<p>Just accepted to both as an undergraduate, planning on majoring in Politics and/or Philosophy.
Although UC Berkeley is well known for its Nobel Laureate teachers, NYU's College of Arts and Science is also a renown liberal arts school, with a pretty solid Philosophy department.<br>
Both schools are relatively "big-name" universities. </p>
<p>Which one would give me a better quality education in the fields I am interested in? I would greatly appreciate any opinions or advice!</p>
<p>overachiver,</p>
<p>1) Is money an issue for you in deciding between the two colleges? Are you a California resident, because if you are, you will pay significantly less for a UC Berkeley education vs. NYU education.</p>
<p>2) The UCs have been written up and people have given feedback in CC forums that classes have become way too crowded at UC Berkeley with the budget problems in CA. Too many cutbacks in services, bigger classes. You may feel like you are only one of the herd. Also, some cannot get into the classes they need to graduate in time, so you may take more than 4 years to graduate if you are one of the unfortunate ones not getting into some requisite classes the first go around. I am afraid the historically good quality of the UC education, especially UC Berkeley, is now being compromised by the bad fiscal situation in CA.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the impression I have gotten from friends in CA. is that UC Berkeley is notorious for having very, very single-minded and focused students who just study, study and study. The curves are also supposed to be brutal. Definitely for the sciences. Not sure about poli sci/ philiosophy, though I know UC Berkeley has been renowned for its political science dept. and thus competition must be fierce also in this dept.</p>
<p>3) You are right. NYU has very strong Poli Sci and Philosophy Depts. The former is more mathematical and theoretical than a lot of other Poli Sci programs. Philosophy at NYU also has a strong reputation. So you cannot go wrong academically at NYU. My sense though is that NYU students tend to be broader in interests and may have a little more balance between work and fun (except for business and pre-med students).</p>
<p>So, if you want to learn/ study hard but also live a little, NYU is really a better place because of its well-rounded student body and the location/ environment in NYC.</p>
<p>4) I really did not like the blighted areas right outside UC Berkeley. While the shops, cafes, restaurants right outside the gates of the school are very charming and nice, I felt some depression in the outskirts of UC Berkeley where I drove past very “poor” neighborhoods. (I recognize that there are nice neighborhoods in certain parts around UC Berkeley.) But there is a large area that felt not as safe and felt desolate to me as I passed through on the way into UC Berkeley by car. </p>
<p>5) Finally, I want to say, your opportunities for political internships and activities will be tremendous in NYC. No better, especially with NYU establishing a building for NYU right in Washington D.C. (say for students to study there for a semester; how wonderful is that?).</p>
<p>These are my thoughts for the moment. Hope they can aid in your decision and thinking of pertinent issues for yourself.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your advice! So you would say NYU provides a more personal, less crowded approach to education? What I’m looking for, I guess, is the more “intellectual” education in which students could have meaningful discussions with professors and not just grad student assistant teachers.</p>
<p>Well, in this case, I would say definitely NYU. It is after all a private university and you are paying for smaller classes with opportunities to engage more with professors, especially in the honors program. There might be sections taught or coordinated by graduate assistants. But, really, it is up to you. Professors have office hours and it is up to you to pursue them and also engage them in classes when you are likely to see them in the lectures. I imagine you would have better access to NYU professors since I see the UC system really over-extended at all levels due to cutbacks and savings.</p>
<p>Well, besides feedback to you based on hearsay for me regarding the 2 departments you are interested in at UC Berkeley and NYU, I want to encourage you to talk to students in these departments to get feedback. If you do not know people personally, the following website might be of use to you to get a general feel for how well a professor teaches, which includes engagement of students. Please note some of the ratings can be affected by overly disgruntled students or students who just want easy “As.”</p>
<p>1) UC Berkeley Dept. of Political Science:</p>
<p>[University</a> of California Berkeley - California](<a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?the_dept=Political+Science&orderby=TLName&letter=A&sid=1072]University”>http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?the_dept=Political+Science&orderby=TLName&letter=A&sid=1072)</p>
<p>2) UC Berkeley, Dept. of Philosophy:</p>
<p>[University</a> of California Berkeley - California](<a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?the_dept=Philosophy&orderby=TLName&letter=A&sid=1072]University”>http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?the_dept=Philosophy&orderby=TLName&letter=A&sid=1072)</p>
<p>3) NYU Dept. of Political Science:</p>
<p>[New</a> York University - New York](<a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?the_dept=Political+Science&orderby=TLName&letter=A&sid=675]New”>http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?the_dept=Political+Science&orderby=TLName&letter=A&sid=675)</p>
<p>4) NYU, Dept. of Philosophy:</p>
<p>[New</a> York University - New York](<a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?the_dept=Philosophy&orderby=TLName&letter=A&sid=675]New”>http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/SelectTeacher.jsp?the_dept=Philosophy&orderby=TLName&letter=A&sid=675)</p>
<p>Careful reading of these reviews may give you an idea as to the strengths and/or weaknesses of the professors as teachers in the 2 programs at UC Berkeley and NYU.</p>
<p>Here, I think this well help: [Guide</a> To Majors At NYU: Philosophy · NYU Local](<a href=“NYU Local”>Guide To Majors At NYU: Philosophy | by NYU Local | NYU Local)</p>
<p>From what I have gained from talking to current NYU students, a lot of the prereq and basic major requirements have large class sizes and professor unavailability, just like a large public school. However, they’ve also talked about how amazing the faculty is for a great number of subjects there. So I would imagine that you won’t get that small-school environment you want until your junior/senior year.</p>
<p>Class size depends entirely on course selection and areas of interest. My first-year son has no more than 15-20 students in almost all of his courses. You can find out size limits on courses that would interest you with some online and email research.</p>
<p>Philosophy at NYU is/has been the #1 department in the nation. It’s world-renowned here, moreso than PolSci which is as rigorous but not as known.</p>
<p>I also imagine your opportunities in either of those fields ought to be significantly improved if you were East Coast rather than West, what with the UN up in Midtown, all the embassies here, and our new campus in DC.</p>