<p>Soo.. I'm an international who got into both. I'm pretty sure I want to do something EE or CS related. I also got waitlisted at CMU SCS (which I've heard is a pretty awesome place)</p>
<p>Help me decide, good people of CC. Here are, from my not-very-informed point of view, the pros and cons for both:</p>
<p>Berkeley
(+) Location, weather
(+) Marginally better reputation
(+) Proximity to silicon valley, helps in internships ?
(-) Class size? I don't know, really.. I've been in classes of 66 to classes of 4, and haven't had a lot of problems there..
(-) The California State Budget Crisis. This is really bothering me right now, even though I've only heard nasty things about it. Libraries not being open for 24 hours, classes being impossibly hard to get into, people taking 5 years to graduate: NO SIR. Do not want. Could someone elucidate?
(?) Is Berkeley's undergrad EECS as good as its grad program?</p>
<p>CMU
(+) Its amazing for CS, and I think ECE is pretty close to CS. Plus, I was waitlisted for SCS, so assuming I get in (hah!), then which would be better?
(+) Smaller size, so I'd imagine more personal attention by the profs.
(-) Marginally weaker reputation.
(-) A bit more expensive.</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard on the Berkeley forum, you can definitely graduate in 4 years, and you won’t have to graduate in 5. As long as you are willing to take classes at any time of the day, they say you shouldn’t have a problem graduating in 4 years. However, if you are not willing, then there’s a chance you would have to graduate in 5. Also, I’d imagine EECS is amazing at Berkeley. If you aren’t sure whether you want to do EE or CS, I’d say go to Berkeley for both EECS.</p>
<p>^Have you been to UC Berkeley? Definitely not something out of California Girls, let’s be honest here…</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure Cal makes all its engineering students graduate in four years, so I don’t think the 5 year thing would be an issue. I would assume that the 2 schools are comparable on an academic level, but you would likely be dealing with much larger classes and perhaps more bureaucracy at UCB.
Personally, I turned down Berkeley for CMU for a number of reasons, but I was in a slightly different situation than yours, so I’m not sure a lot of my reasons are relevant. Both are excellent schools. I live very close to Berkeley (or grew up there, I should say), and it’s a wonderful area.</p>
<p>I have heard good things from CMU, but if you have a chance to go to Berkeley I think you should take it. My cousin is finishing up his sophmore year and he absolutely loves it. The campus is amazing and he already has an internship lined up for EECS. At Berkeley, I just think the opportunites are almost limitless.</p>
<p>When I spoke to my guidance counselor about stanford (mechanical engineering), she told me that in her opinion, I should consider Berkeley over Stanford, because it is truly a special place. Congratulations on both of your accomplishments though. But if I had to choose, Berkely all the way.</p>
<p>texaco: The problem is that what you said about Berkeley can be said about CMU. I’m finishing my sophomore year and I am planning on working in CMU’s cybersecurity labs over the summer. Tons of other friends have internships lined up for most of the major tech companies (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc). The point is, if you’re a go getter, you’re going to get opportunities at either university.</p>
<p>Now, for the more interesting stuff. I have friends over at Berkeley (lots of them in fact, I’m from NorCal). Most EECS at Berkeley have this tendency to chop off the EE part of their curriculum. Also, you will hear much moaning about Scheme, which is funny. So the nice part of Berkeley’s EECS program is that you can avoid EE for the most part.</p>
<p>ECE at CMU does force you to look over at the EE side of things for at least three classes. However, CMU offers you something that Berkeley will not (cannot because public school): You can go for a double major/dual degree in ECE and CS at CMU. While it may sound insane, the pay-off may be worth it, and it will definitely increase the appeal you have to recruiters.</p>
<p>Do note that CMU’s CS curriculum is generally more theoretical than Berkeley’s (or at least that’s what my friends at Berk tell me). This is academically appealing, and many companies actually like this approach. However, this also means that it’s not for everyone, and if you want to be a bit more practical, then go Berkeley. Just watch out for the bell curves. I hear they’re hateful. :P</p>
<p>tl;dr If you’re afraid of circuits, go to Berkeley, or go to CMU and switch to CS ASAP (I think you need decent grades for 1 year). Else, come to CMU, get a double major in CS, look better than your peers at Berkeley who only graduate with one major.</p>
<p>Also, wait until you get your financial aid letter from CMU before concluding that Cal is cheaper…CMU gives pretty good aid if you have need, while Cal, due to budget cuts, is not likely to give any aid, even to OOS students.</p>