<p>I need your advise and suggestions. I need to decide between U.C. Berkeley and Columbia University (School of General Studies, I was admitted to both, :-) ). My major will be in psychology(undergrad. and going to Med. School after), and I know that Berkeley is number one in the rankings in that specific area, but Columbia seem to rank higher as an overall school. Columbia is an Ivy school and I would love the experience in the East coast.Berkeley has provided me a lot of financial aid and I have yet to receive the financial aid package from Columbia University GS. I heard that Columbia GS does not help their students very much, and that the professors at Columbia University are not available to students or are very hard to reach. I was also told that the school community is almost non existent at Columbia, when it is compared to Berkeley. Can anyone advise me on this two wonderful schools? what school should I choose, and any recommendation on how to pay for Columbia(if it's your recommendation)? Which one is better in research?</p>
<p>Your pros for UCB outweigh those for Columbia.</p>
<p>If you like a centralized, compact school go with Columbia.</p>
<p>If you want a more spread out and overall, more bucolic campus, go with UCB. </p>
<p>If it were up to me, I would go to Columbia, because I heard they have a great physics department.</p>
<p>I would choose Columbia as well. It is an Ivy League, and it would look good when you are applying to medical school.</p>
<p>Net cost after non-loan financial aid will be very important if you do go to (expensive) medical school – dragging a lot of undergraduate debt through medical school will not be ideal. So knowing the Columbia financial aid situation is important in making the decision.</p>
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WHAT??? There is nothing spread out or bucolic (!?!?) about UCB! I’m guessing the OP knows this already, given he/she’s been accepted at both.</p>
<p>It happens my daughter’s first choice was Columbia, but she was not accepted there, and she went to Berkeley. I agree with Dispatch, your pros for UCB outweigh those for Columbia. Berkeley has been a wonderful experience for my DD…if she’s lucky, Columbia will accept her grad school application (and yours too?)!</p>
<p>Go to the school that you like better and is more affordable (you’ll need the extra money for Med School). Going to Columbia over Berkeley or vice versa is not going to give you a significant advantage for Med School. Sure, Columbia is an Ivy league, but Berkeley has an amazing reputation (moreso than Columbia internationally),and what matters more for med schools is how you do there as a student.</p>
<p>For med schools, what matters more is your MCAT and research opps/extra curriculars, and as far as research opps, you’ll find great opportunities at both.</p>
<p>If I were in the situation you were in, I’d go Berkeley. Columbia’s prestigious and all, no doubt. So is Berkeley. </p>
<p>Berkeley gave you aid. Cali is broke. Maybe they really really really want you to attend.</p>
<p>Professors at Columbia = hard to reach? Berkeley wins if you want that interaction.</p>
<p>And neither school will put you over the edge for med school. Getting in med school is a lot about how you perform in your school, not just school name.</p>
<p>Berkeley. It seems as though the only thing you like about Columbia is the fact that it’s Ivy league, and on a resume, both would be almost equally impressive.</p>
<p>Go for Berkeley. </p>
<p>Studying medicine is extremely expensive. You’d need that money that you’ll save from going to Berkeley when you’re in med school. Graduating from Berkeley (or Columbia) won’t give you any advantage to med school (other than their own). Most top med schools view them equally. So, neither name is more prestigious than the other.</p>
<p>I think people here are glossing over the fact that its Columbia GS, not Columbia College. I attended Columbia and while GS students can be very successful after graduation, bottom line you aren’t integrated into the community as well.</p>