I am an international student majoring in economics I can’t decide between Middlebury and Berkeley. Middlebury has offered me fall session and Berkeley starting in January. Any advice?
Middlebury would be top-notch for economics:
https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.uslacecon.html
As would Berkeley:
https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.usecondept.html
Middlebury offers an undergraduate focus and an excellent reputation.
Berkeley has broad appeal to many students, particularly internationally.
Students at either of your choices will enter with strong, and comparable, academic preparation:
So long as money is not a factor here, I don’t think you can go wrong. I would lean toward Middlebury simply because you’ll never have another chance to experience a typical American small college. You’ll have tons of opportunities to be a grad student somewhere.
Two great options. It really depends on if you think you would prefer the experience at a small LAC or a large public university.
Two entirely different climates and atmospheres. UCB is in Northern California city, while Middlebury is in central, small town, Vermont. I’d pick the small LAC for undergrad every time. As Circuitrider pointed out, you can always choose the big state school for grad school.