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</p>
<p>Then go for Berkeley. You’ll be a good addition to the school’s diverse student body. </p>
<p>I also think that Berkeley - as an academic institution - is a more respected school than Cornell is especially in the field of engineering.</p>
<p>Cornell is certainly more respected than Berkeley, plus it is not undergoing the same massive cuts that Berkeley is undergoing. Don’t forget to factor in the extra year it will take you to get your degree at Berkeley, most likely–you could be done and making money with an Ivy League degree instead of dragging along for another year or two in overcrowded classes at a public university.</p>
<p>^ You easily believe in rumors. Did you also hear that Pope Benedict XVI is married and Obama is half Haitian? LoL…</p>
<p>anyway, those who think that Cornell is a more respected institution than Berkeley is - for engineering - are the Cornell students themselves. Outside of that small circle, Berkeley gets the nod.</p>
<p>^^ Endicott, we’re talking about EECS here. Berkeley EECS > Cornell EECS. Berkeley’s College of Engineering requires you to graduate in 4 years and has the department resources to ensure you do.</p>
<p><a href=“Prospective freshman FAQs - Berkeley Engineering”>Prospective freshman FAQs - Berkeley Engineering;
<p>Also UC Berkeley is hiring right now, and if any department were to be downsized it would not be EECS. It won’t take you 5 years to graduate unless you take the bare minimum every semester.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for strength of department and academics I would choose UC Berkeley, all of the other factors (environment, location, etc…) are dependent on what you like.</p>
<p>UCBChemEGrad-
Cornell’s ECE department faculty exceed Berkeley’s EECS faculty in the publication of articles and books. This is a “per faculty” number. That’s what the Faculty Productivity Index is about.</p>
<p>I do not think Berkeley’s EECS department surpasses Cornell’s ECE department in either student quality or faculty quality. However, Berkeley’s department is much bigger. Berkeley’s EECS has 134 faculty whereas Cornell’s ECE department has 44 faculty. This explains the difference in National Academy of Engineering membership that you pointed out in post #20. Actually, 57% of the faculty at both Berkeley EECS and Cornell ECE are National Academy of Engineering members. They are the same.</p>
<p>
Berkeley has 935 undergrads in EECS; therefore student faculty ratio is ~7:1.
Cornell says it has ~500 undergrads in ECE; therefore student faculty ratio is ~11:1.</p>
<p>Berkeley EECS has more resources and you cannot deny the advantage of its location.</p>
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</p>
<p>Except Berkeley’s EECS department also houses the school’s ~4-500 CS majors.</p>
<p>Cornell is very good for engineering, arguably the best in the ivy league, however Berkeley is simply a bit better.</p>
<p>
No, that’s total. And so does Cornell for that matter.</p>
<p>[College</a> Facts — UC Berkeley College of Engineering](<a href=“Facts and figures - Berkeley Engineering”>Facts and figures - Berkeley Engineering)</p>
<p>I did two years at Cornell, then transferred to Stanford, and went to Berkeley for law school.</p>
<p>Cornell is a big school in a charming town, in an area with much natural beauty. The whole “middle of nowhere” argument makes no sense to me. I didn’t have the feeling that there was less to do at Cornell than there was at Berkeley or Stanford.</p>
<p>I also can’t get too excited about the whole “Ivy League” notion. You’re not going to a league, you’re going to a school. The league comes into play when you’re watching sports teams compete against each other. The quality of play is way better in the Pac 10, if you’re really interested in watching sports. Does the fact that Cornell plays football against Harvard and Dartmouth, while Cal plays against USC and Stanford, make Cornell better than Cal? Is the Cornell-Penn rivalry more exciting than the Cal-Stanford rivalry? </p>
<p>Take your pick. They’re both good schools. Base your choice on the weather, or money, or where you want to live. But don’t dismiss Cornell because it’s in Ithaca, or pick it because of who its rivals are in sports. You won’t be attending classes with people from rival schools, or meeting their professors, or getting a diploma with their names on it.</p>
<p>Thanks for responding graybeard. Which school did you like best? What were the pro and cons for you at each? The fact that you have spent time at both makes you an invaluable resource. 
Furthermore, how difficult was it to transfer into Stanford from Cornell, because Stanford really is something. In addition, would it be possible to go to Cornell and go to Berkeley for grad school? Or is it easier to get into Berkeley grad school after going to Berkeley undergrad. </p>
<p>Thanks for all your responses everyone, I am paying close attention to all the comments!</p>
<p>If you want input from someone who’s spent time at both,but actually in engineering, look up post #22 on this thread</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-berkeley/888248-cornell-vs-uc-berkeley-2.html?[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-berkeley/888248-cornell-vs-uc-berkeley-2.html?</a></p>
<p>Thanks moneydad. I was looking all over the forums to see someone who has attended both. That’s a really useful post!</p>
<p>Greybeard, I would still love to hear from you though! :)</p>
<p>It’s M-O-N-Y dad</p>
<p>no $$</p>
<p>Oh, Im quite sorry about that. Im too used to spelling “money.” I apologize.</p>
<p>While both great schools, academically, and very rigorous, Berkeley has it over Cornell for a healthier, more robust social life. As well, some students have a hard time with Ithaca’s brutal weather and being so removed.</p>
<p>You do well, at either school, and you are set for grad school/job opportunity. </p>
<p>And it is a gross exaggeration, oft-spouted about cliche about CAL, that there is no support. I got support a-plenty from professors and administration. I merely asked for it.</p>
<p>IMO one’s social life will be as healthy and robust as the friends you make. I cannot predict where OP will make more and better friends. I refer to 2nd paragraph of post #31 above.</p>
<p>It was cold in winter, and there was snow. You want brutal, try Chicago.
Which I actually was prepared to do, and did do, after cornell. Don’t be a weenie, put on a coat.</p>
<p>If you’re from CA transport will be a pain, I imagine, that part I agree with.</p>
<p>It’s harder to transfer to Stanford now than it was in 1978, when I made the switch. It worked out well for me, as it allowed me to pay in-state tuition at Berkeley for law school, but I basically saw no differences in educational opportunity or academic rigor between Cornell and Stanford.</p>
<p>My wife did her undergraduate work at Berkeley, and I have worked with more people than I can count who did their undergraduate work at Berkeley. My general take is that there’s a tendency on this board for people to exaggerate small differences between schools. I see Cornell and Berkeley as comparable schools, each with an astounding array of resources. I’ve known many people who have done undergraduate work at Berkeley, and graduate work at Cornell, and vice-versa.</p>
<p>Thanks, Greybeard, for replying. As for social life, Im not too worried about meeting people. or rather not meeting enough people, since Im rather reserved and only keep a select group of friends. </p>
<p>Based on the opinions on the board and my own research/gut feeling, I do prefer Cornell a bit more. It just seems more like a traditional East coast college experience and I have wanted to go to new york all my life, even though it is like 4 hours away. </p>
<p>But now to add another curve ball to the mix: finances. Berkeley is cheaper by 4000 a year and I dont have to do any work study since I got the incredibly prestigious Regent’s Scholarship. Cornell is going to cost more and I will have to do work study. Is it worth it to go to Cornell over Berkeley even if it costs more than Berkeley and I dont get an prestigious scholarship like the Regent’s Scholarship? </p>
<p>Thanks everyone for replying. You’ve all been a lot of help!</p>