Hey guys. So I’ve been researching schools recently and was wondering if you could tell me how the two of them compare in terms of acadmic quality/prestige/grad school opportunities/difficulty etc.? To clarify I would be considered OOS for Cal. So they seem pretty similar on paper in terms of their acceptance rates and average SATs etc, given that Berkeley decided to become etc. selective in 2016. I know Cornell’s Ivy league and stuff but Berkeley seems pretty similar so I’m confused(what up username reference), I just figured it would be helpful to have more opinions. PS, pls don’t h8 m8s.
No information to go on here. Forget prestige - both well respected, and if you can actually get into either/both, you really shouldn’t worry about prestige and focus on opportunities, fit, experience, programs etc.
What are you planning to study? and since you’re OOS at UCB, would you qualify for aid at Cornell? What would be the disparity in cost? Can you cope with the cold? Do you hate the heat? Do you like rural campuses or more urban areas? These are considerations when you reach such an elite level of school, not ‘prestige’ and ‘academic quality’ - every school in the top 30 for universities and liberal arts colleges have that, so don’t focus on it.
FYI: UCB is in Northern Cal and doesn’t get that much “heat” during the academic year. It’s green because of the rain and the bay area coastal fog/clouds. UCB is a hefty price tag with no financial aid for OOS students.
Davis gets that kind of heat.
@Senior2016M oops forgot to clarify that I’m a prospective mechE major . And I do like the heat . But I should be fine with the cold too. @auntbea I’ll be applying to Davis as well. My counsellor however, says it would be a safety for me. Not trying to sound arrogant here but I feel like I could get into better schools than Davis. ( It is of course a very good school as it is )
@Senior2016M don’t qualify for finaid. Wish I did though!
Okay, this is helpful. Sounds like cost isn’t a huge issue, and so you should follow the better program. For engineering, I hate to say it, but Cornell is probably better. UCB is the higher ranked undergraduate engineering school overall with an abundance of opportunities, and it’s where I’d choose. So this being the case you should probably plan to visit both (after being admitted, I don’t see why people waste the money visiting schools they haven’t been accepted to, terribly expensive). Cornell is known to be the stronger program for mech. However, it has a weaker social atmosphere and is a very stressful four years, so great as it is for this ONE major, it’s important to consider that as an aspect of the decision. Keep in mind that you may wish to change your mind along the way, and you want to be somewhere that can accommodate high level academics of interest to you ACROSS the spectrum, not just in engineering.
UC Davis is very probably a safety for you, no arrogance at all. I think that’s just a realistic statement for someone seriously considering these schools. Many fine institutions will be safeties for you if you genuinely have the stats to get into either of these schools.
Other ‘elite’ places to consider in addition to your essential targets and safeties, in no particular order:
Vanderbilt - has merit scholarships for high achievers unlike the Ivies or many other elites, although I’m biased toward Vandy 
Duke - UBER competitive at the Pratt School of Engineering, depends on just how qualified you are, but why not send an application if you’re serious about the field
Tufts - purportedly has a very fine engineering school, competitive also, but worth considering
Georgia Tech - really up and coming place reputation wise, even though it’s already very reputable, and as the name implies it really is a center of engineering and technical prowess in education
Carnegie Mellon - great school across the board, still very selective
Caltech and MIT - obviously, but again, I don’t know your grades and scores so if you have less than a 2250 SAT or 35 ACT then probably ignore me and don’t get your heart set on these AT ALL, I hate seeing students get heartbreak after rejections from these places as they’re just so unbelievably selective
Purdue and UT Austin - truly wonderful programs, and the good news with STEM fields is that name brand doesn’t count as much as for humanities, so make sure you don’t stress about prestige in your field.
Stanford and Princeton also neat-o, but as you can guess, VERY difficult to get into even with every possible ideal element of your application.
Good luck!
Thank you so much @Senior2016M ! This is incredibly helpful for me 
You’re most welcome! Best wishes for a low-stress application process - as unrealistic as that likely is!
I chose Berkeley over Cornell this year as a CS major. Cornell was around 13k/yr and Berkeley was around 18k/yr. I was also admitted at Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and CMU (Tepper, not SCS).
I personally loved the environment, weather, and location of Cal. IMO, SF Bay Area >>> Evanston => Nashville >> Ithaca. All of the majors offered at Cal are extremely strong (more majors in the top 10 than any university in the U.S. including HYPSM) so there’s a lot more flexibility in switching majors.
Cal also beats all of the aforementioned universities in international prestige except possibly Stanford. If you’re considering working abroad then Cal would be the best choice.
In terms of prestige in the U.S., all of them are around the same except for Princeton and Stanford which are known for being more selective than Cal at the undergraduate level due to less spaces for students. This boosts USNews rankings and attracts applications for stronger students.
All in all, I’m glad I chose Cal over Cornell and I don’t think I’ll be regretting my decision. Neither university will hold your hand like small colleges will, and both are known to be quite cutthroat. My roommate also chose Cal over Cornell as an out-of-state student MechE major, so you certainly won’t be alone if you do decide to choose one over the other.
Hi, I am a business major and was addmited to CMU (Tepper), NYU (Stern), Rice, UT Austin (BHP), UCLA, Cornell, and Berkeley. I chose Cal over Cornell because of the environment and weather.
Be aware that UCs put a higher level of importance on GPA than test scores. This past year, there were posts from disappointed students rejected at UCD. The usual profile for them was being “test score heavy” – SAT/ACT scores well above the UCD range, but GPA on the lower end, or in the campus middle range but applying to more competitive majors like mechanical engineering.
Do not assume that high SAT/ACT scores will compensate for a slightly lower GPA at UCs.
It depends what you want to do with your ME degree. If you got any minds on automotive industry, then almost any school in Michigan is more advantageous than either Berkeley or Cornell. Location matters a lot in addition to the weather, as there is a tendency to stay nearby the area where you attended college or come back to your hometown for work. Both schools are prestigious enough.
Thank you @yinuos and @yoyohi ! @ucbalumnus understood! Though I do have a 4.0 UW (4.6 W) as of now and a 2330 SAT so my counsellor was probably judging my chances for UCD based on that. @UpMagic I was actually thinking about concentrating in Energy Engineering if I were to get a degree from Cal and mixing my MechE classes with some CS classes if I were to get a degree from Cornell. Idk I don’t seem to like Michigan very much lol
@yinous thanks for sharing your personal experience!
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/freshman-admissions-summary indicates that the 2015 frosh admit rate at UCD for those with UC-weighted GPA 4.20 and above was 89%. However, engineering majors were probably more difficult than the school overall.
As a word of caution, don’t count on Davis as a safety even with your excellent stats. Look through the acceptance threads the last few years and you’ll see some students with much lower stats than yours accepted for engineering and some high stats like yours waitlisted/rejected. You mentioned Michigan - if you’re in-state there that would make a lot more sense than Cal.
My son had almost identical stats as yours, and he got into all of the UC (Mechanical Engineering) that he applied to with a handful of Regents last year. Therefore, you certainly have good chance. But @youcee was right. Don’t just assume that Davis is a safety. You need to work diligently on your essays and applications. How rigorous are your classes? Did you take any Subject Tests? How are your ECs?
@youcee no I’m from New Jersey. @StevenToCollege Yeah I have a 770 on my Physics and an 800 on Math lv 2. I’ve gotten 5’s on 8 out of the 10 APs I’ve taken (4 on the other two). I’m a president of 4 clubs in HS, have done a lot of research in the Power Generation Sector and published two research papers, I’ve also started an organization that improves the designs of government health safety pamphlets in India(We’ve started to increase awareness in a lot of rural areas in India). This obviously required a lot of travel because I live 8000 miles away from India. I also play the piano(certified). Aced a few Olympiads(mainly Math and Chemistry) and won awards for the same. Oh and I was part of the Quiz Bowl. I know this sounds kinda generic/vague but this I’ll make a post about my EC’s a little later.
@StevenToCollege I’ve taken the hardest possible courses in my magnet school so I’m not worried