<p>Here, I’m subscribed to the U.S. News and World Report rankings which are pretty reputable and used in a lot of college descriptions so I can give you those for your schools. In addition, right now I’m in between Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley, and kind of UCLA but I’m out of state so I have a visiting problem also. (I’m thinking about engineering but I can help you out with the schools themselves)</p>
<p>“Best Colleges Specialty Rankings: Best Undergraduate Business Programs”
3. University of California-Berkeley (it says tied with U of Mich but if you look at the rating itself, Berkeley is actually ahead by .01 so it really does take 3rd)
6. Carnegie Mellon (tied with U of NC, U of Texas, and U of Virginia)
21. Georgetown University</p>
<p>Personally, I would rule out Georgetown just because its program doesn’t exactly match up to the other two universities that you’re looking at so I’m going to compare CMU and Berkeley since those two are the ones I’ve researched the most. </p>
<p>Superb job placement: I honestly don’t know anything about this one. Look at the other answers :] What I do know: Berkeley has a fancy name=you will most likely land a job quickly (in the engineering world for sure but I maybe in business too) </p>
<p>Opportunities for research, internships: (Berkeley) I think it’s safe to say that Berkeley pretty much has awesome research no matter what department you’re in and that some of the research being done bring well-known breakthroughs. The campus is big and has a lot of funding behind it so there will be lots of different projects going on so that you are likely to find something to do as long as you are proactive in your search. I’m kind of a college research nerd since I applied to 17 colleges and this seems to be true for most large universities: The opportunities are THERE but you have to go searching for them (CMU) Smaller university so there will be less people looking for research and professors might be easier to contact if there are spots open for research. Obviously, there will inherently not be as many professors doing research due to the size so the options may be more limited. That is my main thing I suppose: Personally, I would go for Berkeley on this just because there are more options and I really do like choices (17 colleges…no kidding)</p>
<p>Small classes for higher level classes: I’ve heard this is true at both. At Berkeley you would probably have to have higher level classes to get the same size of a slightly lower class at CMU. CMU probably wins this one, but not by too much. </p>
<p>Prestige, good reputation: [Berkeley] Out of state, as I’m sure you’re able to relate, makes it more difficult to get into Berkeley…therefore adding to the prestige when talking to others. This is an issue for me too just because I don’t understand if people in California regard the school so highly since you don’t have to exceed the qualifications as you do out of state. In general though, adults seem to really recognize Berkeley in the business world. Because I’m deciding between Berkeley and Cornell (with obvious name recognition), I’ve asked for a lot of opinions from previous internships and I’ve gotten impressive responses with Berkeley (thankfully, since their program is actually better). [CMU] Smaller university and not Ivy. Much less broad name recognition. I don’t know how CMU is regarded in business particularly but in engineering, although it’s clearly a good school, it doesn’t really get the recognition it deserves just due to the size. Berkeley takes it. </p>
<p>Pretty campus: I haven’t seen either yet but I’m having to choose only one to see before May so I’ve pretty much picked Berkeley. However, I currently attend a high school where many students attend reputable colleges so I can provide info from friends who have visited Carnegie Mellon. [CMU] Some love it, some hate it. I have been told by my AP Econ teacher that she’s had many students who have visited and it is usually one extreme or the other. Seems like its very in the city and not at all the type of more open campus you’re going to get at Berkeley. When I was told I was thinking about going there, two friends who’ve seen the place replied in disbelief saying “Have you VISITED that place?!” I guess they were the hate it ones. Personally, I think Berkeley is pretty, I’ve looked at as many pictures as I could but I still think I need to visit it and I can’t give any type of definitive answer. </p>
<p>Hope this helped a bit</p>
<p>P.S. You didn’t ask for this part but its a big reason I’m not picking Carnegie even though grades and jobs etc are the most important thing for me too. The social life at CMU is apparently relatively non-existant. Quote from Princeton Review “If you want to have a social life, you are in the minority” Most people don’t do much outside of the library. Berkeley seems to have all types of people–a much less homogenous population. I’ve heard countless times about this university: “you will find someone like you”</p>