<p>Hi, I'd like some help making this decision.</p>
<p>I'm a 17 year old TRANSFER student from a community college. I was accepted to both UC Berkeley and Boston College. Some info:</p>
<ul>
<li>I'm in California, so UCB will be cheaper, but please take money ASIDE when advising me.</li>
<li>For UCB I was accepted as first semester junior. For BC I was accepted as second semester sophomore (still graduate '11, but in December).</li>
<li>I am Asian.</li>
<li>I would prefer a smaller environment like BC (since I'm younger and all), but...</li>
<li>UCB is ranked #1 for English major.</li>
<li>I am Catholic, although not crazily religious.</li>
<li>I want to go to law school after graduation, preferrably in the east coast.</li>
</ul>
<p>What do you think? Honestly I have a better "gut feeling" with BC, but everyone's telling me how UCB is much more famous, ranked higher, etc...please help!</p>
<p>If your “gut feeling” says BC, you should probably pick BC. Going to a school because “everyone” tells you it’s “more famous” and “ranked higher” is usually a horrible reason to pick a school.</p>
<p>Amen. But, if you are thinking of graduate school, going undergrad West Coast and then grad school East Coast would allow you to have both experiences. That said, after getting accepted into Cal’s M.B.A. program, I visited the campus and attended a couple classes. I just didn’t think the ‘fit’ was right - but still respect the program. </p>
<p>Have you visited both campuses when they were in session?</p>
<p>This is a tough one. If I were you, I’d probably go to UC Berkeley and figure out a way to stretch things out for three years (maybe double major?). Try to dorm with freshmen and act like a freshman if you can…</p>
<p>Either choice is fine though if your goal is law school. If you were trying to go on to a PhD in English, Berkeley would probably be the better choice.</p>
<p>As an individual of Asian descent, you might feel more comfortable at Berkeley, in California.</p>
<p>However, BC is an opportunity for you to have some exposure to the east coast, something different, since you’re from California.</p>
<p>I reckon there’s no grade inflation at Berkeley, since it’s a large state university.
You might want to keep that in mind, since you’re considering a future in law.</p>
<p>even if not for your gut feeling I would pick BC
honestly as an Asian I know that it will be more comfortable to have 40% of the school be Asian but a city like Boston will bring new experiences and believe me there are plenty of asians around where I live in Boston (16% at my high school</p>
<p>also it seems like you want to go to law school on the east coast, another reason to pick BC </p>
<p>and for a major like English, it doesn’t really matter too much if a program is ranked “#1”, many schools such as LAC’s which aren’t ranked have excellent english programs.</p>
<p>It seems like you like BC better, so pick BC. Although if I didn’t know that, I’d probably pick UCB w/o hesitance. (I know that doesn’t help, but oh well.)</p>
<p>I’ve visited Berkeley but it wasn’t in session. It was also a cloudy day.
I’ve never been to Boston.</p>
<p>I don’t want to be around many many Asians like I have been for the past few years. The thing I liked about my community college is that the Asian population isn’t too large. </p>
<p>Of course I should go to where I feel “right”, but I’m not going to have a chance to visit Boston before I need to make the decision. I just want to make sure that if I pick Boston I won’t be regretting it, always thinking, what if I went to Berkeley instead?</p>
<p>My dad wants me to go to Berkeley. My sister picked Harvey Mudd over UCLA (with Honors), and he’s been torturing her for two years now for having picked HMC because “more people know about UCLA”.</p>
<p>missyujin, your dad seems to be just like my dad, academically speaking Harvey Mudd is much better than UCLA for engineering and the sciences because students that come out of Harvey Mudd are prepared to be successful engineers despite the fact that they do not have the reputation. My dad wanted me to go to Purdue because a lot of people he knows likes the school, however I felt that I could succeed even more at a different school not as reputable so I went there.</p>
<p>What is the point of college? Is it a place where you go so you can attach a famous name to your life? No, the point of college is to go where you think you can learn the most to further your job opportunities after college. </p>
<p>Asian parents are in love with UC-Berkeley since everyone knows the school overseas and they can brag to their friends that they have a child going to UCB. However, not everyone or near nobody knows about BC. But BC is academically better than UCB in my opinion because it is smaller and more personal than a large state school. </p>
<p>The point is, don’t let your parents influence your decision making.</p>
<p>You wouldn’t need to worry, since you’ll be in Boston =) </p>
<p>All joking aside… Trust me, being Asian, I know exactly what you’re talking about. But college isn’t just about name recognition or academics. You’re going to spend 4 years of life there. So it’s a little more complicated than which one’s more prestigious.</p>
<p>I do worry about your not having visited Boston. It’s very different from any part of Cali.</p>
<p>pierre, I think kwu was being sarcastic in the first line
yes, my dad’s going to make me miserable. but i honestly don’t think i should care about what HE thinks, because he hasn’t really done anything in terms of education. my mom’s the one who motivated and took care of all of us, and he was always against what she wanted. he just wants to take the credit and bragging rights. ):<</p>
<p>Separate from the fact that I think early attendance to college is a terrible, terrible idea in general, I would go to BC if money is not an option only because it’s going to be tough enough standing out as much as you will on any campus with such high standing at your age, and therefore, in this case, any school that is smaller and more nurturing is probably best. Truthfully, if the money difference isn’t a big deal, then I think it’s crazy you applied as a transfer and you should have just gone in as a freshman and simply take the extra time to take more advanced courses at UCB. Your experience would be far, far more rewarding.</p>
<p>Oh, and your sister probably made the better choice going to Harvey Mudd, at least IMO :D.</p>
