Posting this on both the Cornell and Berkeley forums to hear the positives and negatives that both sides have to say.
I was recently accepted to both Cornell and Berkeley; to the College of Human Ecology for Cornell (I put down Global and Public Health Sciences as my intended major, although this is tentative) and to the College of Natural Resources at Berkeley, and I’m having a tough time deciding.
Cost wise, both schools are roughly equal for me, so I don’t think that that’s a factor. I love the weather in Norcal and I see a lot of opportunities that I could take advantage of seeing as Berkeley is geographically near San Fran. Cornell, on the other hand, is tucked away in Ithaca, and is absolutely freezing (which wouldn’t exactly drive me insane, but compared to weather in the bay area…you know…). I’m not sure if geographical location of the school should be a factor in my decision as I also intend to attend graduate school, and will not be trying to seek work as soon as I complete my undergraduate studies.
I’m not completely aware of the school atmosphere at both schools, as I live outside the US and my family just didn’t have the time or the money to make a campus visit. I’ve heard from seniors I know at Berkeley that “there’s a lot more Asians than I kind of expected”. This isn’t a negative factor for me, but diversity also comes into mind; I live in Hong Kong and have been surrounded by Asians my whole life (I’m Korean myself) and a change in racial setting sounds fresh to me. How are the people at both schools? How’s the mix?
Another thing I think is important to note is that I have quite a lot of different interests besides Human Biology/Nutrition; I also love the Visual Arts and I don’t think Econ would be a bad idea either. However, I still decided to apply to both schools as a health-related major simply because it was the interest where I had physically demonstrated more passion and involvement in, as opposed to Econ, which I thoroughly enjoy but have not particularly done anything in. In this case I can sort of see myself in the future wanting to take many different classes and possibly try out a double major across schools within whichever university I end up attending. I’m not so sure about how easy/hard this would be in both Cornell and Berkeley.
And of course, how are the dorms and food?! I know and have heard about Cornell food being fantastic, but I’m not sure about Berkeley. On the other hand, I have heard about what a nightmare housing at Cornell can be. How does that work?
Thanks guys!