<p>I apologize for asking this type of question again, but I really need a personalized answer to help me make my final decision.
Here are the options laying in front of me right now:
a. USC, Biomedical engineering with an emphasis in mechanical engineering, $8300, 30 min from home and my dad passes by for work everyday, really bad neighborhood, #29 for overall undergrad engineering, no ranking for BME
b. UCLA: Mechanical engineering, $7500, 40 min from home, great surrounding environment, #20 for overall undergrad engineering, no ranking for ME
c. UCB: Mechanical engineering, $8700, 6 hrs (driving) from home, not sure about the surrounding, #3 for overall undergrad engineering, #3 for ME
*The $ is the total amount of work-study, loan, and family contribution.
Yesterday I visited both USC and UCLA, today I watched the virtual tour of UCB on youtube. My struggle right now is convenience vs. ranking. I can come home every weekend if I go to either UCLA or USC, however, their engineering is far behind UCB. If I do go to UCB, that means I probably won't be able to come home at all except during major breaks. And because living in Berkeley is expensive, so there will be additional expenses during the weekend. More importantly, I heard Berkeley engineering is suicidal, I will probably fall into depression by my freshmen year. I also heard that professors don't even teach undergrad (particularly those Nobel Laureates in Berkeley), the school invites teachers from community colleges to teach, whereas the classes in USC are taught 100% by professors.
Please grant me your mighty advices!!! I still have around 10 days before I have to make my final decision.</p>
<p>Proposed</a> UC, Cal State budget cuts decried - Los Angeles Times</p>
<p>Do you know UC tuition is going up? Would that change your financial situation for each of the school that you are considering?</p>
<p>Call me biased, but there's no reason to choose USC or UCLA over Berkeley for engineering, especially if all are similarly priced. The city of Berkeley is completely college oriented, unlike the ritzy Westwood or the slums around USC. I'm from SoCal and I fell in love with Berkeley when I visited (I highly recommend you come up and see it for yourself before you make up your mind).</p>
<p>Also, are you seriously planning on going home every weekend? The whole point of college is to mature and find yourself, and that's very difficult to do if you're always around your family and high school friends. The majority of the fun you'll have in college will happen on the weekends. I highly advise against staying so close to home for college.</p>
<p>And why do people get the notion that professors at Cal don't teach? Professors teach EVERY class at Berkeley, and they teach them WELL. The engineering faculty at Berkeley is one of the top in the world and it would be a waste not to learn from them. Also, Berkeley recruits some of the best graduate students in the country, and these students will be your GSIs (graduate student instructors) who will be leading your discussion sections. They are brilliant, hard-working, and truly care about the subjects they teach.</p>
<p>Yes Berkeley is hard, but so are UCLA and USC. If you don't want to work, don't even think about engineering. Sorry about the rant.</p>
<p>GO BEARS!</p>
<p>Those are information from the financial aid packet each of the schools sent me. So I suppose that's how much the cost is, for the incoming year at least. Here is the break down of the costs:
1. USC: 43800 gift aid + 6500 loan and work-study + 1800 parent loan = 52100 total cost
2. UCLA: 17600 gift aid + 7500 loan and work-study = 25100 total cost
3. UCB: 18000 gift aid + 8300 loan and work-study + 410 family contribution = 26710 total cost</p>
<p>
[quote]
today I watched the virtual tour of UCB on youtube. My struggle right now is convenience vs. ranking. I can come home every weekend if I go to either UCLA or USC, however, their engineering is far behind UCB. If I do go to UCB, that means I probably won't be able to come home at all except during major breaks. And because living in Berkeley is expensive, so there will be additional expenses during the weekend. More importantly, I heard Berkeley engineering is suicidal, I will probably fall into depression by my freshmen year. I also heard that professors don't even teach undergrad (particularly those Nobel Laureates in Berkeley), the school invites teachers from community colleges to teach, whereas the classes in USC are taught 100% by professors.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Let's dispel some rumors right now.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Berkeley is quite convenient. You can fly Southwest airlines non-stop from LAX or Burbank to Oakland and take BART to access the campus. This is much more convenient than driving. You won't need a car at Berkeley either. It's a pain and expensive for parking. Public transportation is by far better in the Bay Area than L.A.</p></li>
<li><p>It is completely false that Berkeley hires CC profs to teach classes. All my courses at Berkeley were taught by full-time Berkeley profs and some courses have smaller discussion level classes taught by graduate students.</p></li>
<li><p>Living in L.A. is expensive as well. If you intend to live in the dorms you will have similar meal plan and entertainment costs.</p></li>
<li><p>Berkeley engineering is NOT suicidal...it's academically tough, for sure, but USC and UCLA engineering will be just as tough. If you go up to Berkeley with the attitude that you'll be depressed and far from home...maybe its not the right choice for you. I would encourage you to visit if you can. The experience is quite different and not for everyone. Personally for me, being from Socal, Cal provided me a refreshing change of scenery.</p></li>
<li><p>Berkeley's engineering is phenomenal and far exceeds UCLA and USC. It is more widely recruited by top companies due to its prestige and location near Silicon Valley.</p></li>
<li><p>If you want to go away to school, Berkeley will provide this opportunity. That's part of the college experience IMO. But, if you're more comfortable living closer to home, USC or UCLA might be a better choice for you.</p></li>
<li><p>Regarding the tuition increase - even still, the increase is modest and the premium for Berkeley engineering is well worth it over USC and UCLA engineering.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Compare to UCSD and UCB biomedical engineering, how much behind or maybe ahead of is USC biomed?</p>
<p>For biomedical engineering:</p>
<p>UCSD > UCB >>> USC</p>
<p>IMHO, biomedical engineering is over-rated. It seems like everyone and their brother is pursuing the major and job opportunities are quite specialized and limited. I would recommend majoring in one of the more traditional engineering fields, such as chemcial, mechanical or electrical. Maybe get an MS in biomedical engineering later if your interests and career takes you down that path. I wouldn't pigeonhole myself in BME...but, that's just my opinion.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your info, I'm feeling much more comfortable to go to UCB now. My mom supports me to go there as well.</p>
<p>^ Please visit though first. Take a drive or fly up with your parents before deciding.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, UCB is also raising price for some dorms like Foothill to $16K. Make sure you have all your numbers before you make your decision.</p>
<p>Okay, I'll book my flight ticket right now. Just one last question, what airport should I land in? and do I need to rent a car? Is there a bus that takes me directly to Berkeley from the airport?</p>
<p>^ Fly to Oakland. It's about a 1 hour flight from L.A.</p>
<p>No need to rent a car. To get a good feel, you can take BART. Hop on the Air BART shuttle bus which will take you to the Oakland colesium station. Buy a ticket and get on a Richmond bound BART train and get off at the Downtown Berkeley station. Once out of the station, head a couple blocks East (uphill) towards campus.</p>
<p>Is it possible to rank the following engineering majors in Berkeley? Electrical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, bioengineering, and biomedical engineering.
Also, is there any kind of gender discrimination in mechanical engineering? I am a girl and my parents are worried that employers would not want to employ female mechanical engineers.
Thank you all very much.</p>
<p>Female engineers are in very high demand. Companies look for diversity in employment. Being a female engineer is a bonus in this day and age, not a hinderance.</p>
<p>^^That is nonsense worrying. There are tons of female engineers already in any fields. Same with law and medicine. Common, in 2008 we already have a female presidential candidate don't we?</p>
<p>UCB, no bonus but no hindrance either.</p>