Help an English Major with Fall 2008 Decision: CSUS, UCB, UCD, UCSC

College Search & Selection
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<p>I am a fall 2008 transfer student, and I've been accepted as an English/Lit major at California State University Sacramento, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz. While this is a great problem to have, I am having trouble deciding where to go. </p>

<p>A few details about me:
I am 30, and my husband and I currently live near Sacramento. I plan to attend grad school, and after that I plan to teach English at the college level. </p>

<p>Details about the schools:</p>

<p>1). Sac State:<br>
Pros: comparatively inexpensive, would not require us to move and uproot home and jobs, and is an excellent academic fit for me because it has many classes in my areas of interest.
Cons: less prestigious than UC, might not be as helpful to me as a UC for getting into grad school and getting a job after that</p>

<p>2). UC Davis:<br>
Pros: would not require moving and finding new jobs
Cons: their financial aid offer is not as good as either of the other UCS, less prestigious than Berkeley, and they don't offer very many classes in my areas of interest</p>

<p>3). UC Santa Cruz:
Pros: we used to live there and know we like it, excellent academic fit with many classes in my areas of interest, and a decent financial aid offer.
Cons: would require moving and finding new jobs, not as prestigious as Berkeley, smaller aid offer than Berkeley
Unknown: I am waiting to hear back by 05/20 re: a UCSC scholarship competition that could make their aid offer substantially better</p>

<p>4). UC Berkeley:
Pros: One of the top-ranked English departments anywhere, and the most prestigious of my candidates. Currently offering me the best financial aid. Probably the most helpful to me in terms of getting into grad school and then finding a job.
Cons: would require moving and finding new jobs, and in terms of academic fit it's actually the worst of my candidates (which is inexplicable considering it's Berkeley, but there you have it).</p>

<p>Any advice anyone can send my way will be appreciated. Specifically, the thing that's giving me the most trouble is how heavily to weigh prestige vs. academic fit. If I go to CSUS or UCSC, I'll probably be able to take a bunch of classes I am interested in, while at Berkeley I could be stuck taking stuff that makes me wonder why I'm in school. But, maybe it would be worth toughing it out at Berkeley for two years to obtain that more prestigious degree, and maybe the classes there would be more interesting than I think. What do you think?</p>

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<p>If Berkeley is offering you the best aid, go with Berkeley. You may end up wanting to stay there for grad school which will still be another great option. Even if the course offerings aren't to your liking, UCB isn't one of the top schools for their English Dept for no reason.</p>

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<p>I congratulate you on your acceptances. Having been in a similar situation myself, I can tell you that you would do well to narrow it down from four to two possible schools.</p>

<p>Ask yourself this: if the jobs were not an issue, where would you go? Where wouldn't you go?</p>

<p>For my own part, I have a hard time believing that Berkeley would be lacking in your "area of interest," but then again, you have not told us what this is exactly. I'm also unsure as to what you mean by "academic fit." Do you feel inadequate academically, or is this simply another term for what you believe are potentially lackluster course offerings?</p>

<p>Were I in your shoes, I would most likely attend Berkeley. If your ultimate goal is teaching at the university level, Berkeley would give you a good start.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the posts. </p>

<p>You're right, it's easier if I narrow if down to two: Berkeley and Santa Cruz.</p>

<p>If the prestige were not a factor, I would probably go to Santa Cruz. I am primarily interested in post WWII lit, specifically transnational, postcolonial, environmental, and some minority lit. </p>

<p>I know that it's strange, but I've been looking and looking at the course catalogs, and Santa Cruz offers significantly more classes that seem really interesting to me than Berkeley. In comparing the fall 2008 offerings, for example, I can find twelve classes at Santa Cruz that I am really interested in, while at Berkeley, I can find maybe two.</p>

<p>But then again, Berkeley is offering me 2.5k more in financial aid, and they are by far they more prestigious school.</p>

<p>Oh, and by academic fit, I just meant number of classes offered that I would like to take.</p>

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<p>Have you looked at all of Berkeley's departments? Sometimes the courses may be spread around at Berkeley, since there are so many departments, while at Santa Cruz it might be they are localized in the English department. Just a guess.</p>

<p>Berkeley may have harsher grading/espectations, you might want to keep that in mind when making your decision. I don't know about the English department in particular, but my guess is that it would be slightly more rigorous.</p>

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<p>Have you looked at the Professors teaching the courses in which you are interested at Santa Cruz?</p>

<p>The second to last point I would raise, given your new short list of Berkeley and Santa Cruz, is that the academic environments will likely be very different. Santa Cruz is not a bad institution, but you may not find the same caliber of students there that you might at Berkeley. That's not to say Berkeley students will be friendlier or "better" folks, but it's something to consider, if that is important to you.</p>

<p>Finally, if it truly is the case that the Berkeley course offerings are largely not to your liking, ask yourself this: are you going for the degree or the classes? Based on your answer to that query, I think you'll know where you belong. That may be a bit too black and white and harsh on one or both of the institutions in question; however, I believe it is best to be honest. Berkeley has a much better reputation with academically advanced students; Santa Cruz has a decent reputation with what may be better course offerings for you. </p>

<p>It's ultimately about your values.</p>

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<p>how can Cal not be an "academic fit" for an English major who wants to teach at the collegiate level? Historically, it's typically rated in the top 3 of english departments in the country, arguing with Harvard and Yale for top dog. IMO, credentials are huge for academics; if you are gonna move, this is a nearly a no-brainer.</p>

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<p>I think you should give Davis more thought. One, it'll be cheaper not to have to move and I bet you're paying less in mortgage/rent in Davis too. Berkeley housing is very high as are the taxes. I'm not sure how well Davis' English dept is, but this being a UC, I bet it's certainly good enough to get you into a top-notch grad school for the PhD you'll need to teach at a college level. </p>

<p>Which leads me to Cal: Berkeley would be the place for grad school. That's when you will really benefit from Berkeley's great reputation -- and gain top notch TA experience. You will need both to get an academic job once you graduate.</p>

<p>BTW, in general, in the humanities it's better to do your undergraduate/graduate in different schools.</p>

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<p>oops, my bad. I misread the first post and thought louise was looking at grad schools for the fall. Since it's undergrad, Katliamom makes a great point. Save money and go to Davis for undergrad, and then consider Cal for grad school. Also note the UCs have a history of preferring that undergrads go to different campuses for grad school, so Davis/Cal is probably an easier route than Cal/Cal, all other things being equal.</p>

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<p>If UCB is giving you the best financial aid then that definitely seals the deal.</p>

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<p>lgellar, I'm not sure the extra $ Berkeley is offering over Davis would offset the costs/anxiety of two people having to move, her H having to find a new job, and their cost of living sky rocketting.</p>

<p>OP, I stand by my advice of staying at Davis for your undergrad, going to Cal for your masters/phd. </p>

<p>But good luck to you -- whatever you decide!</p>

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Hi mslouise!
So this post is uber late, but that’s a good thing if you respond…
I’m a 33 year old transfer student with a family and I am very curious to see what you ended up choosing and how it went. I’m also an English major and am deciding between UCLA, UCSC, UCD, and UCSB.
Would love your input :slight_smile:

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The original poster has not been here since 2008, so your post will go unanswered. Old threads should be used for research only, but should not be resurrected. Closing.