<p>I've been reading tons of threads about UCB and U of C but I still can't make a decision b/w those two colleges. both colleges were in my list of top choices and it is just too hard to choose</p>
<p>i'm planning to double major physics and applied math. both colleges have awesome physics and math departments but I want to know more about:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Research opportunities in Physics and applied Math in both colleges</p></li>
<li><p>GPA inflation/deflation in both colleges</p></li>
<li><p>Actual difficulty of the honor courses (regarding physics and math, i'm easily getting 5's in AP and 7's in IB) and professor's/TA's willingness to help</p></li>
<li><p>Difficulty/amount of time need to study the core(chicago) and breadth(berkeley)</p></li>
<li><p>% of college graduates going to their top choice graduate school</p></li>
<li><p>what would be ur choice?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>btw, I don't really mind about the weather and the city itself, and the fees for both school are pretty much the same since i am an international student T_T</p>
<p>The fees will most likely skyrocket at Berkeley, but it will probably be a smaller, steadier increase at Chicago. That’d make my decision for me.</p>
<p>Both are excellent in academics… as far as those %s you want, that’s not really fair since berkeley is public and chicago is private and much more grad school focused.</p>
<p>as an undergrad paying out of state tuition (you are an international) that is almost same as top private school tuition, there is NO WAY Berkeley is worth the money.</p>
<p>Please read the thread below. The first 10+ replies will answer your question plenty. Don’t expect close faculty interaction, small classes, or attention from the university for freshman/sophomore undergrad students at Berkeley.</p>
<p>ROT, I am a huge Chicago fan, as it’s a wonderful school for “pure intellectuals,” and it has an absolutely amazing mathematics department. But what you characterize as a weakness of Berkeley’s, I actually think could become a strength. </p>
<p>In short, my view is that UChicago is undeniably a stronger school for the traditional intellectual undergraduate experience. You are correct in stating there is little faculty contact in freshman classes at Berkeley, but this issue totally disappears as you get into the coursework for your major in the math department. Berkeley is, according to both people who’ve been grad students and undergraduates in mathematics at Chicago and eventually found themselves to careers here, a much, much more flexible school, where you sort of feel you can do whatever you want. Its faculty are so broadly accomplished that you basically never won’t be able to find an expert in things you want to ask about if you care. And the mathematics is top tier here. The wealth of resources is definitely worth the money to the motivated individual.</p>
<p>But for actual teaching inside the classroom and stress on a strong undergraduate focus, Chicago wins hands down. But not to acknowledge the school has a very different style from Berkeley is not good either. I think Chicago focuses more on having intense classes in math than very many top tier schools, and they seem much more exam-centric than most schools. Intense undergrad focus can actually involve things which some students may want to avoid.</p>
<p>Keep in mind it is increasingly difficult for students to graduate from Cal, and the other UC’s, in four years. The financial pressure the UC’s are under is not going to abate.</p>
<p>^^ That affects some departments. For others, like engineering and mathematics, there is absolutely no problem. People I know have had no trouble getting what classes they want. One of the reasons is the engineering major is something you have to be admitted specifically into, and thus isn’t overpopulated, unlike other majors.</p>
<p>Yes, but there are other graduation requirements outside of your major. Someone considering Berkeley or the other UC’s really need to do their homework on this.</p>
<p>Keep in mind you have four years to do these requirements. That’s a LONG time. Berkeley is pretty flexible about letting you do various things – if a random breadth class isn’t offered, just take another random breadth class. There are a ton of really interesting ones that I’ve seen offered consistently.</p>
<p>The key is to consider if the classes in your major are going to be hard to take. They aren’t in the technical fields, because these either represent selective admission or self-selecting undergraduate populations.</p>