Cal>Stanford?? I don't really think so but what about you.

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
42

<p>Honestly, brand name is a little overrated when it comes to this question – we’re talking engineering schools way at the top, and employers know this. Most of the folks I know are in engineering, and assuming you’re really qualified to graduate from both of these schools, I’d choose based on atmosphere if possible, or otherwise, finances.</p>

<p>Excelblue is on the money.</p>

<p>If you really don’t know what engineering is about, you should consider the school with better safety nets, which certainly isn’t Cal.</p>

43

<p>^^^^^^
Word. Sure, you’ll want to consider the campus environment, the class sizes, and stuff like that. But IMO, the largest contrast between Berkeley and any top private school is the safety net. </p>

<p>Even at a huge private school like Stanford, there are people who care about how well you’re doing. If your GPA starts slipping, then people will work with you to figure out the problem and help fix it. Sure, your attention won’t be as personalized as it would be at Harvard, but it will be there.</p>

<p>Berkeley is very much not like that. If your GPA slips below 2.0, you get a notice that you are on academic probation. If you don’t raise your GPA fast enough, you get a notice that you will not be enrolling next semester. You can still get help, but you have to go out and actively find it. If you just spiral and flunk out, nobody is going to step in and stop you.</p>

44

<p>

</p>

<p>how is that a bad thing? the real world is just like that.</p>

45

<p>I came to college to avoid living in the real world. From what people tell me, this real world sounds like a terrible place.</p>

46

<p>

</p>

<p>It’s not a bad thing, if you want to go to college to experience the real world. Some people aren’t ready for that (or don’t want that) at age 18.</p>

47

<p>then Berkeley would be the first training ground for these lazy students to experience what the real world really is.</p>

48

<p>So you’re saying that Berkeley is still better for them because they won’t like it as much?</p>

49

<p>that’s not what i was saying.</p>

<p>what i was saying is that, you are not kids anymore - so grow up! kids like to be pampered. grown up people will train themselves how to face the real world, and how to survive and thrive in under such milieu. the whole process will mature you. most successful people are mature enough to know how to utilize what he has. it’s about developing yourself even with the absence of external help. the discipline you will get would be invaluable.
so, berkeley is a good training ground, in my opinion. what’s important is that the materials are there. you have access to them and you can get them as long as you want them. it would be a bad thing if you’re saying these professors are avoiding the students. i think that’s a different story altogether.</p>

50

<p>That is true. There are some schools where it’s not a matter of having to go seek out your own opportunities; the opportunities just aren’t there in the first place. So yeah, nobody should think “well if I go to Berkeley than I won’t have as many opportunities”.</p>

<p>However, turning 18 doesn’t magically transform you from a kid into a mature, responsible adult. I know responsible 18 year olds, sure, but I also know some that quite frankly are not ready to stop relying on pressure from teachers and administrators. Learning how to deal with the real world doesn’t help much if they scrape by.</p>