<p>thank you for the advice. i was also thinking, between an ivy and berkeley, i would choose berkeley simply because it has a stronger engineering program. good choice, bad choice?</p>
<p>^^^ Just as an aside, my son actually did that. He is a freshman this year at Cal. Cal was his first choice because he wanted a large research university, a Division I sports program, west coast, by a big city, with an exceptional engineering program. Berkeley fit all his requirements. It’s a personal decision, but my son has no regrets over selecting Cal. The only east coast schools he applied to were MIT and Columbia (waitlisted by both, hence my warning of being confident but not cocky.) He withdrew himself from both lists and loves Berkeley.</p>
<p>^ again I agree. I am also applying this year and my top choice is UC Berkeley for ChemE. I love the atmosphere (I consider myself a west coast guy). MIT is great as far as rankings (For ChemE: MIT is 1 and Berkeley is 2)… but I did not fall in love with Cambridge as I did with Cal. </p>
<p>So, I would say good choice for you daniel. It is all a matter of preference.</p>
<p>^^^ Ha! That’s what my son is leaning toward. He was admitted into Engineering Undeclared but he is very seriously considering Chemical Engineering. It’s great to see someone who is considering a similar path. Everyone was kind of surprised when my son wanted to go to Cal, but he had his mind made up. Once I walked on the campus, I knew he was right. It’s the perfect fit for him. By the way, Chemical Engineering is VERY challenging. Be prepared!</p>
<p>haha thanks for the heads up momfirst3 
. And yes, I HOPE that ChemE is very challenging - I always like a good challenge. But, I am thinking about using a ChemE major to go into med school… we’ll see about that :-/ . Don’t wanna be too ambitious.</p>
<p>i know berkeley is a good school and all, but the surrounding area wasn’t that appealing. I lived there for two months ( in the summer program), and it just seemed like there were a lot of homeless ppl there, and actually a bit dirty in some areas. but i guess every school has some of that though. I actually have not been able to visit any east coast schools, might go during the february break…</p>
<p>oh and one more question, how would my schedule and workload compare to that of a freshman EE at MIT or Berkeley? I want to make sure I get a strong amount of stress (I actally like stress, kind of weird)</p>
<p>Yeah, the surrounding area is a love it/hate it kind of thing. My son loves it and likes the eclectic vibe. It’s not for everyone. As for the workload, my son had a similar high school experience (13 AP’s, couple of clubs, #1 in his class, nationally ranked athlete). His sport required an unbelievable amount of time. That being said, he is doing just fine at Berkeley. He decided to not play his sport in college so he feels that he has plenty of time to study and do other things. Of course, he’s only a freshman and he is certain that classes will become more difficult, but he felt the rigors of his high school schedule prepared him very well for the demanding work load of Berkeley.</p>
<p>^^ Yeah, do not worry SO much about the course load during freshman year at neither MIT nor Berkeley. I am positive that AP/IB (I am finishing up IB this year) prepares students for the early college workload. Daniel, if you like stress… you can always take lots of EC’s/research opportunities during college to really get that blood pumping .</p>
<p>How would I compare to a student who has consistently qualified for AIME each year since freshman year, seeing that I have no math awards?</p>
<p>anyone got an opinion?</p>
<p>This is probably going to sound nuts to you, but my opinion is to stop worrying about how you compare to others and just work on your applications. You have great stats, and you will be competitive to all the universities to which you apply. Don’t waste energy trying to figure out how you compare or whether or not you will get accepted. Put your energy towards writing the best essays possible and filling out those applications. Good luck!</p>
<p>lol true true</p>
<p>well thanks for all the advice ppl</p>
<p>we’ll see what happens in a few months!</p>
<p>Ok daniel! Good luck! And yeah ^^^ don’t waste TOO much time on CC trying to compare yourself with other peoples’ stats. You have done what you can - and it will be enough!</p>