<p>I've always perused the college confidential threads, but had never before posted in the forums so forgive me if I am missing vital information below. </p>
<p>My main issue at hand is the choice of colleges: Duke or UC Berkeley. I'll list some of my stats as well as my financial and family information. I have debated with my parents about the matter but we simply could not come to a conclusion (My gut says Duke, my dad says Berkeley, my mom is apathetic, my brother is 7) So please help give me a fresh perspective on the issue :)</p>
<p>SAT Math: 780
SAT Reading: 710
SAT Writing: 800 (essay 12)
-Total 2290</p>
<p>GPA 3.6 unw
School demographics: White, middle/upperclass, suburban</p>
<p>Personal information
-Female
-Asian (Chinese)</p>
<p>Financial situation: About 150k for a family of 4
-Duke: Has not yet given me a financial package because I sent in my IDOC information a bit late. (Should I call the office or wait until they contact me?)
-Berkeley: Offered loans of 25k per year (which basically covers tuition) but again, is just a loan. No regents scholarship at Cal though</p>
<p>Majors: I applied to different majors for the colleges, I couldn't really decide
-Duke: Pratt school of engineering as civil engineer (Hoping to double major somehow)
-Berkeley: College of Letter&Sciences (I have no clue what major I applied for. I couldn't find which major I got in for; I just know I got into their liberal arts/humanities departments with biological and physical sciences)</p>
<p>I'll respond quickly to any comments (Instant email notification) I guess I still have time to do some more research, overnight programs, scholarship consideration, etc but I think it would be great to have some help from others with the matter. Thanks in advance! :P </p>
<p>(I think I'll also have the same thread in the UC Berkeley forums to get the other biased opinion) Hehe</p>
<p>One thing that may interest you is that you'll find LOTS more Asians on Berkeley's campus. I haven't been to Duke yet, but at Berkeley every other student was Asian.
I really did like Cal but it's just sooooo huge. I have several friends who are freshman there that all went to high school together, and I visited them separately through my stay - and none of them had even SEEN each other on campus. Crazy. </p>
<p>From what I hear Berkeley and Durham both have the slightly sketchy city thing in common. Visit both and see which you prefer, if possible. If it's a tie, pick the cheaper school (probably Cal).</p>
<p>Accepted by Berkeley too and awarded with Regents scholarship but i don't think it is much. it is just the prestige it carries...i was told they awarded to about 200 incoming students. </p>
<p>I am struggling too in terms of choice...NW, Duke, UCLA (also regents recipent) and Berkeley so far..Anyone has any input? Want to focus on international relations and political sciences</p>
<p>Wow same exact boat here too (though I'm also waiting on some other schools). I never visited Duke sadly, which is gonna make it difficult to pick. I second the Berkeley has a lot of Asians comment, specifically Chinese. Kind of nice if you're learning Chinese eh? I was speaking nearly as much Chinese as English when I visited.</p>
<p>Yes, Berkley is more Asian than Duke, but it's not like there's a shortage of Asians at Duke. Duke is ~30% Asian, while Berkeley is 46%! It really comes down to personal preference. Very different schools, both are well-respected. Public vs. private. West coast vs. east coast. Perhaps different costs. Nobody can make the decision for you - just visit both, and go with your gut.</p>
<p>That's the thing about Berkeley: number of Asians. That could be a pro (if you were into that social scene) or a con (too much competition for grades)</p>
<p>I guess I have always felt that Duke was more selective (simply because of the number of applicants accepted across the nation while Berkeley accepts about 9.9k students from mostly California and less than half enroll-4.1k. Duke's stats are considerably lower-1.6k freshmen class)</p>
<p>So it really comes down to financial aid and unlike monkeybb I did not receive regents, which pushes me toward Duke over Berkeley</p>
<p>JohnC613: I had no insinuations about Asians adding to the social scene. I meant if you wanted a school with a plurality of Asians (40% I think)</p>
That is only true in the US and probably only for undergrads. Internationally, Berkeley is just as prestigious as HYPSM. If you're going for prestige, take Berkeley.</p>
<p>I'm in almost the same boat as you, kookehz, accepted to both, similar financial situation. I got a $3500/year loan at Duke, havent checked Berkeley's offer yet.</p>
<p>I live on the east coast and I know that Duke comes across as much more prestigious than Berkeley. More people applied to Duke, more people gave big congrats when I got in, and everyone has recommended Duke over Berkeley (except for one grad who goes to berkeley..haha).</p>
<p>I am personally going for Duke over Berkeley at this point. I've visited Duke and love the campus, though I should visit Cal to make a decision on that. Smaller, private schools mean better student to teacher ratio and professors that care about students, not just research. At a private school, you'll get to know your classmates better and Duke seems to have a very good system for housing. Since I want to go into business or finance, choosing Duke over Berkeley means my career path will probably take me to Wall St. rather than Silicon valley.</p>
<p>My daughter chose Duke over Berkeley and is very happy she did. Duke, as a well funded private institution, has a number of advantages over the huge financially strapped Berkeley. Don't get me wrong -- I like Berkeley and in fact went to graduate school there. But I think overall Duke offers a superior undergraduate experience. First, you get an advisor!! All Duke freshmen meet with their advisor twice before classes begin in the fall. They meet with advisors a third time in the the fall before registering for second semester classes. At Berkeley, you don't even get an advisor until you declare a major. Second, class sizes. My daughter is a second semester freshman studying liberal arts. She has had one class that had 50 students. All the others have been 20 or less. Because of the small classes, professors know who you are and are very easy to communicate with. Also, Duke has a great freshman program called "Focus," which clusters freshman together in small groups for two or three thematically related classes first semester. The professors who teach these Focus classes enjoy working with freshman and tend to be very nuturing. It's a nice transition to the rigors of college academics. Finally, size. Duke -- with about 6,500 undergrads and a similar number of graduate students --is a great size. Big enough to offer anything you're looking for, but small enough to offer a personal experience. Berkeley is huge and definitely not for the faint of heart. Unless you really want to be in California or have compelling financial reasons, I would definitely choose Duke. With financial aid, the cost has been about the same for our family.</p>