<p>I was accepted to Columbia School of General Studies--and was JUST admitted to Berkeley. Of course I would rather go to Columbia, but as a GS student and, out-of-stater, I won't be getting much aid. It's time for me to make a tough decision now.</p>
<p>Columbia's FA will have leave me with $70,000 in debt after two years.</p>
<p>Berkeley's FA will leave me with $12,000 with debt after two years.</p>
<p>My plan is go to go graduate school after. I kind of am leaning toward UCB, but any insight or advice would be appreciated. Thanks guys.</p>
<p>My daughter made this decision last night, Berkeley or Columbia. She wanted Columbia but chose Berkeley for several reasons. She is a high school student and has about 20 units of college credit that would not transfer to Columbia and a couple of AP scores that were 4’s and Columbia would only take 5’s for the two subjects. She will start Cal with about 45+ units of credit. Columbia would have been $200K and Berkeley $100K or less depending if it takes her 4 years to graduate. Tough decision but she will have $ for grad school and can apply to Columbia for grad school.</p>
<p>My younger son will start at Columbia in the fall. My older son is a sophomore at an elite LAC. Both colleges have determined that I don’t qualify for financial aid, but I will continue to “borrow” to pay their college costs. I may not head down to the local bank, but I am certainly borrowing against my retirement. I am happy to do so.</p>
<p>Having attended two top-five graduate programs, an elite LAC and a state flagship, I believe the benefits associated with the day-to-day exposure to students like those uniformly present at a place like Columbia is well worth the cost. I am not throwing rocks at Berkeley, a very fine school. I just think the $58,000 delta is worth paying.</p>
<p>Columbia College or SEAS, this might be a little closer. Columbia GS vs Berkeley, at those prices, and I think you can be forgiven for taking the money.</p>
<p>In my opinion, Berkeley is the right choice. GS is not as prestigious or worth the money as CC or SEAS - and if you excel at Berkeley, you’ll have all the same options.</p>
<p>I believe GS can take all the same classes as the rest of Columbia students. So you get much of the same experience (other than living in undergrad dorms). In the classroom, it often won’t be obvious if someone is a GS student or a graduate student, for example. Berkeley is a great school, but more for graduate school than undergrad. Tough choice given the money difference!</p>