<p>My D is deciding between Berkeley and CMU. The biggest negative with CMU being the cold weather. How would any of you compare the two and how are they different. Is there anyone that chose one over the other ?
She is planning on doing EECS (Berkeley) and SCS /CIT (ECS) in CMU. </p>
<p>huge class sizes seem to be her worry coming from a small HS.
We are trying to get her to go see the campus and decide. She is also considering HarveyMudd. any thoughts will be helpful.</p>
<p>I was deciding between the same thing last year as well. (Although I’m more CS focused then eecs so it was cs in l&s at cal versus SCS at cmu, instead of eecs). While I felt like they’re graduate programs were fairly equal in prestige I thought that CMU gave a little more attention to undergrads, so they’re undergrad program might be a little better. However, Cal’s undergrad program is so amazing, and a potential slight advantage on CMU’s side just wasn’t enough to make up for the difference in cost (I had no financial aid at either school), weather, and distance from home.</p>
<p>Ultimately I think it comes down a lot to the person. If you think you would learn better with smaller classes then you might do better at CMU, if your an independent learner or know how to take advantage of GSI’s and office hours, then you’ll do just as well at Cal and get a nicer (to most) location.</p>
<p>My advice - if at all possible, visit both, dig into the facts, don’t just go by stereotypes that ‘everyone knows’ or superficial details from a brochure. </p>
<p>Also, ask questions here about effect of those classes that are large in size - how does the combination of a giant lecture with small 20-30 person sections offset the issue. Ask about real access to the professors in office hours - you might be surprised how easy it is to sit down with almost any professor during their office hours, in spite of the size of the lecture they give.</p>
<p>i had to make the same decision two years ago. at the time i got into this humanities honors program at cmu and was accepted as a spring admit. i eventually chose cal, mainly cuz of price, distance from home, and weather. the best thing about cal is the quality of education you’ll get. the worst thing is that you have to work your butt off from day one to stay afloat.</p>