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This is very true and that is why you choose your college for 4 years of once in a life time experience. In my view Harvard experience will be a memorable one over Cal if you can afford it.</p>
<p>Blossom., I sure like your observations. One would certainly not share specifics of your own personal financial situation. So that part of the equation is missing in these posts. I have about decided to send son out-of-state. And yes it costs a heck of a lot more. But there was a divorce settlement that can be used as well as the subsidized Stafford loans he qualified for. He is my youngest, nobody following him. It is our choice and if we appear incredibly “foolish” so be it.</p>
<p>A very good friend of mine went to Cal for UG as a Regents. Graduated summa in a social science field and went on to an Ivy law school. Had significant research experience and was published a couple of times as an UG. Has had a successful career in both private practice and as a federal prosecutor in a major metropolitan city. Currently does prosecution at the state level so she can balance family and other reponsibilities.</p>
<p>S1 was considering Berkeley for their excellent math/CS. Our friend advised that one has to really grow a pair to wrangle one’s way through the administrative hassles set out for UG students. On the other hand, she said learning to cut through the red tape and to be persistent in getting questions answered also taught her to be a fearless litigator and prosecutor!</p>
<p>Based on S1’s personality and advocacy skills, as well as first-hand input from students he knows (UG and grad) at Cal, he decided not to apply there UG. On the other hand, it is one of the two best schools for what he wants in graduate work, so it is definitely a consideration for a few years from now.</p>
<p>Like most kids, it comes down to fit, assuming parents are willing to fork out $$$. Is the student willing to fight for what she needs? Is she willing to be that far from home? Is a cold, blustery winter OK with her? What is the stability of the OP’s financial/health/
family situation? We are pretty much full pay, but S1 has taken on significant skin in the game (but no loans above the pre-2008 Stafford limits) so that our actual out-of-pocket right now is closer to an OOS public. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t pay $50k just for the prestige. I am thankful my kids haven’t asked us to do so.</p>
<p>Lucy- I’m sure you are looking with both eyes open and I would never criticize how someone else spends their money.</p>
<p>Our kids went off, worked hard, were first in line every time a fellowship or scholarship or funded trip was announced, and so we were slowly reassured that we weren’t crazy to pay full freight. We knew other kids who were determind to play beer pong for four years-- our seemed to understand the sacrifices we’d chosen to make to send them to college, and they responded accordingly.</p>
<p>So kudos to you for being done with the decisionmaking- now you get to enjoy the show!!</p>
<p>If my son starts a major in beer pong he is coming home!</p>
<p>“Cal … is a good school but there are lots of better schools than that.”</p>
<p>Wow, I wonder how you define “lots.”</p>
<p>Blossom, hear you loud and clear about entitlement vs. earning the right. We made clear long ago that if the guys demonstrated their willingness to work hard and do well, we would do our part to make the college options available. </p>
<p>S1 is still looking for scholarships…called me last quarter to ask if it was “OK” to do that!</p>
<p>Lucy, you will soon have a list which starts with Majoring in Keggers, minoring in Casino Night, and winning awards for his Toga Party attire.</p>
<p>Girls have other issues… sigh!</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>This answer is easy.</p>
<p>Baymom says she can afford Harvard. If you’re comfortable with that amount, send the kid to Harvard…</p>
<p>However, keep in mind your own dreams…there are no loans for retirement. If this cost will ask you to forgo some of your dreams, then I don’t think it’s worth it.</p>
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<p>taxguy, this isn’t exactly correct. It is widely known that the top notch faculty doesn’t teach at the undergraduate level. Actually, Berkeley’s reputation grew as a result of their graduate schools and research faculty, not so much at the undergraduate level. That is why we send so many of our California kids to the east coast for undergrad.</p>
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<p>My kids have promised to help us if needed.</p>
<p>that is entirely untrue. Just look at a class schedules. Top notch faculty teach courses to undergraduates all the time. </p>
<p>At Harvard no less than at Cal, some of the lower division courses are taught by junior faculty; and at Harvard, junior faculty are more like post-docs because their chance of getting tenure is so poor.</p>
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This is a myth. </p>
<p>A Fields medal winner taught Math 1B at Cal last year.</p>
<p>George Smoot, recent Nobel prize winner for physics, was teaching Physics 7B when named Nobel Prize winner (see last photograph in link below - Yes, I have photographic evidence!):
[George</a> F. Smoot - Photo Gallery](<a href=“http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2006/smoot-photo.html]George”>http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2006/smoot-photo.html)</p>
<p>You don’t have to send your kids to an East Coast private to get a great education from top profs.</p>
<p>cbreeze,</p>
<p>As an undergraduate at Cal I had a class (small class, there were about 12 of us) with a Nobel Prize winner; I audited a class with another Nobel Prize winner. </p>
<p>At the University of Colorado Boulder a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry will now be teaching Chemistry 101. Because he thinks it’s important to really make an impression on students just starting out in their college careers. </p>
<p>So let’s not generalize about lack of access to great faculty at the great large publics. Please. It’s such a tired and inaccurate cliche.</p>
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<p>I think that some amount of generalization is accurate. In general, the big-name faculty at large universities–public or private–are not especially accessible to undergrads. Are there some exceptions, sure. But even when the big-name shows up and delivers the lecture, you have to ask, does that person have office hours for undergrads or does he or she assign that task to a TA?</p>
<p>cbreeze notes,“taxguy, this isn’t exactly correct”</p>
<p>Response: yes , it is true, just not as true as for graduate students. Every person that I met who graduated from Berkeley had some famous professor or even a nobel prize winning professor. Check out posts 71 and 72 above.</p>
<p>In fact, I think UCB is such as good school that every one there is top notch even the TAs.</p>
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All my profs at Berkeley held regular office hours…normally staggered with the GSIs, so you could always go to someone for help. Many times you’d go to office hours and no one else was there - the prof was sitting alone in his office reading…seemed like the profs missed the company and often encouraged kids to show up. </p>
<p>Sure, I imagine there are some profs that don’t like it and may try to avoid it…but that can happen anywhere.</p>
<p>I think child’s personality is major factor; I suspect my shy S would have been far better at H for UG that large state school. That said, I know a lot about housing at Harvard and nada about UCB. Grad school is a different experience.</p>
<p>Somehow I think if you’re shy, H wouldn’t be a great fit either.</p>
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<p>Agreed. I think the two schools under discussion are far more alike than they are different. It seems to me that someone deciding between these two schools will either get past the “Hah-vahd” prestige element or will decide that that element is worth paying for. But I would think that the substance of the kid’s experience will not be all that different.</p>
<p>Cal professors all have office hours; so do TA’s (GSI’s). Sometimes it is easier to get some kinds of information from the GSI’s - and they grade the papers. At Harvard, too. These are research institutions; the faculty is focused on their own research. They don’t hang around with the graduate students much either (except maybe in research labs); they sit in rooms and write articles; they go to international conferences and give papers. Or they don’t get promoted. These schools are not ideal for shy kids.</p>