<p>I know this comparison has been done before but im looked for some new input. Ive been going back and forward for a week and its the last day and im still not decided. </p>
<p>I'm undecided for both but i'm probably gonna do something related to sciences. When I went to the Northwestern campus the weather was great I loved it but now I'm reconsidering. I from around Cal kind of below San Francisco.</p>
<p>As for financial aid Cal comes out being about 13,000 dollars a year and Northwestern ended up being 24,000 dollars a year. This could also fluctuate in the following years, so I don't want to base my decision completely on finances. </p>
<p>Please help me I have less than 14 hours to decide!</p>
<p>Berkeley. Less expensive, and better departments across the board. The next couple of classes are also very geographically diverse so I think that’s a plus.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any input relating to the financial state of berkeley? I would imagine that at a public school I wouldnt get as many opportunities for research grants or to study abroad as I would at a private school.
Also, I have a few fears concerning my lack of a major. I am completely undecided and im afraid that I wouldn’t have as many opportunities to explore different classes and fields and that being so undecided would push back my graduation date.</p>
<p>^ Berkeley has its own money. The school does not rely entirely on government funding but on other private sources too. It has over 2.8 billion endowment funds (which does not have a medical school.). It receives donations from alumni and friends. It earns from patents and rentals. And the tuition fees generated from the students are larger now than ever. (Noticed why 30% of the admitted students are OOS and Int’l?)</p>
<p>The faculty-to-student ratio at every department remains small, and your professors will know you. Only Intro classes are large. But that’s the same for almost all schools including NU, Stanford and Harvard. </p>
<p>Research opportunities at undergrad level shouldn’t be a problem for those who are eager. In fact, there are a lot of collaborative works going on between undergrad and postgrad, and amongst different departments, example Haas, Engineering and L&S. Lazy students don’t really exert efforts to get into research, and they are the biggest complainers. However, for an eager, highly enthusiastic, well-motivated student like you, research involvement is easy to come by. </p>
<p>NU is a fantastic school too. But you might not appreciate it during winter and that would surely affect your study mood. I had that experience at Cambridge. And although my grades on modules taken on winter weren’t mediocre, they weren’t as great as those grades acquired during other seasons. But then again, I’m a guy who loves sunny days…</p>
<p>I have read in various places (Students Reviews.com and some of the college review catalogs), and heard first-hand from a NU student (from the Bay Area), that NU is not the easiest place to make friends; that the students can be standoff-ish, and it can be hard to find a group to fit in with if you haven’t made your friends the first couple weeks of school. If all other factors are equal between Cal and NU, have you considered the social aspects of the two schools?</p>