<p>i am thinking cal or cornell, but from what i hear, cal has uninterested professors, hard to find housing, and a competitive atmosphere,…when i visited cornell it felt like i went there already…any difference on research opportunities or grad school admissions? also cornell has interest free monthly installment plan… and berkeley is not 25,000 its more like 30,000…my parent contribution is 31,000 for cornell…</p>
<p>^ Cal has interesting profs… so does Cornell (as well as uninterested profs). The academics will likely be very similar.</p>
<p>Finding an apartment in Berkeley can be stressful…no question. I won’t lie to you - it’s a pain. </p>
<p>Biology majors are competitive because there are a lot of pre-meds. But most kids are friendly and will help out. </p>
<p>I believe Berkeley has the stronger program in molecular cell biology. Cornell has a stronger program in integrative biology (i.e. veterinary science).</p>
<p>mcb is not my definite chosen path, in fact i applied IB to berkeley…and at cornell i could wind up doing anything from bioEngineering (#2 in country) to ecology and evolutionary bio…i was a little surprised that berkeley consolidated bio into two majors…idk if its good or bad…which has the most research opportunities? also which do u think is the better overall college experience?</p>
<p>^ Hard to say about research opportunities. You probably have to be equally outgoing and seek them out yourself in either environment. Cornell is more rural, idyllic (gorgeous though)…Berkeley has more going on…access to SF, Pac-10 athletics, etc. </p>
<p>I will say this, if you plan to stay in/return to CA after graduation, Berkeley will be more widely recruited by CA firms. Cornell will be more widely recruited by northeast firms. You can get a job anywhere from either school, but you’ll have to do more leg work if you want a job out of the home region.</p>
<p>thats true but in science i will prob do grad school…ack…may 1 is so soon</p>
<p>^ Things always change. You won’t go wrong with any of your choices. If you can afford the extra cost and like the environment better, go to Cornell.</p>
<p>What do your parents think?</p>
<p>my parents are good with both, my mom likes cornell…my dad likes both but seems to thinkt hat berkeley is the best school int he world(his parents went there)</p>
<p>^ Your dad is a very wise man, indeed… ;)</p>
<p>sportychicsam14</p>
<p>from what i’ve gathered, motivated Berkeley students won’t be deprived with research opportunities/involvement. For example, you can apply seek involvement through here [url=<a href=“http://research.berkeley.edu/urap/]URAP[/url”>Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program (URAP) – Undergraduate Research & Scholarships]URAP[/url</a>]</p>
<p>If it would cost you the same to go to Berkeley and Cornell, you should rather go for Berkeley. And, your dad was correct. Berkeley is indeed one of the very best schools in the world. :)</p>
<p>Hopkins based on size and community.</p>
<p>sporty –</p>
<p>Someone very close to me 
once told me they were never so satisfied with a B in their life as with the B they earned in a bio course at Cornell.</p>
<p>Berkeley is NOT harder in the bio area than Cornell. Absolutely equivalent in terms of the work you need to put in to get an A or B. Lots of Cs handed out at both schools.</p>