<p>Hey guys,
I've been trying to decide between these schools for a long time and my dad wants me to do so by tomorrow, so any input would be much appreciated. I am currently leaning towards either UC Berkeley or Rice, with a major in EECS for Berkeley and EE at Rice. What do you guys recommend I should do? Valid arguments would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>The majority of the people at Berkeley do not graduate in 4 years. I met some people there, and they said it’s difficult to get the classes you want, which is why many people have to stay there for an extra year. I guess this shouldn’t be a deciding factor, but it’s definitely an important one depending on the person.</p>
<p>Hi~
The title of your post suggested you were trying to make a decision that included Northwestern. After reading your actual post, you may have input more suited to your needs by posting on the UCB and Rice sites. Good Luck-</p>
<p>I think you would be better advised to choose Northwestern.</p>
<p>Locations could hardly be more different, try to think which is the best fit for you. I’m not an engineer, but I’ve heard berkeley’s engineering dept is really good.</p>
<p>Objective789, not to sound offensive think you post comments without thinking much. You just tell everyone that NU is better without really thinking about what the OP is really asking. </p>
<p>On the other hand since you are interested in Berkeley and Rice, elsijfdl has a really good point. Find one that is a fit for you. Berkeley engineering is great, but the school is big. Class sizes are going to be big so it might be more difficult getting the teacher’s attention. It’s going to be harder for the teacher to know you better. At Rice, classes are going to be smaller cause Rice is less than half the size of NU (3,000 compared to 8,000). The teacher’s are going to know you better.</p>
<p>What aspects of your undergrad, other than just the academics are important to you? Did you visit each of these schools? They are all very different other than each having a great Engineering Program. Rice is the smallest undergrad at 3k, Northwestern around 8k and UC-I think 24k. Is cultural diversity important? Do you belong or strongly identify with a group you want well represented? eg. if you want a high Asian population (Rice around 15%, NU 22% and UC Berkeley 43%). Is geographic diversity important? UC Berkeley has 90% California residents, Rice is 50/50 in state/out of state and Northwestern is 25% in state/75% out of state. Weather is different at all three schools. As for the size, intimacy will be inversely proportional to it. Overwhelmingly I have read UC Berkeley has large classes and one has to fend for onself. This if often true at any large university. If you haven’t visited try some other college sites where students review there schools such as ***** - it may help. Good Luck. All three will offer you a great education but their environments will be subject to individual taste.</p>
<p>Just want to dispel the notion/rumor that engineering at Berkeley suffers from a large classroom crowd. Engineering at Berkeley has its own facilities and a huge list of illustrious faculty who are willing to accommodate undergrad students to learn more and become a great engineer someday. Many undergrad engineering students are involved in research exposing them to very high scholarship and world-class research.</p>