Help me decide...Emory v UC Berkeley v Pomona

College Search & Selection
21

<p>If engineering is what you want to do, then Berkeley is the right choice.
If you want to explore other subjects, then Pomona, but then you’d have to do engineering as a Master’s degree.
Engineering has a prescribed path of study. You can’t really take electives in subjects just because you’re interested in them. You have 5 specific classes to take each semester, in a specific order. 4 of these will be stem classes and one a non-stem class: For general education, you’ll have English composition each semester freshman year, then one humanities/social science class each semester which could include any class in politcal science, economics, foreign language, literature, philosophy&ethics, sociology, psychology, etc. If that fits with what you want, then you’re good to go :). </p>

22

<p>Could try to get in-state at UT Austin. Cal for a $100K premium seems like a bad value. Spend the cash on grad school</p>

23

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Why is that a bad value. CAl is consistently ranked number 3 for engineering, outranking all the Ivies and Caltech. Cal eng’g grads also are one of the highest paid. </p>

24

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<p>That does appear to be what it comes down to, at least as you’ve framed your choices. Engineering ideally is approached as a 4-year commitment. Yes, you could do a 3-2 program … but few students actually follow that path. CS also is a very marketable major, but more forgiving and flexible if you want to explore other subjects. </p>

<p>However, if you’re interested in sustainable energy and the environment, consider majoring in geology. At Pomona, you could follow the environmental earth science track and minor in CS.
<a href=“Geology Department | Pomona College in Claremont, California - Pomona College”>http://geology.pomona.edu/classes/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Pomona is a member of the Keck Geology Consortium. It seems to have a strong geology department.</p>

25

<p>By value, I don’t think Cal will yield $100K in after-tax pay over the next best option. There are too many other factors that will determine long-term earnings, even if Cal grads marginally make more starting out. Plus, it seems like grad school might be a necessary path for this profession.</p>

26

<p>OP chose Berkeley, it seems. Congratulations!</p>