<p>I am Indian and here it seems that by all means Berkeley is as respected and prestigious as any of the lower Ivys (Cornell, Penn, etc.). In fact I have always viewed Berkeley Engineering as higher than any of the Ivys. Here in India, Berkeley is said to be only a notch lower than HPYSM.</p>
<p>I believe that this is majorly because Berkeley is constantly ranked in the top 5 in all almost all subjects in the nation, and in some cases (engineering) top 5 in the world. Also, Berkeley is highly selective when it comes to International students and I believe prestige stems from that too.</p>
<p>But I want to hear it from you Americans. Does Cal hold the same prestige in your eyes that it does in ours? I mean do you see a Berkeley student and go like "Wow" or "Congratulations!". </p>
<p>Personally, I would be joining Cal this fall as an EECS major. I have heard that berkeley EECS has the same brand value as any of the ivys. Is that true?</p>
<p>And please try to be objective while answering this question. I have had enough of Stanford Students trying to undermine Berkeley and enough of Berkeley students trying to put it in the same slot as MIT, Princeton, etc.</p>
<p>I’m from Pennsylvania, and I’ll say that the “lower” ivies are more prestigious here. People from here most times do not say “wow” when they hear that one is going to Berkeley (probably because they simply don’t know & it’s on the west coast). </p>
<p>Personally, I would say it is on par with Cornell, etc., but that’s because I’ve been exposed to CC.</p>
<p>even on the west coast, no. ivies and top private schools have a larger mystique in Cali and bigger reps (based on my anectodal and first hand experience in a prestige driven consulting field, admittedly).</p>
<p>Engineering and CS are different from consulting and investment banking.</p>
<p>Berkeley > HYP for engineering and CS recruiting.</p>
<p>HYP > Berkeley for consulting and investment banking recruiting.</p>
<p>Of course, if you manage to get into SM affordably, they will leave both options open.</p>
<p>I am aware that Berkeley is better than all ivies at engineering in nearly all quantifiable measures. And that is why, this most likely would not change my decision to attend Berkeley for EECS.</p>
<p>But here, I am only talking about the Brand name. The bragging value. Talking at a dinner table conversation.
I can assure you that in India, and in Asia in general, Berkeley will fetch you higher bragging rights than most Ivies. These rankings should give you an idea of what I mean,</p>
<p>[Academic</a> Ranking of World Universities - 2012| Top 500 universities | Shanghai Ranking - 2012 | World University Ranking - 2012](<a href=“http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2012.html]Academic”>http://www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2012.html)</p>
<p>But I am just curious about what it’s like in US. Do you innately develop respect for someone you see wearing a UC Berkeley hoodie? Does a berkeley.edu email address carry any weight?</p>
<p>okay, maybe not as much as HPYSM. But anywhere close?</p>
<p>UK also, it seems, thinks highly of Cal,
[Top</a> universities by reputation 2013 - Times Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013/reputation-ranking]Top”>World Reputation Rankings 2013 | Times Higher Education (THE))</p>
<p>[World</a> University Rankings 2012-2013 - Times Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking]World”>World University Rankings 2013-14 | Times Higher Education (THE))</p>
<p>As you can probably see, apart from Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Columbia - the ivies aren’t even close to Berkeley.</p>
<p>Does the Berkeley name carry the same prestige in US that it does in other countries?</p>
<p>When I started the college admissions process, I did it with the idea that</p>
<p>HPYSM > Berkeley, Columbia > Rest.</p>
<p>Was I right?</p>
<p>The top ivys are a better brand.</p>
<p>There are a lot of “it depends” when it comes to prestige.</p>
<p>At the PhD level in most majors, and at the undergraduate level in some majors like engineering majors and CS, Berkeley certainly is one of the top prestige schools. Otherwise, Berkeley is well regarded, but there is definitely a layer of higher prestige schools with more prestige than Berkeley.</p>
<p>The international rankings may put more weight on the PhD level, due to the preponderance of international students at the PhD level than the undergraduate level.</p>
<p>But prestige alone is not a particularly good primary reason to choose a school, unless your career goal is something prestige-obsessed like consulting or investment banking.</p>
<p>“The top ivys are a better brand.” <= except for Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences.</p>
<p>Berkeley EECS=MIT=Stanford>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>all IVYs.</p>
<p>“But I am just curious about what it’s like in US. Do you innately develop respect for someone you see wearing a UC Berkeley hoodie? Does a berkeley.edu email address carry any weight?”</p>
<p>I hope you’re not making a decision based on this.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>But then isn’t that reasonable proxy of how investment banks and management consulting companies recruit? It may be a valid reason for deciding for a student whose goal is investment banking or management consulting.</p>
<p>For McKinsey, you still need to do well in college (be it Harvard or Cornell). Going to a target school gets your foot in the door, but only if you do well in the initial case and screening interviews, have leadership qualities, have high test scores, and a relatively high GPA. Some of those components are unlikely if you don’t go to a college you enjoy.</p>
<p>Don’t worry. I won’t be making a decision SOLELY on prestige but I admit that it does matter to me. I am an international student so name recognition is a concern.</p>
<p>And anyways, by what I have gathered over time at CC, it seems that Cal EECS is among the best and the most respected on the planet. (I am still not sure how I got in. Anyone’s got EECS acceptance rates and freshman profile?)
So I should be safe either way. </p>
<p>I think I agree with what UCBalumnus said. But I also feel that a college’s prestige only comes from its post grad. quality and undergrad matters very little. Because if it did, one would expect Harvey Mudd and Rose Hulmann to be far more recognized than they are now.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley is completely unknown here on the East Coast in the United States. I currently reside in Washington D.C. and its reputation far trails that of the Ivies, JHU, and Duke.</p>
<p>^^ Never heard that before. Can some more East coast guys shed some light here?</p>
<p>When it comes to Johns Hopkins, I have very high respect for the school, but I have always seen it as what JHU is for Medical, Berkeley is for Engineering.</p>
<p>Berkeley does not have the prestige of the ivies, JHU, Duke, or even Vandy on the east coast. It’s due to location as east coasters are not as in sync with west coast schools, save Stanford. Caltech is a virtual unknown. JHU is pretty well known for other fields as well. You might think of business when you think of Penn or engineering (and probably EE/CS) when you think of MIT for instance, but MIT’s business school, psychology, and biology program are just as good. JHU suffers from a similar situation - its humanities are highly ranked and renowned.</p>
<p>^^ I think I know what you mean. Caltech is virtually unknown here in India as well. I was shocked I when I found out that it’s MIT’s West Coast rival.
Although I find that quite surprising considering Caltech is an engineering college and Indians, or asians in general are obsessed with Engineering - Most likely the reason for Berkeley’s high prestige internationally.</p>
<p>Here in Florida, HYPSM trumps all as far as the wow factor is concerned. Those of us whom have heard of Berkley consider it the next best thing, equal to Caltech and Cornell, but greater than Brown, Dartmouth, and UPenn.</p>
<p>Rivstein,
Well, that is what I had always thought,
HPYSM > Berkeley (+ few more) > Rest</p>
<p>Good to hear that coming from the East!</p>
<p>Yeah it depends on who you are talking to. I have some relatives that are professors in science/engineering at east coast universities like Cornell, Penn, and Pitt. They are all hugely impressed by Berkeley.</p>