Cal or Brandeis?...I know it sounds easy, but bear with me.

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>I was accepted to Berkeley and I'm really happy and honored that I got in, but I'm a little nervous about going there from some of the things I've heard both on CC and from my friends. I also have a financial dilemma and I'm hoping I can get some input from you all.</p>

<p>I'm from Northern California, so my dad is really excited about paying in-state tuition (my parents are completely paying for my undergrad studies). My older brother goes to Stanford and most of the other schools that have accepted me are on the East Coast. I do not qualify for financial aid, and neither are my scores impressive enough to garner major merit scholarship money. And don't tell me to look harder, my parents finances take about a week to explain and we have a really odd situation in that we have lots of money in assets (ie property) but not very much income. Nontheless, FAFSA told me that my EFC was over 100 K. Scholarships are pretty much nil.</p>

<p>My dad told me he would consider a school on the East Coast if I completely loved the school and it would be "worth the money." Unfortunately, I was rejected from my top choice (Cornell) and the schools I did get into aren't exactly Ivy League. However, I do not want to go to Berkeley. I know these are generalizations but in my opinion, UCB is huge, impersonal, and waayyy too liberal for me. From what I've read, housing is ridiculous whether on or off campus. It's hard to have a good relationship with teachers, and don't get me started on class sizes and TA's. </p>

<p>As you can probably tell, I really don't want to go. But, the only other school that accepted me that I want to go to is Brandeis University. I fully understand that UCB is higher ranked and costs about half as much, but I feel it would be a better fit for me. It's smaller, has less of an emphasis on the sciences, I could go on and on. But I don't know how to talk to my dad about it. I'm going back east over spring break to look at the schools that accepted me, but my dad told me that I would have to convince him to even go see Brandeis. </p>

<p>I feel like I have an obligation to go to Berkeley because my parents obviously want me to, it would cost them less, and it's definitely a "better" school than Brandeis. But I'm sort of starting to freak out about going there because I've heard so many scary things. </p>

<p>If any of you have any advice about how to talk to my parents, reassurances about Berkeley, or college advice in general, please respond!!</p>

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<p>what’s scary?
come visit.</p>

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<p>well which one is it? are you just scared of coming to Berk or do you legitimately not want to come here? Because if it’s the latter, then I suggest you talk to your parents about Brandeis and how that can fit you better. (My friend is deciding between Brandeis, Berk, and LA too). In addition, perhaps something like you won’t be happy with spending your next four years at Berk can be brought up. It really is a big decision…hell I’m at Berk mainly because of parent (and even my doctor) pressure. lol…I feel this is a time that you should make this about what you want and not what your parents want. Sure Berk might be the better school (but realize that it’s usually the ENTIRE Cal package considered, not just UG stuff), but if you hate it and decide to slack off, you might as well save even more money and go to a community college.
But if it’s just being scared because of the stuff you read on here, then I suggest you visit, attend a lecture or two and see for yourself. What’s said on this board is true about Berkeley, the pros AND the cons. But hell, you just might dig it after all. haha
hope this makes sense because i only got about 2 hours of sleep last night…off to nap.</p>

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<p>Yes, come visit. Berkeley’s reputation is overblown in many cases. Yes, there are large classes, but not that many people stop by office hours. The result is that you can get access to these professors. I recall that I was taking a 150 person class with Hubert Dreyfus, a famous philosopher and the world’s foremost expert on Martin Heidegger. By coming to office hours, I was able to join in a five person smaller discussion with him.</p>

<p>Or regarding liberalism. Yes, there are many liberals. But I am surprised by the conservative bent of some of the students. Most of the students are not crazy liberals by any means. Even if you can’t tolerate any liberalism whatsoever, this is such a big campus that you could decide to spend all of your time with an extremist right-wing group if you were so inclined. Big can mean impersonal, but it can also mean that you have more options.</p>

<p>Anyways, I was in a similar situation to you, deciding between Berkeley and UChicago. When I visited, I discovered Berkeley was not as bad as people made it out to be. So again, come visit.</p>

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<p>Well, going to Berkeley with such a negative attitude is a recipe for disaster. So I would first of all recommend a more positive attitude. ;-)</p>

<p>Berkeley is not that liberal. The city itself may be, but the undergraduates are more representative of the California population than anything else. </p>

<p>I don’t know what you are talking about with Berkeley and the sciences. Berkeley’s programs in history, English. philosophy, economics, linguistics, etc. are tops in the nation. Brandeis is actually quite strongin the sciences too…</p>

<p>The dorms aren’t that bad either, Clark Kerr has bigger rooms if that is your concern.</p>

<p>Anyway, I’d be less fatalistic and more realistic.</p>

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<p>I dont understand why Cornell was your first choice if you are afraid of a college being impersonal. Cornell is huge! I swear its the place you go if you want to get sucked into a crack.</p>

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<p>haha i might go to cornell because it will likely be cheaper for me than berkeley! and i prefer berkeley…
man i wish we could trade places</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your input, I’m actually feeling a lot better about Berkeley. I don’t know why I was freaking out about it this morning, I suppose I just read too many stories of people who hated it and were overwhelmed and didn’t try to have a positive experience. If you can believe it, I’m usually annoyingly peppy but this is such a huge decision I keep second guessing myself and seeing only the bad side of everything. </p>

<p>Depending on the schools that waitlisted me, I’ll probably be at Berkeley next year and I think I’ll be ok. Actually, more than ok. You all are right, I need to be more positive. And I’m going to visit over spring break, i hope. Although if I go, my brother may never speak to me again, lol. </p>

<p>Thank you everyone!</p>

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<p>you know exactly the answer!
Good luck at Brandeis!</p>

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<p>The visit will really help you. Go talk to lots of students. If you don’t want to walk up to people who are going somewhere, then go into places like the bookstore that have plenty of student work-study staff. Talk to the cashiers. Use the time to get a more representative sample. We have a few people on CC who are passionate about trying to call out problems at call, hoping to make it an even better place. That may sound like lots of negative students, but I urge you to go out and see for yourself. You will find welcoming and mostly satisfied students (plus a human bat standing nude in his window, if we are to take his post seriously).</p>

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<p>Tell you Dad that the right fit is worth it. Berkley is simply huge and impersonal and focused on graduate students Brandeis is the opposite. Brandeis truly is an amazing school. It’s a special combination of small liberal arts college and world-class research university-with the smallest student body I believe (less than 800 in a class) of any top tier national research university matched with high-powered professors who actually teach in small classes. So, the research opportunities are tremendous. Plus it’s very close to Boston, which is the world’s best college town, but on its own suburban campus.</p>

<p>Its intellectual environment is comparable in many ways to its University Athletic Association sister school, U Chicago (perhaps no coincidence that the President of U Chicago is a Brandeis alum). Yet its students are down-to-earth, friendly and non-competitive with one another. FYI in a recent Forbes national college rankings survey, Brandeis was ranked 15th among research universities and 30th overall among all private univerities and LAC’s–a testament to its focus on undergraduate education. Larger schools, including some Ivies, were ranked much lower. </p>

<p>Despite its small size and relative youth, its alumni are very distinguished–to name just a few: Nobel Prize winner for chemistry Rod Mackinnon, Fields Metal winning physicist Edward Witten (often called “Einstein’s successor”), 3-time Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Friedman of the NY Times, The Earth is Flat etc; Mitch Albom of Tuesday’s with Morrie (about his Brandeis professor), the Creators/Producers of Friends; actress Debra Messing; Robert FX Sillerman (billionaire businessman–currently owner of American Idol and Graceland) and Christy Hefner, former CEO of Playboy). Also, if you’re into social justice or theater/music/art, it’s a very exciting place to be.</p>

<p>Finally, the school is very diverse undergraduate and graduate, with a strong international flavor (in fact the majority of its International Business School is international students). With respect to the issue for some of the school’s Jewish population, you should understand that less than 50% of its student body is Jewish. Brandeis is a non-sectarian school that embraces students from all types of backgrounds based on merit. The school has no religious affiliation, although it was founded and is funded signigicantly by the Jewish community. </p>

<p>Good luck with your decision!.</p>

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<p>From your past posts B77, you seem to be a big Brandeis fan ^^ Please at least spel our school name correctly =)</p>

<p>Schwartz, you’ve probably heard this many times, but I highly encourage you to visit both campuses, preferably overnight, and interact with several students before making your decision. At the end of the day, it is you who must live with your decision, not us. Both are strong schools; its a matter of which one you will like more, and hence do better at. I wish you luck with your decision.</p>

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<p>Go to Brandeis. Paying a ridiculous amount of money for an undergraduate degree is clearly the right thing to do in this economy. </p>

<p>If you’re not convinced, then consider this: a Bachelor’s degree is basically the new high school degree. Everyone has one and it’s nothing special.</p>