getter attitude). If you’re the type of person who thrives in a shark tank, then a large public university with outrageously amazing faculty is definitely a good place for you since you will succeed by virtue of your initiative. If you prefer to put in no effort and have opportunity handed to you on a silver platter (which happens in very very few places once you get out of college), then private schools are a better fit. </p>
<p>In response to the topic, I know a few people who turned down Cornell as far as Ivys go…I do know a couple who turned down Caltech and MIT for EECS.</p>
<p>How the hell do you turn down MIT for EECS</p>
<p>She turned down Stanford so she can fpf for Berk?
lol.
And I don’t know how you want to turn down MIT for eecs. Especially since the first year of MIT to engineers is so nice with its no grade/pass no pass for freshmen.</p>
<p>There are plenty of reasons to turn down MIT for EECS - the weather, location (although Stanford is the winner there), cost, etc. If you plan to go into research, the caliber of all these institutions is so high that you’re more likely to find your individual abilities affecting your experience more than the quality of your school. Then again, I hate the telebears system and all the budget cut frenzy that other schools might not have.</p>
<p>
So true. If you can hack it, Berkeley is an excellent place to be. So are Stanford and MIT.</p>