<p>Ok, so I am having some difficulty with college decisions. I was accepted into Cornell Engineering (alternate major) and Berkeleys College of Chemistry. Chemistry is what I want to study, and if I go to Cornell, I will try my best to transfer within the school to the College of Arts and Sciences. </p>
<p>Any advice about how to make this decision would be awesome. I know the campuses and everything are different. But based on academics and classroom atmosphere type things, which is better for an undergrad? </p>
<p>I tried looking at rankings, but they seem super misleading. I think the prestige at the two universities is equal. (The names are different though.) Berkeley ranks a lot lower than it should be, and there is a huge bias toward Ivy League schools. Anyone know some truth or know people in both universities?</p>
<p>-Chemistry is what I want to study
-I was accepted into Berkeleys College of Chemistry
-I think the prestige at the two universities is equal
-Berkeley ranks a lot lower than it should be, and there is a huge bias toward Ivy League schools</p>
<p>Go where YOU want. YOU want Cal. So go to Cal. No one will question you, and if they do, they don't know what they're talking about so it won't matter anyway.</p>
<p>Based on your posted info., UCal @ Berkeley should be the clear choice. Plus Berkeley is probably the single most politically/activist charged & exciting campus in the nation. According to USNews: Classes at Berkeley tend to be smaller than those at Cornell, although the statistics indicate that it is close. If you have in-state tuition rates for UCal, then it is Berkeley by a mile.</p>
<p>You've seemed to have identified a few factors that will make the decision a bit easier. So, it's more of a - which university is right for you?</p>
<p>If you prefer a rural area and lots of tradition, then maybe Cornell is for you. Otherwise, if you'd rather a large city with lots to do and great weather, then it's probably Berkeley.</p>
<p>There's a reason why the rankings seem misleading - it's because it considers everything. However, that's not what truly matters. You want to look at just the major you're going into.</p>
<p>I'd personally recommend Berkeley, as having a vibrant community outside the university is vital in certain situations, such as when you're overly stressed by coursework. However, the choice really depends on you. Congrats on getting into two top schools.</p>
<p>Yeah, if you want to live in a City that explicitly stated it doesn't not support our Marines and that Marines are unwelcomed intruders.... Berkeley takes liberalism to the extreme.</p>
<p>I'm trying to make the same decision. I would say Berkeley...for science, no one will scoff at Cal on your resume. Comparing the prestige for the two (in terms of sciences) is like asking who is better: Batman or Optimus Prime. So academics being (virtually) equal, go to whichever one you like more, based on campus/atmosphere/people (which for me, and a lot of people, is Berkeley).</p>
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Yeah, if you want to live in a City that explicitly stated it doesn't not support our Marines and that Marines are unwelcomed intruders.... Berkeley takes liberalism to the extreme.
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<p>First, just so everyone is clear on this (the above is clear, but just to make double clear), it is the city of Berkeley that did this, not the University. </p>
<p>Berkeley IS a very liberal town though, in politics of course and in overall attitude. But there is real intellectual and religious diversity too.</p>
<p>sorry to hijack this thread, but i am debating between these two as well, in addition to U of C. what do you guys think about one who is interested in bio/ potentially bio e. the cost difference for me is like 1.5k a year (only counting the FA offered by cornell minus the 3k loan). and if means anything, i am a resident of california.
how would you guys choose in my situation? i visited both, and cornell seems to be more favorable in my eyes due to the flexibility it offers in intra-college transfers/major changes as well as the option to obtain a M.eng in 5 years, while i'd imagine the bio e major at cal is impacted...or in general, moving between coe and ls is more inflexible (admitted as an mcb major). as for the advantages of cal, its ranking on the jiaotong index (which i think reflects the strengths of the bio and sci programs pretty well) as well as its top 3 eng school ranking...which is better than cornell but not too much so.</p>
<p>in short, after visiting both, i am more confused unfortunately</p>
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and if means anything, i am a resident of california.
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<p>Normally, I'd tell you on this basis to go to the opposite coast (or far away) if all else was equal. I think different is good. But after reading the Berkeley vs. Cornell post azelma put up, I'd say with respect to that choice at least, my best advice would be to read the post.</p>
<p>I think prestige is too importantly weighted by most people on CC when one is considering the differences of schools like Berkeley, Chicago, and Cornell. So I'd choose on the basis of fit factors and whether you can get into the major you want. Don't worry about relative prestige; if you do well at any of these three, you will do well afterwards. If you do superlatively well, you can go to any grad school you want (most likely).</p>
<p>For the OP: go to Berkeley. It sounds like that's what you want.</p>
<p>Berkeley is pretty much the most baller university for chemistry. Berkeley has the only College of Chemistry in the nation with a lot of history.</p>
<p>Accepted to Cornell and Berkeley, and with FA they will cost roughly the same. I live in Santa Cruz, so I've been to various admitted students events at Berkeley, and of course have never been able to visit Cornell, which I greatly regret. I'm pretty undecided about the whole thing...and to complicate things, I (unlike most CCers) don't know for sure what I want to study (but it's between pure science, engineering, and pre-med).</p>
<p>golden130, the way that Berkeley is run doesn't allow for much exploration of your many interests. While transferring between majors within the same college is simply a paper procedure, transferring between majors in different colleges is tough, especially for engineering.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if Cornell is the same, but it doesn't seem that Berkeley would be a great choice for you. You might want to post on Cornell's forum to ask how easy it is to switch between majors.</p>
<p>The difficulty of transferring between majors in different colleges is equivelant to the difficulty of getting in to that college in the first place.</p>
<p>I was accepted to the college of engineering. since that's supposed to be the hardest to get into, I'm not too worried, because switching out of a harder college into an easier one will be easier. And yes, I love the atmosphere. I'm a very liberal person who is very politically active...so I'll fit right in...but I also really like the city itself (I'm more of a big city person). I've heard about the other big stereotype at berkeley, the academic competition, but to be honest I'm not too worried about that either. I can handle competition, and I don't think that would affect my experience in any big negative way.</p>