I’m having an extremely difficult time choosing between Johns Hopkins and UC Berkeley.
I’m an International Studies and Comp Sci (CS) major, and while Cal is #1 in CS, its security department (I want to specialize in security) isn’t as developed as Hopkins’. In terms of international studies, both are ranked high and JHU is right next to Washington, D.C. As a California resident receiving no financial aid, the different in cost between the two is minimal.
One important factor to consider is JHU’S School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). JHU offers highly selective a 5-year B.A./M.A. program that is contingent on a having a good GPA (3.5 or higher).
- In terms of prestige, which school carries more? I live in California, so everyone has heard of Cal, but not Hopkins.
- How is the grade deflation at both schools?
- Also, can anyone compare the environments? I cannot visit Hopkins but have visited Cal.
- Most importantly, I plan to go to graduate school for international economics, security studies, or public policy. Which school would better prepare me for that?
If you are a CA resident getting no financial aid, most would consider the price difference to be more than “minimal”. Unless, of course, your family is so wealthy that the price of either is pocket change.
Georgetown is not in the mix?
HOW is the cost between them minimal??
JHU is a private college costing OVER $56,000 in tuition alone. CAL is far less, unless you are an international student.
@menloparkmom, I’m getting enough need-based aid from JHU that the tuition is only $4k/year more… If you want specific numbers, UCB would be $33k, and JHU would be $37k.
Georgetown doesn’t have a very strong CS program, @ucbalumnus, but I’m also considering it. Another thing, GT’s financial aid is way worse than JHU’s.
$33k is still pretty much a third of my parents’ income, but that’s as cheap as a 4-year college will get unfortunately. I didn’t apply to any Cal States, but I applied to my local community college’s honors program just in case. =((
Internationally, i’d say JHU is more known but Berkeley is definitely up there. Also, JHU is in Baltimore which is a truly beautiful city.
Georgetown CS may not be very strong in general, but appears to be particularly specialized in topics that may be of your interest (basically those which related to security, politics, and government like information warfare, data mining, etc.). But if it is too expensive, then that is a valid reason for dropping it from the list.
On the net prices, how much would you need to take on in debt at each school?
I would take out the same amount of federal student loans, but I would take out another $12k in private loans if I choose JHU. JHU offers a selective 5 year B.A./M.A. program in International Affairs, so saving a year of graduate school would be worth the student loans.
Additionally, the government has programs to pay off employees’ student debt. So there’s hope for me financially!
Would you be able to work a part time job in the school year to eliminate the need to take private student loans (and possibly take less federal direct loans)?
Generally, loans beyond the federal direct loan limit need to be co-signed by parents, or are parental loans. These are usually not a good idea, since that implies that the parents do not have the money, so that repaying the loans would set back their retirement savings or interfere with college funding for younger siblings.
Note that most Berkeley upper-class students move off campus, which tends to be cheaper than the dorms (and the BSC co-ops are much cheaper). See http://admissions.berkeley.edu/costofattendance .
You may want to see if there are similar variations in JHU’s costs, as listed at http://webapps.jhu.edu/jhuniverse/information_about_hopkins/facts_and_statistics/tuition_and_financial_aid/undergraduate_tuition_and_fees/ .
Berkeley’s cost of attendance is also padded with a higher book, personal, and transportation cost budget than JHU’s cost of attendance is, so there may be more opportunity for frugal living savings to cut the cost of Berkeley than JHU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! My parents aren’t from the United States and don’t know much about college loans, so I’ve been trying to learn everything I can online. Freshman housing at JHU is $2,000 more expensive.
I’ve been trying to appeal my financial aid offer at JHU, but they haven’t finalized my original financial aid package (FAFSA was reported missing for some weird reason), so I can’t appeal yet. I’ve already written a draft of the letter.
I have an online part-time job lined up, and I plan to get another job at the university. I’m also applying for a scholarship a week. It’s difficult to be excited about college knowing its price tag… I was a semi-finalist for the Coca-Cola scholarship, so hopefully I’ll find other big-ticket scholarships to apply for.
It looks like the cost difference will be significantly larger than initial impressions.
Berkeley lists $3,792 for books, personal, and transportation costs, while JHU lists $2,223. In actuality, JHU’s cost here will likely be larger due to transportation, but even if these actual costs are the same, that increases the difference by $1,569.
The cost estimate for off-campus housing at Berkeley is $5,340 lower than for the dorm, so that is another place to cut costs at Berkeley. If you live in the BSC co-ops, these are about $3,000 less than the off-campus housing and food estimate. So the difference in price between Berkeley and JHU could grow by another $5,340 to $8,340 after frosh year.
Instead of a $4,000 difference per year, you may be looking at a $4,000 + $1,569 = $5,569 difference in frosh year, and a $10,909 to $13,909 difference in succeeding years. Over four years, that would be a difference of $38,296 to $47,296, unless you can find additional financial aid, scholarships, or frugal living opportunities to significantly cut the costs at JHU to narrow the difference.
Oh, I see… That’s an insane price difference for only a small difference in rankings/programs. I suppose I can become an RA at either school. JHU provides free transportation for its students. But even so, I’ll definitely discuss this with my parents. Thank you for all of your help. 
Bump… I still have questions about graduate school, grade deflation, and prestige! Sorry to bother everyone!
JHU-SAIS carries far more weight in the Washington national security establishment (CIA, State/Policy Planning, DOD, Congressional research posts, think tanks etc) than any undergrad program except, maybe, Georgetown’s.
If costs are equal and you know you want a career in the security establishment, then the specialized school that’s located near DuPont Circle is the obvious choice. SAIS faculty are active practitioners who retain direct influence over policy setting. SAIS, like the RAND Institute, is a kind of outsourced brain trust for much of this nation’s security-related research.
Also, the northeast generally and DC especially are significantly less insular, and much more focused on international affairs, than the Bay Area.
Given what you’ve stated re your situation and career objectives, the only possible reason I could see for you to prefer Berkeley would be if you knew you wanted to focus narrowly on cybersecurity, in which case your non-CS coursework would not really matter.
If that’s the case, btw, you should focus on studying with the best in the field - say, Dan Boneh at Stanford, or Giovanni Vigna at UC Santa Barbara or Ron Rivest at MIT.