<p>I agree, but I would make a distinction between “competitive” and “cutthroat.” My school has a fair number of unusually bright kids, but we don’t actively compete with each other, much like the collaborative learning you mentioned. It’s competitive, but not in a destructive way.</p>
<p>Also, something I’d mention is that my parents never really pushed me to achieve, everything I did, I did on my own, unlike a lot of the kids I know (especially Asian ones). They’re all jealous of how laid-back my parents are :D</p>
<p>One of the reasons I post on CC is that I think many competitive students don’t realize that it’s not the end of the world if they like a college that is not in the top 20 or so colleges or if they don’t get accepted to any colleges with big reputations. There are many academically excellent colleges in the US that will give you your money’s worth in education, not prestige.</p>
<p>Actually, I think that most of the people in here, even UCB supporters overall, said in this case go with BC. It’s just that someone on here is challenging UCB’s reputation and that got feathers ruffled.</p>
<p>In this case, I do think there is a clear difference in reputation and prestige in favor of UCB, but I also think there are clear reasons to go to BC instead and many people in here have said just that.</p>
<p>At first I didn’t have an opinion regarding this thread thinking that either school would be fine. However, as another Asian American reading your fears regarding a largely Asian population at school, I say go to BC. I could never go to a school that is dominated by hard-working stereotypical Asians. Although a stereotype, it is largely true that Asians, especially those from abroad, will be more nerdy and try harder in school. Just look at CC, so many Asians on it haha. This coming from someone who goes to a 3% Asian, laid back high school. :)</p>
<p>But is UCB really all that competitive? There may be lots of Asian but that doesn’t mean the students are cooperative. Actually if you think about it some competition is actually good for you. It forces you to go above and beyond, achieving things that you normally wouldn’t in a less competitive school. If it weren’t for competition then everything would be mediocre. Take for example gaming consoles: if playstation didn’t have xbox as a competitor, the quality of games wouldn’t be nearly as good. This can be applied to education as well.</p>
<p>I’m attending UCLA next fall and the thought of going to a predominately Asian populated school never came across me as a negative. Now, however, I’m wondering how tough the competition really is.</p>
<p>Wrong move. Wrong investment. Not a well-thought-out act. Graduates of those school don’t earn as much as Berkeley grads do. And, I doubt they can offer a better social scene than Berkeley does. So, why pay extra? </p>
<p>I would probably pay few extra bucks to attend HYPMS over Berkeley. Again, few extra bucks only, which means, not in excess of 50k for the entire program.</p>
<p>I really think the OP is better off going to BC. He’s Asian and there are loads upon loads of smart Asians at Cal. If he’ll go to Berkeley, he’ll just be another smart Asian at Cal. He will have a hard time to stand out. He probably wouldn’t feel that if he’ll go to BC, though BC does not have the prestige and wow factor that Cal has. And, if he’ll go back to Asia, people would not think highly of his BC degree as much as they do the Berkeley degree.</p>
<p>Since you are going to law school, the prestige of your undergrad won’t matter. Still, I’d go to Berkeley, since it will be a semester quicker and much cheaper to put you in the same place. </p>
<p>On the other hand, you might get better grades at BC, since it has weaker students and more grade inflation, which could possibly help you get into a better law school.</p>
<p>My head is spinning x____x
My sister says BC (since she’s also at a private school, etc), my dad says Berkeley…and a lot of other people say Berkeley, too. I don’t know.</p>
<p>Berkeley is way superior to BC in terms of general prestige and employment prospects. There are also way more Berkeley grads who have gotten into Harvard Law or Yale Law from Cal than from BC. However, since you’re Asian, I believe you’re better off at BC than at Cal since Cal is overloaded with extremely bright Asians. If you’ll go to Cal, you’ll just be another smart Asian at Cal. Therefore, go to BC and don’t think twice.</p>
<p>idk if this is just me, but a lot of Koreans around here all want to go to BU or BC.
And just because someone’s Asian doesn’t mean he/she is cutthroat. (Though I have heard the rumors about Berkeley as well. :P)</p>
<p>Here’s the SAT middle 25/75 percentile from 2008 US News college guide:</p>
<p>UCB: 1200/1450
BC:1250/1420</p>
<p>The biggest academic difference between the schools is not among the students, but among the faculty. UCB has a lot of high-flying academic superstars, but like I said earlier, they don’t do an undergrad a lot of good if they rarely or never teach undergrad students. Being an undergrad at Berkeley is sort of like having a time-share at the best resort in the area…it’s great while you have access to it, but most of the time you don’t have access to it.</p>
<p>missyujin, I still can’t believe you haven’t made up your mind yet. Your dad and prestige are two of the worse reasons to go to a school. Your dad will be happy if you become a success anywhere and it doesn’t matter which school you go to undergrad because you plan on going to law school. Prestige doesn’t matter because the law school degree will be what helps you out here. Also, you seem to like BC and people are talking like BC is a top 100 school not a top 40 school. I am of the opinion that if you like the school</p>
<p>UC-Berkeley and BC have similar caliber of students and as someone said at UC-Berkeely you don’t always have access to the brilliant professors as an undergraduate while at BC you will have access to the professors which will help with recommendations for law school.</p>
<p>If you have stats on “employment prospects” of the two schools, I’m sure many of us would love to view the data. </p>
<p>To me, this ‘don’t go to a school where you are just another smart Asian kid’ logic is a bit much. Would you tell a white kid not to go to Williams College because he or she would just be another smart white student there? </p>
<p>That said just because a group is being stereotyped doesn’t mean there isn’t a basis of truth behind it. My son’s facebook page looks like posts from the United Nations with kids from Austria to Zimbabwe represented. But even he as commented that socially the native South Korean kids don’t mix much on campus. Where other foreign kids mix and have their dorm rooms open a good bit of the time, the South Korean kids don’t to the point of it being noticeable. Playing devil’s advocate I asked him what he would do in their situation - wouldn’t he want to chill with people that speak his native language etc.? He said there are plenty of native Chinese students and they mix so what’s the difference? I sure don’t know.</p>
<p>Guys, at this point I could care less about my dad. It’s mostly the Berkeley name/ranking that is bothering me. And I haven’t been to Boston College, I don’t know how it is. :/</p>
<p>But definitely I’m leaning toward Boston College.</p>
<p>missyujin, the name/ranking doesn’t need to bother you. If you go to somewhere that you like (and BC is no community college, it’s one of the best colleges in the US), and do your best there, you don’t need to worry about the reputation.</p>
<p>I believe that grades and how hard you get involved/work in college should dictate your future, not the reputation of the school.</p>