<p>I was recently accepted to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and University of Washington. I am looking to major in computer science, therefore Berkeley and UW look to be my best options. I am a Washington state resident therefore UW would be a lot cheaper than Berkeley. My family has enough money to pay for UW without loans, but for Berkeley money would be fairly tight. Do you think that going to Berkeley would be worth it for me? Or do you think I would receive similar education at UW and end college with similar opportunities. I am not really sure whether the slight difference in ranking between UW and Berkeley will seriously limit my opportunities.</p>
<p>My family has enough money to pay for UW without loans, but for Berkeley money would be fairly tight</p>
<p>Fairly tight is not a good thing. Families typically have a couple of large unexpected expenses each year. That could mean that while your in college for four years, your family could find itself unable to afford Cal.</p>
<p>Another vote for UDubb.</p>
<p>Last year, we were faced with a similar decision.</p>
<p>University of Florida, for free, or UCLA, for $50,000 a year.</p>
<p>We were ready to pay the $50,000 for UCLA, because of the “name”.</p>
<p>In the end, our kid chose a third option.</p>
<p>You need to find out what happens to computer science graduates at the University of Washington, as compared to computer science graduates at Berkeley.</p>
<p>It may be that there may be no material difference between the two.</p>
<p>Generally, the answer is no, especially if there are a lot of loans involved.</p>
<p>But are you directly admitted to the CS major at Washington? If not, be aware that getting into the CS major is fiercely competitive at Washington.</p>
<p>For Berkeley, L&S CS is currently uncapped (you can declare if you have a 2.0 GPA), but is getting so popular that it may be capped in the near future (i.e. GPA requirement to declare may be raised).</p>
<p>If you are not already admitted to the major than go for the affordable no-loans option. </p>
<p>If you’re admitted to the major at both schools, the choice is more difficult because the CS program at Cal is outstanding. This isn’t a case of a “name” in the sense of people being familiar with the Berkeley brand; it’s that the specific program shines. Yet taking out on the order of $80k or more in loans wouldn’t be my choice. This is a tough major, and students do change their minds. Given all that, I’d still say Washington.</p>
<p>You’d likely receive similar opportunities. In your situation i’d go to UDubb.</p>
<p>If not, be aware that getting into the CS major is fiercely competitive at Washington.</p>
<p>If so, then it must be a very good program. Therefore, no need to waste money for Cal.</p>
<p>(I suspect that if an OOS student has the stats for Cal and UCLA, then he probably was accepted to UW’s CS program, if he applied to that.)</p>