<p>to respond to jimmy's comment here are some things i know about cal classes:
- upper div classes are taught by professors, discussion sections (if relevant to your field--some classes, like english, don't have dicussion section) are taught by TA's (grad students). i've heard the TA's here are awesome. because berkeley is in the top 5 ranking for like 99% of the fields it offers, the TA's here really know their stuff. before anyone gets defensive, i'm not implying that they don't at UCLA.
- greek scene not a big part of the social scene here. there are a few, though.
- i think there's a good amount of school spirit.
- campus is very lively. every day, there are choir groups singing on campus, there are lots of really interesting local characters hanging out (happy happy happy man, triangle man, crazy tai chi guy..haha)... once some students made those boxes from mario bros. and hid them in places. my friend found one in a tree once, pulled this string that came with it, and a feather came out. how awesome is that? during finals, students put up tire swings on campus. and these are renegade students, not school-commissioned.
- public transportation very convenient. def don't bring a car. a lot of students ride bikes around the city. in fact, there's an event called critical mass every month where students on bikes completely overtake the streets in a stand against cars. it's craazy.. looks like a bike marathon.
- awesome libraries. there's a reading room where they have a bunch of loungers and couches and students just go there and nap between classes.</p>
<p>Mojojo - I would choose Cornell:</p>
<p>1) Best school overall out of those for undergrad
2) Awesome financial aid package - even if it did come out to be the same price as the others, they seem to have been very generous to you.
3) You seem like a Cali person. What better time to explore & live in a different region of the country than the rest of your undergrad years?</p>
<p>"3) You seem like a Cali person. What better time to explore & live in a different region of the country than the rest of your undergrad years?"</p>
<p>which is why im leaving LA for sure... as much as i love the convenience.</p>
<p>if u've said:</p>
<p>la sorbonne, oxbridge, HKUST, or London Univ. </p>
<p>i could have helped more.</p>
<p>I would go for Cal Berkeley; the 'feel' of the town is compact. You've got a diverse range of restaurants and cafes nearby, in addition to the presence of fun, artsy and energetic students! I enjoyed my visit there.</p>
<p>bump! thanks for all the help so far! but I would still like more opinions... and sauron, that was dumb lol..</p>
<p>i really agree about cornell. if i had the chance i'd totally go there... because seriously when else will you have that opportunity? i doubt you'd entertain the idea of going there for grad school, esp if you're doing something like law or business just because you'd want to choose a place with a lot of opportunities for internships (like la, sf, nyc, etc) at that time. however i will say that i've never met anyone who went to cornell and loved it. i've only known about 5 people so far but they all say it's really undiverse, the only things to do there are study and drink, and if you aren't in a frat you aren't meeting people. i dunno... might be an interesting, new experience, though. it's only 2 years anyway.</p>
<p>Cornell ;) . I don't know about the other schools because I'm from the northeast and I'm sure you already know all of the great things about Cornell because I've seen you on the boards so I don't want to waste 10 minutes listing things you have already heard. Are there any specific questions are anything? If you got into ILR then I'd say you must have interest in it...it is a very unique and fantastic school to be in for undergrad. If I were you I'd do Cornell undergrad and go to a Cal school for grad. That way you can get away from California, get a Cornell/ivy league education for a prettty cheap price tag, then go back to the great grad schools in Cal. That way on your resume you would have an ivy league (yes I know I am being base but it's true) school and a great Cal school. That would be one incredible resume!</p>
<p>figgy, i like your idea, but one of the things im being troubled by cornell is mainly the difficulty of getting a sold gpa, like 3.5 + . Do you happen to know the ease of classes? i doubt there are any easy classes at ILR, i dont know, but thats just my assumption. I do like the major alot, but sometimes i think that maybe going to an easier school like lets say, UCLA, or something would be better since a higher gpa will be easier to pull off, and we all know good gpa = grad school!</p>
<p>Any thoughts on my theory?</p>
<p>my friend at harvard told me that it's widely thought that cornell was the hardest of all the ivies.</p>
<p>Well I know that ILR is on the easier side of Cornell (nothing like engineering or arch). When I looked at class averages (sry don't have the site saved) it looked like all the ILR___ classes had pretty much B+/A- averages. If u got into ILR then u can handle it. It's just a matter of how high you can get the average. I will hopefully be on the higher end, but who knows! I just hate the thought that 50% of the people at Cornell are below average. ahh! lol</p>
<p>But having a Cornell degree will be very valuabe. Also having an ILR degree will set you apart from straight up business majors. You get to have a different perspective of business and that is extremely valuable! (Plus ur financial aid is awesommmme! lol). </p>
<p>I'd say applying to Cal for grad rom an Ivy League will set you apart from all of the other people applying from other Cal schools. You will bring a diverse though process into the school because you wouldn't have been educated from the same places as many of the other applicants. Ivy Leagues are verrry well respected! I'd say getting an ivy league education and a (higher end of the spectrum like B or LA) Cal grad education is one of those perfect resume situations.</p>
<p>Also lots of people get a job b4 they go to grad school. So that will also factor into your admission instead of just gpa.</p>
<p>u know, i'm quite sick of the extracurricular activites. i think i'll go to an unviersity in the OLD world for grad. harvard college is just WAY too competitive.</p>
<p>ever heard of harvey mudd college. u could be 1600/4.0 and not get in. it's unbelievable. a professor could make a undergrad class entirely composed of students who have never gotten a B in their hs and a perfect score on sat. </p>
<p>this world is just way too congested with geniuses. i've met tons of geniuses and they humbled me tremendously...i'm desperate to be famous.</p>
<p>so in conclusion, mojo, don't stress over this stuff. just give ur 100 per cent. of course, studying 24/7 wont get u through either. one must be endowed with genius as well as have the ambition..</p>
<p>my roommate got into harvey mudd... she eventually chose cal because she said people were too nerdy there</p>
<p>mojo, why don't you just visit all three places?</p>
<p>Because he's a lazy son of a whoremonger.</p>
<p>I wish. Money is just too scarce. Would both of you like to donate to a very worthy cause: "send mojo to college"? A healthy donation of $100 per person would be appreciated :)</p>
<p>I accept checks, cash or money orders.</p>
<p>If you need training, I can teach you.</p>
<p>u mean visiting these colleges to help u decide ur future is not worth couple hundred bucks?? dude, that's pretty lame.</p>
<p>^For a few hundred dollars you could take a windjammer cruise of the Carribean and have memories that last a lifetime. I'd take that anytime over a flight to a one day tour of the buildings in an anon. University.</p>
<p>Mojo - are there any questions you want specifically answered ? I am going on a tour of Cornell this Monday and I would be willing to help you in any way possible.</p>
<p>I am in the same boat as you. I decisions to make.... ick.</p>