Hi! I’m a HS senior, currently deciding between two colleges. While Berkeley decisions haven’t come out yet, I already got into LSA at U of M, and I’m making this assuming I get in to UCB.
I’m a senior, currently planning to major in astrophysics. OOS for both colleges(used to live in Ann Arbor, then LA as of now, but I’m moving to Chicago before I start college so it’s OOS tuition.) I’m planning to apply for the honors program in whichever school I go to.
I have real ties to Michigan. My entire family went there, and my dad taught there for over a decade. I really love the school. OTOH, Berkeley’s also a great school too. I loved the school at the tour, and other students in my school who went there love it. Most importantly to me, it has a better astronomy/astrophysics program. Michigan’s is very good, but Berkeley is one of the best short of the Caltech/MIT/Harvard tier, all of which I got rejected from
I was wondering, which has the better astrophysics program? Which has the better social life? Which do you think is the best school for me?
How did you get rejections from Harvard, Caltech, and MIT already? (Or am I misreading your post?) If you applied to Harvard REA, then you would be prohibited from applying to MIT EA or Caltech in the same admissions year, for example.
I honestly think that if you do well at either school, you will have great grad school options (I’m sure you know you’ll need to go on to grad school to work in the field). I really don’t see that you’d be losing anything at all by going to Michigan if you prefer it. Remember that any rankings you are looking at are probably for graduate programs, not undergrad. And a good portion of your undergrad time at either school is going to be taken up with classes teaching you the fundamentals of your field. You should have research opportunities at either school.
If you graduate high school in California after three years of attendance, you may be eligible for AB540 provisions which allow you to have tuition and financial aid like in-state students, even if you would otherwise by considered out-of-state due to parents moving out-of-state before residency is checked.
I did not know that about the AB540, I’ll have to check that out.
I have a trust from my dad working at U of M, so that cuts about half of my tuition off(whether I go to U of M or not, it still applies.) I’m blessed to come from a very well-off family, and tuition is not a problem for me.
Cal’s Physics and Astro departments are ranked higher than Michigan’s. That being said, it is unlikely that you will notice a difference at the undergraduate level. Michigan’s Physics and Astro departments are both ranked among the top 10 or 15 in the nation. That means the labs, faculty and research opportunities are going to be world class.
Since finances are not a concern, I would go for fit.
Cal has no equivalent of the UMich LSA Honors Program. If you get into that, I would give it a lot of weight - it would impact your undergraduate experience far, far more than the small difference in Physics/Astro ranking which, as Alexandre says, is likely to be imperceptible at the undergraduate level.
There are some departments at Cal that specifically avoid accepting their own undergrads into their grad programs. I don’t know if this is the case with Physics/Astro but it’s something to look into if you have this department in mind as your top choice for a grad program.
I don’t know how analogous it is to astrophysics, but I was talking to an astronomy professor at Arizona a few years ago about astronomy programs in colleges. He said for astronomy, where you get your undergraduate degree isn’t that important. It’s where you go to graduate school that matters. In that respect, it seems like either Cal or Michigan would be equally good for an undergraduate degree.
You should major in physics at either school, and both are really excellent for physics. I think you can choose the one that is your favorite location, and visit both if you can. They are very different, Berkeley being a train ride away from SF, and the warm weather, and bigger city of Berkeley, more urban. Ann Arbor is everyone’s favorite college town. At Michigan, You will end up on busses a fair amount though,both due to cold weather, and to get to classes,from wherever you live. The Michigan engineering campus is 3 miles north with Musical theatre campus at Michigan. Berkeley you will bike or walk all year round. Berkeley does not have any guaranteed on campus housing for sophomores,juniors or seniors, but you can join co op living situations there, that are on campus. Most sophomores at Berkeley move off.
The OP has been accepted to LSA. I don’t know about ALL the OP’s classes, but a great majority of them, will be on Central Campus. Thus if the OP is housed in East, West, South or Markley for freshman year, then no buses are necessary. For later years, OP can choose to live near their classes, whether North or Central campus.
