tl;dr I like a lot of stuff about the two, which will I not regret going to?
Hi! Sorry if this post is redundant/not very well-crafted; this my first question on CC since I’m really struggling with this. I need some help on deciding which one would be a better option. I’m going to be a new undergraduate for the next school year (2017-2018) and was accepted into both of these universities. Does anyone have suggestions/insights on which to pick?
My current points for Berkeley:
- Better recognition globally as a more qualified institution, I believe.
- More rigorous and well-rounded program, giving me more opportunities for work in the future.
- Much smaller tuition fee. I'm pretty certain that I'll acquire residency after my first year, which will put whole tuition costs at a whopping $20,000+ difference compared to USC.
Current points for USC:
- Much better student life (I go to a competitive and rigorous school right now, and the feeling is...eh. I want to start enjoying myself a bit).
- Chance of standing out as a student due to allegedly less competitive environment.
- Nicer campus, in my opinion.
- Way better location in terms of city life and things to do. I prefer urban areas, and LA also has the benefit of having many companies I like nearby, which brings me to my next point.
- More focused program around the subject I'm interested in. I consider myself a CS student, but not as technical as many others in the field. I prefer the creative aspect and have on occasion thought of switching towards a more technical-design-media-ish kind of thing. Plus, all the game companies are in LA.
- Better study abroad program. I've always wanted to do something related to Japan/South Korea, and USC has programs that connect Viterbi with other technical institutions there, while Berkeley mainly has only cultural programs, to my knowledge.
Other points include the fact that I’m not really a politically active student (I tend to shy away from those things), I’m a badminton player and musician and want to follow up on those things, and I can’t handle very cold weather :P. That’s about it. Thanks for reading, any help is appreciated!