<p>Hey CC, it's another college decision thread. I've narrowed down my choices to BU and Berkeley but I'm still not sure which to chose. I know that Berkeley is more prestigious and is great for premed but that they're also more grad focused. I'd go to Berkeley for about 13.5k a year and my admission is deferred so I would attend in Spring 2013 instead of Fall 2012. For BU, I'd go for about 20k a year. My parents haven't told me how much they have saved up for college but are letting me chose whatever college I want so I guess that means finances aren't that big of an issue.</p>
<p>All of my friends and teachers have told me to follow my heart and that I'll do well wherever I go but... I really don't know. I want to move out and get a change in scenery (I live in SoCal) but I'm not sure which city I'd prefer... I'm definitely a city gal who wants new experiences so I'm leaning towards BU because I visit my family in the Bay Area every so often but then again, we always go to the same places up there. I don't really care about the weather as long as it isn't going to kill me and hurricanes show up all of the time. I'm concerned about BU's grade deflation because I'd like to go to med school but some of my friends who go to Berkeley tell me that there are some crazy curve setters in their science classes. I have several friends at Berkeley and one friend at BU so if I ever got lonely, I could just call them up at either school. Any thoughts or advice?</p>
<p>According to [url=<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/]National”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/]National</a> Trends in Grade Inflation, American Colleges and Universities<a href=“schools%20at%20the%20bottom”>/url</a>, Berkeley appears to have higher average grades than Boston University, although the relative competitiveness of the students needs to be taken into account. GPA along with MCAT is very important in medical school admissions, which are very competitive.</p>
<p>You need to get a straight answer from your parents about how definite they are in being able to afford your university education. If not, going to the less expensive school would reduce the risk of running out of money before graduation (or they may be generous and contribute some of the savings to medical school if you get in).</p>
<p>Berkeley does not have a major named neuroscience, although majors in cognitive science, molecular and cell biology (neurobiology emphasis), and psychology may be what you are looking for.</p>
<p>So my parents just told me that I could go to UCSD debt free, Berkeley with 27k total debt, or BU with 36k total debt. I definitely don’t want to go to UCSD…</p>
<p>Oh… I chose molecular and cell biology with the neurobiology emphasis… I hear that Berkeley is quite strong that field?</p>
<p>If you go to Berkeley, you will enter undeclared; you will declare major after completing the prerequisites. Although molecular and cell biology is the biggest major on campus, it is not capped, so you do not need a high GPA to declare the major (although if your GPA is low, you won’t be going to medical school, and job prospects for biology graduates are not that good: <a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/MCB.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/MCB.stm</a> )</p>
<p>Stafford loan limits are $23,000 subsidized, $31,000 total for all four years.
[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp]Student”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp)</p>
<p>What is wrong with UCSD? Debt free is a good thing whether you go to medical school or graduate with a degree that leads to relatively low paying jobs.</p>
<p>Does that apply to all majors? I was thinking of double majoring or minoring in Business as well… would that make it more difficult?</p>
<p>The only reason why I don’t want to go to UCSD is because I think I would be unhappy…</p>