<p>I'm so excited to have been admitted to Michigan LSA, but I just got admitted to Berkeley as a spring admit. I hope to study International Relations or History and am torn. While I love UMich, the distance, cost, and weather scare me a bit. I have grown up loving Berkeley - but I'm not sure if it's worth waiting till spring. I'm looking for a school with big spirit and a work hard/play hard atmosphere, which both of these incredible schools have. What do I do?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Berkeley, you grew up loving it, it’s closer to home, it’s an excellent school, the weather’s nicer…you basically made your argument for yourself. Oh, also your parents will save about 100 grand and get to be closer to their daughter.</p>
<p>I agree with nomadba3. Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>Berkeley without a doubt.</p>
<p>go to berkely. don’t pay more for michigan.</p>
<p>B.b.b.b.berkeley!!</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with either, but I’d recommend Berkeley, UNLESS you really don’t want to have to sit at home fall semester. I’m instate in Michigan and personally if I had to choose between going to Berkeley right away or waiting to start at Michigan in the spring, I’d choose Berkeley, and I LOVE Michigan and didn’t even apply to Berkeley. I’m so ready to go to college and couldn’t stand to have to wait until spring, miss all the new freshman stuff in the fall, and then end up graduating late. However, that is totally up to you, if you could get a part time job and work up some savings it might not be so bad staying home fall semester, but it’s your decision.</p>
<p>I’m a California student, accepted to both, going to Michigan.</p>
<p>Assuming you’re instate for California, definitely berkeley.</p>
<p>Berkeley=Better School, lower tuition, better weather.</p>
<p>Still a hard choice?</p>
<p>^Berkeley definitely isn’t a better school than Michigan. They are more or less equals. In my personal opinion, Michigan is ever so slightly better than Berkeley, but they are pretty equivalent.</p>
<p>So Berkeley will have a more academically focused environment, Michigan is very much work hard/play hard. Also you will have to wait until spring for UCB which could make the transition difficult and it would be tough to sit at home and watch all your friends leave for college in the fall. Personally I would absolutely not want to wait until spring and go to Michigan, I love it here. But it’s ultimately up to you to decide whether it’s worth it for you to wait, as well as assessing your own financial situation. But come and visit campus, you may be surprised. Also don’t make your decision even in part because of weather, that’s pretty ridiculous. It never even got that cold here this winter. And remember that Berkeley tuition will probably go up like 50% during your time there and you will be living in a forced triple your first year because of how bad the UC system’s finances are right now.</p>
<p>I cannnot get past the delta in CoA. There is no way one can justify spending an additional $100k to go to Michigan (or any other elite university for that matter) over Cal unless one comes from a very wealthy family. </p>
<p>If cost is not an issue, then I would recommend choosing based on fit as the two schools, although academic peers, have significantly different environments (on and off campus).</p>
<p>Berkeley wins on academic reputation and tuition alone. Add in better weather/location? Why is there even a question!?</p>
<p>abcedfghijkl, although Cal wins on academic reputation, the gap is not significant. The gap is similar to MIT vs Caltech, or Yale vs Columbia, or Cornell vs WUSTL etc… And although I agree that Cal is more ideally situated, I think Ann Arbor trumps Berkeley as a city. </p>
<p>The only point that is really clear is cost. If cost of attendance were not an issue, I would recommend choosing on personal preference. I personally chose Michigan over Cal eventhough I knew Cal was more “prestigious”. I just liked the campus vibe and surpounding areas at Michigan better than at Cal.</p>
<p>Its hard to get over the cost difference. But you know what that is and how it effects your family’s finances. Putting aside the cost difference, the school’s are pretty equal but the one place Michigan wins hands down is school spirit. I played football in the Pac-10 a million years ago (and nothing seems to have changed) and there is NO comparison between a game at Berkeley versus the Big House. Other than the “Big Game,” football is not that important at Cal. School spirit probably shouldn’t be a major factor but it aint nuthin.</p>
<p>Californiagurl why don"t you apply for the FPF program. If accepted you would start in the fall at Berkeley.</p>
<p>I live near Berkeley today, and after living the “Berkeley experience” with friends doing grad school at Cal, I am extremely happy that I attended Michigan. Granted Cal played in SF this season, but I just couldn’t believe how pathetic the football atmosphere is out here.</p>
<p>If you are a partier, or even pretty social, go to Michigan. Berkeley is nearly not as good an atmosphere as Ann Arbor</p>
<p>Californiagurl, I believe Berkeley has special programs for spring admits…may want to investigate that.</p>