Admitted to both Berkeley and Brown, as a undergraduate in the Statistics Major, and trying to make a tough decision.
I’ve compared both schools in numerous categories and I am still unsure about the importance in departmental rank and name value.
Berkeley has a top stats department, Brown’s seems to be non-existent. That being said, I see a lot of value in Brown’s open curriculum and the ability to double concentrate and transcend being pigeonholed by a single area of thought. At Brown I can take a plethora of Econ/CS/Math classes and explore other areas that interest me…I know that the department will be stronger at Berkeley, but will not allow for the same level of exploration and enrichment. Should the department rank factor into my decision?
I am a CA resident, so the differences in tuition are significant (Berkeley with little or no debt, and Brown with enough debt for a decade). Which school has the “name” advantage? If Brown, is the extra tuition worth it in the long run?
From all personal measures, these schools are neck-to-neck. Looking for someone to shed light on something I may have overlooked. Thanks in advance.
Departmental rank doesn’t mean a whole lot for an undergrad. You’re not choosing a specialized program of study; you’re choosing an undergraduate school, where the majority of your classes will actually be taken outside of your major and the idea is to explore and pursue a broad-liberal arts education.
Seems to me that you feel that Brown provides that for you.
HOWEVER. I came to a screeching halt when you talked about debt. What kind of debt are you talking about? Because remember that you, as a student, can only borrow $5,500 next year. Anything more than that your parents would have to co-sign, and that’s going down a dangerous road. The average college student shouldn’t borrow more than around $40K to go to a college, so if you have to borrow more than that go to to Brown - then I think you should choose Berkeley. Berkeley has gen ed requirements, and they have a department of econ and CS and math as well - so you can take those classes there, too.
You need to be VERY specific…
Exactly what will be the costs of attendance (tuition/fees/room/board/travel minus grants/scholarships, not including loans)? How much TOTAL loans will you need for 4 years at each school?
Can you be specific regarding costs (tuition, room&board, fees) per year once you’ve deducted scholarships/grants, but no loan or anything else? What’s your parents’ budget?
@MYOS1634 , @ucbalumnus , @harvardandberkeley , @juillet Sorry about lack of specificity, part of that is because my financial aid estimate from Brown has been delayed. Being a CA resident, Berkeley will be around ~120K over the 4 years (that’s total cost). On nearly savings alone, with little/no loans, I should be able to get out of Berkeley debt free…
Meanwhile, I can throw an estimate for Brown (keep in mind that I haven’t received an award yet). With no scholarship or grant money it’s likely going to be around 65k per year, so 260K for four years. If what my parents tell me is true I should be able to cover half of that with savings, so we are talking about 120-130k in loans… looks bleak.
Well, of course wait until you get the official numbers for Brown… but if going to Brown will put you $120,000 in loan debt, then it would be foolish to pass up UC Berkeley.
What does Brown’s net price calculator tell you? Of course, wait until the actual financial aid offer before deciding.
Generally, any school that requires more debt than the federal direct loan limit should be written off as unaffordable. (Note: you can probably earn a few thousand dollars per year in work earnings during the school year and during summers, though if you need to do that and take the maximum federal direct loans, that should be considered a stretch budget with little or no room for error.)
I am not sure exactly why you specifically require a statistics degree. The applied math major is where most of the equivalent classes are at Brown. It is an excellent department–#5 ranked on US News. But don’t take a lot of debt just to go to Brown.
Yeah, don’t do this. First of all, it’s not even possible unless your parents co-sign some private loans for you. But even if they were willing to do that, it’s a bad idea since you have an excellent alternative that will leave you debt-free. Go to Berkeley.