<p>I know Berkeley is ranked higher, but I feel like Columbia would give me a more well-rounded education. I also get the feeling that Columbia is much less competitive and would give out higher GPAs. Is there a huge difference between the two schools? What are some other pros and cons? Thanks!</p>
<p>Columbia SEAS has little grade inflation and it’s very competitive, don’t kid yourself. I have a friend studying electrical at Berkeley, and he just hates it, the bureaucracy of a massive state school is just insane. He gets little attention, and is stuck with bad TAs. I think his experience is quite a bad one for Berkeley, I’m sure there are people who are very proud and happy to be there. Both campuses are liberal, Berkeley is definitely more liberal. Columbia has its fair share of vocal republicans and libertarians, who (in my experience) do very well here and manage to maintain a lot of credibility. Columbia undergrad is smaller and more focused without losing the resources of a massive research univ.</p>
<p>I’d honestly say Berkeley and I urge you to visit both.</p>