U.C. Berkeley vs U.C. Davis Computer Science, Can't Decide

I was recently admitted to a couple different schools as a freshman for fall 2020, including CSUS, SJSU, Cal Poly SLO, UC Davis, and UC Berkeley. I have narrowed it down to UC Davis and UC Berkeley.

Berkeley Admitted Major: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Davis Admitted Major: Computer Science (College of Letters and Sciences)

After financial aid, UC Davis would only cost me about $4k per year (I would live at home and be a commuter student). Also offered $3500 in work study, so I wouldn’t need any loans.
After financial aid, UC Berkeley would cost me about $21k per year. Also offered $4,000 in work study.

I don’t come from a relatively wealthy family and would likely take loans to pay for UC Berkeley. But would such a large price difference be worth it to attend a prestigious school like Berkeley? UC Berkeley has always been my top choice but the cost is making it difficult for me.

I also have doubts about my major at Davis because it is not in the college of engineering. Does anyone know the differences between a computer science major in the college of engineering and a computer science major in the college of letters and sciences at UC Davis?

Any information to help me decide between these two colleges would be greatly appreciated!

I also got into the Honors Program at UC Davis.

I don’t know what’s included in Davis honors but, generally, you get priority registration, smaller GE courses and a few other perks.

UCB has an aura but, Davis is also an outstanding school - I wouldn’t take on $60k+ in debt for UCB. Add the honors perks and it tips the scales heavily in UCD’s favor.

IMHO, Aggie all the way.

You need to compare the CS offerings at each school in light of your career goals since one is in the college of engineering and the other is not.

Without priority registration for courses, what is the liklihood that UC-Berkeley will require an extra year in order to complete all graduation requirements ? Essentially asking if you should be comparing COA for 5 years at Berkeley versus 4 years at Davis.

UCD comparison of CS in L&S vs. CS and CE in Engineering:

**One of the most common questions students ask advisers concerns
 the difference between the Computer Science (CS) and Computer
 Science and Engineering (CSE) majors. Actually, the two majors
 are almost identical in terms of computer science core material,
 including digital circuits. The difference between the two
 curricula is that CSE also covers microprocessors, analog circuits
 and electronics, while CS offers greater flexibility via large
 numbers of free electives.

 An important advantage of CSE is that the student sees the entire
 machine, from top to bottom, insight that is highly beneficial in
 developing software for today’s high-performance applications. On
 the other hand, CS is attractive in that it facilitates
 supplementary study in another field as a minor or even as a
 double major.

 Graduates of the two curricula tend to go into the same kinds of
 jobs, or focus on the same research fields if they attend graduate
 school. In either case, success stems overwhelmingly from the
 depth of insight gained in school, rather than the specific
 major.

I know this is an old thread but you are so active and knowledgeable I thought I’d try and ask. I applied to David under college of Letters and Science / division of physical science. I want to major in some form of mathematics. I’ve been on here lately and have seen first hand how popular and competitive computer science major is. I just realized Computer science is a major under college of Letters and Science. Am I competing for a spot with computer science applicants?!?!?

Although CS is in the College of Letters and Sciences, it is a selective/competitive major with an overlap in the CSE courses found in the College of Engineering. I do not have any first hand experience or knowledge but I would think there is some kind of cap/threshold for CS applicants which would make it a harder admit than some of the other L&S majors. UCB for example does not admit by major in L&S but they have a secondary admission process to declare the major while UCD does not. It might be worthwhile to contact UCD admissions to get clarification since CSE majors are admitted by major within the College of Engineering.

Also UCD specifically states if you select an alternate major it should be not in the same primary category ie. CS and CSE

I applied undeclared “phys science” as It was my understanding it admits by college not major. Was that not right?

Also thank you for always responding!

Students applying as “undeclared” or “undeclared/exploratory” are considered within the college/division to which they applied.