<p>I thought this would've been asked before, because of the classic rivalry and close location.</p>
<p>But anyways, what do you think?</p>
<p>stanford all the way.</p>
<p>45k vs 25k...</p>
<p>Stanford for OOS without a doubt</p>
<p>Well, it depends. What is your intended major? Have you visited both campuses? Is money an issue?</p>
<p>if you have the $$, the grade inflation down on the farm is well worth it, IMO.</p>
<p>If you can afford stanford take that..if you can't then try to get financial aid ...Stanfords the best but UCB is good finance-wise.</p>
<p>STANFORD hands down if you can afford it</p>
<p>Yeah, I have to agree that if money is no object, Stanford is the better choice for undergrad.</p>
<p>Even if money is an object, then I still suspect that Stanford may be worth it. OF course that depends on just how price-conscious you are. </p>
<p>However, if it makes you feel better, then the Berkeley doctoral programs are completely comparable to Stanford's. I know a lot of people who would prefer to get their PhD's from Berkeley than from Stanford.</p>
<p>Stanford :)</p>
<p>Read this:</p>
<p>Undergrad Stanford, not even close.</p>
<p>"Well, it depends. What is your intended major? Have you visited both campuses? Is money an issue?"</p>
<p>Intended major: History (something along the lines of this; Stanford has a spiffy major called History, Language, and the Arts where you focus on a region/country)</p>
<p>I also want to study abroad.</p>
<p>Campuses: I am in love with Berkeley. It is so ethnic, vibrant, exciting, cultural...I actually think the bums and stuff just add more spice to the mix. ;) </p>
<p>I currently live in an extremely boring residential town and hate it and want to get away from that kind of area as much as possible. When I visited Palo Alto it seemed very similar, only much much worse because people are much richer there on the average. I don't care that much about the actual campus, because I won't be living in the dorms at Berkeley. </p>
<p>Money is not an issue in that I got lots of financial aid from both schools. In fact, I got more from Stanford than Berkeley, so it'd actually be cheaper for me to go there. </p>
<p>However, church is a big issue because there's a much bigger church in Berkeley connected to the one I currently go to. And I know many more people who go there, and would thus live with them in an apartment. </p>
<p>So is Berkeley's undergraduate education that inferior to Stanford's? If I decide that church is more important to me and decide to go there, will I be cheating myself out of a much better education (and a couple thou in loans I wouldn't have to take out)? Or is it really just a prestige thing?</p>
<p>And since I'm looking into law school, how many people from Stanford, as compared to Berkeley, get into Stanford Law (now ranked 2nd in the country...:) )?</p>
<p>You'll probably be better set up for Stanford law if you attend stanford. Personally, I don't think the education is all that dissimilar, but there is a definite prestige disparity in favor of stanford. Berkeley has a huge edge as far as the environment is concerned. I honestly can't think of a more boring city than Palo Alto. Its no wonder stanford kids drink so much. Anyway, its a tough call but when all is said and done you can't really go wrong.</p>
<p>ebonytear, according to your descriptions and preferences, </p>
<p>rivalry: berkeley (for sports)
major: tossup in quality, but smaller classes at stanford
study abroad: tossup? UC's have a really good study abroad program though, but i'm not familiar with stanford's
campus: berkeley
money: stanford
church: berkeley
undergrad education: stanford
prestige: stanford
stanford law: stanford</p>
<p>so i'd say slight edge to stanford, but i think that depends on your priorities and how important each of the above preferences that you've outlined are to you. it sounds like you can enjoy either one and you can gain solid benefits from going to either, so think it over and see where you want to be for the next 4 years.</p>
<p>"major: tossup in quality, but smaller classes at stanford"</p>
<p>I did a little snooping around on both school's common data sets and found some very surprising info. about class sizes.</p>
<p>74% of undergrad classes at Berkeley are under 30 students
78% of undergrad classes at Stanford are under 30 students</p>
<p>7% of undergrad classes at Berkeley have 100+ students
5% of undergrad classes at Stanford have 100+ students</p>
<p>I don't know about you, but I was shocked at how similar these numbers are, especially considering the average perception on these boards is that Cal has all huge classes and stanford has all small classes. I'm not a math major, so if anyone wants to double check my numbers they should feel free.</p>
<p>gentlemanandscholar, </p>
<p>can you link me to the data sets. i'm surprised by the percentages too, but my initial reaction is that percentages are deceiving if we don't look at the overall number of courses offered.</p>
<p>I don't think overall numbers of courses really matter because Cal has way more students, so it will surely have way more courses. The percentage is what matters. And my initial reaction is that something is wrong too, but that might just because its been pounded into my head on these boards that stanford has tiny classes.</p>
<p>"Campuses: I am in love with Berkeley. It is so ethnic, vibrant, exciting, cultural...I actually think the bums and stuff just add more spice to the mix. "</p>
<p>it seems like you're liking berkeley. =p personally i would take stanford over berk because i'm a bit of a prestige wh-- but.. hey, if you like it there.. why not? i think a university's environment is importante.</p>
<p>when it comes to campuses, i would think that the farm is FAR superior to that of berkeley's...</p>