<p>So...Berkeley or Yale? I want to major in CS, which is fairly amazing at Berkeley and still developing at Yale... but Yale is smaller and you obviously get more individual attention, which is crucial. And Yale is YALE, and at times it does seem nice when thinking about going there. But since I'm a math/CS guy, I don't know how well I'd "fit" at a college more known for its liberal arts.</p>
<p>I'm also from California and love the weather / conditions here; I don't know how well I would do in the freezing weather on the East and so far away from home.</p>
<p>I think you’re forgetting, Berkeley is Berkeley! And in terms of math CS, I think it is one of the best schools in the country, so I would not let the fact that Yale is Yale stop you. The main difference between the schools (I think) is culture, but also, things you might want to look into are housing and internship or research opportunities in your field. Good luck with your win-win decision</p>
<p>Well, I have been, unofficially, I guess you could say, accepted into both, so its not a “gross hypothetical.” And I was rejected from Stanford EA, so… :P</p>
<p>The CS program at Berkeley is one of the very best in the world. You can travel around the world and would wow people simply by saying that you went to Berkeley for computer science. The CS geeks would put more value of a Berkeley CS than a Yale CS too. However, if you are concerned about what the not-so-informed undergrad students in the East Coast, you’d probably find that they’d view Yale CS superior to Berkeley CS. Of course, the top academics and scholars would always refute that. </p>
<p>I’ll repeat what I wrote earlier in another thread.
If you want to rise above a certain plateau in the information technology market - and here I’m not talking about academia - what usually makes the biggest difference in the long run is not your technical skill. It is the “soft” skills (team leadership, communications, understanding of the “business problem”, etc.) The Yale undergraduate environment will be much better at cultivating these skills than the Berkeley undergraduate environment (although you can certainly build a good social network from Berkeley, too).</p>
<p>Now, if you see yourself becoming a hard-core Computer Scientist, that’s different. In that case (and all the more so if we’re talking about a big cost difference favoring Berkeley) then I’d agree w/RML. </p>
<p>Either way, a CS degree from either school will be very marketable.</p>
<p>I would always go with the university that provides the best undergraduate environment for you to grow and develop regardless of what you want to study. Berkeley is simply not in the same league as Yale in the undergraduate level and there will be a large difference in the strength of your peer group at Yale and the amount of access you get to top faculty vis-a-vis UCB.</p>
<p>Unless UCB is $100,000 cheaper AND you’re sure about majoring in Computer Science and/or Engineering, do not pass up Yale.</p>
<p>TK - You ought to start a thread about this. It’s the great hidden secret of lifelong success that the vast majority of CC prospective students and parents don’t understand. Many, if not most top students in tech fields will go on for graduate degrees. They need to build up their soft skills in their undergrad career - that’s where those skills are most directly focused upon.</p>
<p>I also vote Yale for the same reason that TK stated.</p>
<p>Yale. Period. Unless you pay less for Cal. But even still, Yale. </p>
<p>Who knows? Maybe you’d end up NOT doing computer science. Yale for undergrad. Then if you really decide comp sci, then go to MIT or Stanford or even Berkeley for grad. </p>
<p>Still this is hypothetical? Wow…you must either naive or too good to be sure you’d get into Yale.</p>
<p>Just want to balance the conversation a bit: both schools are phenomenal, well respected institutions and if you attend either of these schools and keep up the work, you will undoubtedly do well. So keep that in perspective. Also, one plus about Berkeley (in the eyes of future employers) is that its culture teaches you to work hard and persevere in order to do well, so you’ll come out with the understanding that success doesn’t come easy. Again, having to choose between Berkeley and Yale should be the least of your worries.</p>
<p>So true, but that same [competitive, perhaps cut-throat] “culture” ensures that many will not do “well” at Cal…in contrast, Y has a mean gpa of ~3.5.</p>
<p>I will add my 2 cents
If you are an independent mind, go getter type of personality, Berkeley is a good choice. Because Berkeley is a larger pond, you would meet all kind of crazy teachers and students.
And since CS at CAL is already a strong program, you will meet good teachers and students of the field. Silicon Valley is another attraction if you want jobs in the Bay Area
All the good things about Yale people mentioned above are corrected, and Yale is working hard to build their reputation on Science divisions, but somehow I think they d</p>
Well, I’d like to see if that holds true for Yale CS. I suspect that the level of standard and difficulty of undergrad CS teaching at most top schools are universal. It’s just that some schools have better curriculum, academic culture, facilities, professors, students, alumni network and connections, so they seen more prestigious. </p>
<p>I think a lot of respondents here are confusing Yale CS with Yale liberal arts and humanities programs. I’d like to see if Yale can better train their CS students than Berkeley CS does. Yale humanities/arts/social science/premed are different from Yale CS and or Yale engineering. I doubt it if the top IT employers would value a Yale CS degree more than a Berkeley CS degree. I thought Yale is average for CS. The only Ivy schools that are phenomenal for CS are Princeton, Harvard and Cornell. Obviously, Yale CS is no match to Princeton/Cornell/Harvard CS, for example, and none of those three are superior to Berkeley for CS. At most, they are on par with Berkeley CS. So, if this was about Berkeley CS vs Harvard CS, then Harvard would win hands down as Harvard is the better overall university and has superb CS program too. But Yale CS is nowhere near Harvard/Princeton/Cornell CS. This should be easy then, unless you’re for the NE and moving to the West Cost is not an option, of you’re from the West Coast and you want to have a different college experience, sort of like What Chelsea Clinton did.</p>
<p>This isn’t just about Yale undergrad vs Berkeley undergrad period. This is about comparing Berkeley Computer Science to Yale Computer Science. It’s like comparing Berkeley MBA to Yale MBA, or Berkeley prelaw vs Yale prelaw.</p>
<p>Some statements are so wrong its unbelievable. Yale CS is a small department but the students would have tons of opportunities. What most people are arguing here is that a CS degree at yale would enhance ones soft skills- the ability to communicate and write effectively- while still providing a strong CS program. This is very very true.</p>
<p>And how exactly does Berkeley have a better CS program than Yale at the undergraduate level? Everyone has been saying its amazing but how exactly is it better than Yale at the undergraduate level?</p>
<p>Yale students will have just as much opportunity as students from Berkeley- I find it hard to believe that getting a job at Google, Yahoo! e.t.c would be difficult at Yale when I know kids from worse departments who have jobs in these places. Ignore the fact that if you decide to go to Wall street or finance then obviously you know which is better.</p>
<p>You are wrong. Yale CS is under Yale College so its really part of the undergraduate program. </p>
<p>You are definitely ■■■■■■■■ around if you think Berkeley offers a superior education in CS compared to Yale except you can provide evidence. </p>
<p>As for employers can you be more specific? Like if you mean Tech companies well . . . would it not come down to experience and what you can bring to the table in terms of programming ability and versatility as well as the soft skills taught under a liberal arts education? Or would it just be about the degree? Like would an employer be like Berkeley>Yale (which is not even true) for CS so let me trash the Yale guy in the bin.</p>
<p>Can you prove this? granted that is true, how would that make you a better software engineer (as many CS would want to have such career)? Name the superstars of Yale CS. Give names of Yale CS grads who are now the who’s who in CS/IT industry and let’s compare that to Berkeley’s.</p>
<p>
As a software engineer at those companies? Really? Like who? </p>
<p>Yale has a small CS department seems you glossed over that part. Like they graduate 14 students a year. </p>
<p>Also you have not shown me how Berkeley is better than Yale. Can you prove that these superstars would have been otherwise if they had gone to Yale? </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You have a laptop. You studied Computer science. One word</p>
<p>GOOGLE</p>
<p>I see no reason why I should randomly put people’s personal information. Most had to move to the Bay area though or Washington and did not like it since they were form the Northeast. So it would make sense that even less kids from the NE would pursue software engineering jobs.</p>
<p>I have already done some work for you and found profiles online of students at Yale who work as software engineers at google. Go and do the search yourself. I am sure you learned that much.</p>
<p>YOU are WRONG. This is about Yale CS v Berkeley CS at the undergrad level. This is Yale vs Berkeley for CS at the undergrad level. This is not Yale vs Berkeley. You are disregarding the fact that this is about CS at those schools. Berkeley is highly departmental in nature. yes, it sucks at some programs, but is also excels in some programs, and CS is one of those programs in which Berkeley does it quite well. In the same way that Yale is not great in every department. For example, its engineering department is just above average, not excellent. You are fooling yourself if you think Yale is as great as Berkeley for engineering.</p>