<p>My oldest son has been accepted at Texas A&M, Berkeley and UCLA, Computer Engineering major.</p>
<p>He's a National Merit Finalist. Based on this, Texas A&M offers almost a full ride scholarship package for 4 years to go there as Scholarship/Honors student. UCLA & Berkeley offer nothing and based on EFC ( Expected Family Contribution) of 23K, our family would have to borrow almost all of 24K/year for 4 years to send him to UCLA/Berkeley so it'll be almost 100K for an undergrad degree from UCLA/Berkeley. And I have 5 other kids to take care of !</p>
<p>Berkeley is famous for Engineering and we feel like he's deserved to be there. On the other hand, I've heard that Texas A&M also has good Engineering program although not necessarily Computer Engineering.</p>
<p>My son plan to go to grad school after undergrad and it seems like he prefers Berkeley but being a good kid, he does not object going to Texas A&M.
The decision deadline is really close (May 1), we'd appreciate if you can provide some insights to help us make the right decision. Thanks and God bless.</p>
<p>Berkely is just a great engineering degree to have. Lots of UC students make a lot of their own tuition. He can make some, he borrows some and you borrow some, it may be doable. He can take a year off and save, work an extra job summers and maybe part-time during the school year.</p>
<p>Congrats! Berkeley has a clear advantage on research and placement opportunities. So yea, I want your son to be there too. I know he will do well. </p>
<p>But, if your son gets into the Engineering Scholars program (he should!), I believe College Station will better serve him at least for the first two years. If he wants to step up his game then, transfer to UC - he should still be a solid candidate. </p>
<p>Consider this plan (it is a bit complicated but may worth the effort): Go to TAMU. Take classes for three straight regular semesters + a summer sesion to meet the UC 60-credit transfer requirement. Apply UC. Then do a 9-month co-op which should fetch at least $20K after tax. Hopefully, he would get to continue his study in UC, with the extra cash and a much smaller loan. If he does another co-op or internship, he could graduate UC debt-free.</p>
<p>Note: If the co-op is in CA, he may gain CA residency shortly after enroll in UC. Need to explore that a bit.</p>
<p>I'd say A&M here. Sure, Berkeley has a clear advantage, but A&M is an excellent university and it won't cause you to incur unnecessary debt, especially when you have more kids on the way.</p>