<p>Which one do you feel will give me a better education? I am a prospective CS/Astro major. I love both the schools but I'm slightly tilted towards UCB because of it's better CS programme. I haven't been to either of the schools. Please help me decide!
I'm also looking for a more practical hands on education as opposed to a purely theoretical one. Sorry if I come across as ignorant, I'm just trying to take an informed decision!
EECS major...</p>
<p>Berkeley.</p>
<p>duh.</p>
<p>I’m also interested in Robotics and AI</p>
<p>My son had to pick between the two. After visiting both schools and weighing what he wanted for his college experience, he chose Cal. You really need to visit both schools. Harvey Mudd is very unique and it is not for everyone. It is not at all like Cal. That being said, you will receive an excellent education at either Mudd or Cal. I believe it really will come down to where you feel the most comfortable. My son was accepted as an Undeclared Engineering major at Cal but has since decided on EECS. Good luck in your decision.</p>
<p>OP is an international student and will be full-pay (~52k/yr) at both school. In light of that, will the selection be any different? Obviously, he is not considering visiting the campus prior to enrollment.</p>
<p>Yup, visiting is not an option anymore. I appreciate your advice ‘DadWith2Sons’
Thanks!</p>
<p>Oh I’m sorry. I had no idea he was an international student. They are just so different. One small, one large. One in a suburban area, one in the city. One that is known for being brutal in the work load, one that is known for harsh curves. I think it’s very difficult to compare the two. What terrific choices you have though. I wish you the best of luck in your decision.</p>
<p>Have you been accepted to Harvey Mudd? As you probably know, it’s a very small school, I believe 700 students total, and it is increasingly difficult to get in there. My son visited beforehand, spent the night, had an interview, did all the things they suggest you do to show an active interest in the school, and still he was waitlisted (he was accepted at every other school he applied to, for computer science.) He ultimately chose Cal anyway, because he thought Mudd was a bit too “nerdy” in his words. He is very happy at Cal. Both schools are great. But maybe you should be open to the idea of Cal in case you aren’t accepted to Mudd.</p>
<p>I just got off the wait list, I think. If you don’t mind me asking, did your son get any research opportunities? Probably the only thing everyones been telling me is that I’ll get more research ops at Mudd as opposed to Berkeley. True, both are so different, still very difficult to chose between.</p>
<p>My son just finished his freshman year and didn’t look for any research opportunities up at Cal yet. He didn’t make up his mind to go to EECS until just recently. I’m sure he will look into it next year. He too found the student body a bit on the odd side. Research opportunities can be found at Cal. You just need to be proactive in looking for them. Cal is a large school. You need to be independent and go after what you want. There is no hand holding at Cal. You can get all the help you need for any issues you may have but YOU have to seek out the help and look for the opportunities. Personally I think that is a good thing as it helps you prepare for what you will find in real life.</p>
<p>In terms of the student body, Berkeley has many Asians, mostly Californian, and approximately equal male/female ratio. Harvey Mudd is predominately white, 70% is out-of-state/international, and its gender ratio is 60/40 (males to females).</p>
<p>You should not have a problem finding research opportunities in Cal.</p>
<p>I would have gone to Harvey Mudd for undergrad if I was choosing between it and UC Berkeley at the same price. It’s a really cool school, imo.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is much smaller. Berkeley is much bigger. Both are good schools.</p>
<p>Xunxun - Research opportunities at Cal - My son did have some research opportunity as a freshman, although the project wasn’t something he was too interested in so he didn’t get too involved. He did, however, get a very good summer internship doing computer programming in the Bay Area. There are many Cal alum working in high tech, and they are happy to hire Cal students. So while I don’t know as much about research, I do think that Cal may have more opportunities for jobs and internships because it is so close to Silicon Valley.</p>
<p>I know EECS majors working at Facebook, Google, and Apple. My friend who got the summer internship at Apple says that he’s basically guaranteed a job there for when he graduates. All these companies are headquartered right here in the Bay Area.</p>
<p>And I don’t know about EECS research on campus, but getting science research opportunities is not hard at all. Basically everyone who wants one ends up getting one. Or two.</p>