<p>I have not still quite decided where I want to go
and wanted some advice</p>
<p>berkeley or cornell</p>
<p>I am plannning to major in biology or biochem (premed student)</p>
<p>I know a few people who made this choice based mostly on the weather and location. Where would would you rather spend about four years of your life?</p>
<p>And really, I don't know if you'll find a difference between the supposed "psycho Berkeley pre-meds" and the Cornell pre-meds.</p>
<p>I have heard about the terrible really harsh winter at Cornell but is it really that bad?
But I really like how berkeley is right in the city and am sort of afraid that all you can do at Cornell will be studying..</p>
<p>do you go to berkeley? DRab?
and what do you mean by supposed "psycho Berkeley pre-meds"?
are they really competitive?
and isn't that a good thing? or are they just really really crazy competitive..</p>
<p>I made the same decision except for EECS. I chose Cal b/c of location (close to home and it's not in the middle of nowhere), weather, and lastly $$$</p>
<p>I turned down Cornell for berkeley after longggggg thought. I know your pain man. it's a hard choice. </p>
<p>good luck, PM me if you want to talk</p>
<p>I go to Berkeley. Someone on a Cornell forum said "psycho Berkeley pre-meds." I was making fun of the phrase. Pre-med is farily competitive, certainly. It is good for some, bad for others.</p>
<p>Pre-med is competitive everywhere...Berkeley and Cornell are both strong in Biology and Biochemistry. Pick your college based on environment...</p>
<p>4 years ago I had to make that pick....Cornell or Berkeley for Biology/Biochem</p>
<p>Berkeley. No regrets.</p>
<p>if i had that choice, i would prefer Berkeley to Cornell anyday.
Cornell's a little too isolated for me... i mean come on. last time, i drived up there with my family and we passed by like hours of corn fields.. we couldn't find any motel or inn or anything like that on the way there so my dad had to drive till like 2AM to Ithaca. We saw some CREEEEPY towns too.. i mean what kind of town has kids riding bicycles on the street at 1AM in the morning????? that was juss a little too creepy for me. well, the campus itself wasn't too bad, but still, I would go to Berkeley.</p>
<p>it's your preference really.</p>
<p>hey i am a pre frosh and had to make the same decision...</p>
<p>i turned down cornell and their ilr school for berkeley. GO BEARS!</p>
<p>like most people have said...decision came down to: location, environment, money, etc...</p>
<p>i felt the prestige and educational experience would be basically a wash between the two, so just pick from your heart. i had an amazing time with the OHP program last thurs-sat at berk, and that sealed the deal. </p>
<p>good luck with your decisions!</p>
<p>what's the OHP program sas?</p>
<p>Winter is not nearly that bad in Cornell, it's only 5 to 6 months long, you'll still have September and May, when you can wear shorts (if it's not raining.) How far would you have to drive for some sushi, dim sum, or a good taco at Cornell? Well, OK, you'll have fewer distractions in Ithica.</p>
<p>I would say Berkley, better are, better weather, better school. Less pressure to be an "ivy leauge" student, but you get the same education</p>
<p>Actually CalX...it's usually too cold in late september for shorts...lol.</p>
<p>Go Bears and Go Big Red!</p>
<p>CUgrad</p>
<p>Well I stand corrected then CUgrad. Hehehe.</p>
<p>Yes winters can be harsh in Ithaca. I have a picture of Taughannock Falls (one of the several beautiful waterfalls in Ithaca) in my office and most of it is FROZEN. I would think it has to be very cold for a long time for that to happen.</p>
<p>northeastern winters are harsh, but you do get used to them and the change in seasons is nice. The only problem is that they just last way too long if you're a student, they end up eating 5 months out of the 9 schoolyear months.</p>
<p>thanks everyone!</p>
<p>I also wonder if students can easily access their professors at berkeley.. since the school is so big..
compared to cornell, small private school, where students can easily approach their professors..</p>
<p>oh, and one more thing.. about research opportunities</p>
<p>do students at berkeley get a lot of research opportunities? freshmen.. i mean.</p>
<p>thanks.</p>
<p>Access to profs hasn't been a problem for me, even for course like Math 1b, with hundreds of students, where I had a great lecturer (Hald.) I think he bumped up my grade because I made a good suggestion about a method to prove a hypothesis in a geometry problem during his office hours. I could have tapped him for a good rec, but I had several other options later.</p>
<p>Most (like >90%) of students don't want to interact with their profs, so the door's open for you.</p>
<p>I don't know about research. I'm not sure what kind of research a Freshman can do, there is so much material to absorb your first two years in order to build a base that research doens't seem to make sense at this level, except maybe in the life sciences (which I'm not knowledgable about.)</p>
<p>research isnt impossible but pretty difficult to get, due to competition (especially for premed).. but premed at every school is cutthroat. i'd say berkeley has a better environment, better social life, and is a better deal, if you're in-state, but cornell could probably give you more help on your grad/med apps (which WILL make a difference) and has the ivy league name, which does matter to some people. not sure about their research opportunities, but it might still be slightly easier than at berkeley.</p>