<p>I plan to major in Computer Science, with an eventual computer-related career in the future (goal: to be a game designer).</p>
<p>Other than name, prestige, ranking, etc., what are some distinguishing differences between UCB and Rice? What would be a reason or reason(s) for choosing UCB over Rice? Or Rice over UCB for that matter?</p>
<p>From what I've gathered in my research, UCB comes out on top in rankings; however, after visiting Rice, I loved the campus, residential housing system, and overall vibe I got when just walking around. With that said, I have yet to visit UCB (I plan to visit within the next two weeks or so), so I am expectedly partial to Rice at this time. (To counterbalance my partiality, I decided to post this thread in the UCB forum instead of the Rice one :))</p>
<p>I would appreciate some insights to help me make my eventual decision. If I need to provide more information regarding my circumstances/future plans, just let me know and I'll gladly oblige.</p>
<p>hey killthefifi i did not get all the way through that post, but i like where its going
two of the schools i am accepted for this fall rank above berkeley in yield but somehow i dont give a blank. </p>
<p>i completely agree with your statement about how people(especially californians) just add berkeley on to their list without really thinking twice and a lot of the smaller ucs feature more specialized programs that were their primary interest.
also, this should mean nothing, but everyone is aton more impressed with my admission to berkeley than to UVA… </p>
<p>haha i prefer berkeley anyway but it sure is a nice reinforcement…</p>
<p>EDIT: 3 (of 6 total schools) schools im accepted to are above berkeley for yield. Still dont give a crap</p>
<p>@shalala<em>lala</em>la, going by the yield alone, the only meaningful data you can pull is how good their advertising is to the accepted students & the number of kids who applied to the school as a safely. USC has good advertising, but many use it as a safety, thus a low yield. Haavahard has no one use it for a safety, it’s at the top of the heap, but the advertising pushes it there.</p>
<p>I can’t focus enough on the programs at Cal.
If you want film, don’t go here, since there’s USC, and that holds true for some other programs.
But for certain majors, Cal is amazing!
I’m trying not to ramble on about how great some parts of the school are, but I will say that it’s better than most people expect it to be.</p>
<p>hahah, all my friends are like, “wow you got into berkeley?! you must be smart!”</p>
<p>I have the exact same decision as OP, although not in computer science. I haven’t visited either, but I’ve heard both are great campuses. It really seems like I’d fit in extremely well at Rice, and everyone seems extremely satisfied with their experience (I haven’t heard one person yet with a negative outlook on Rice).</p>
<p>I know Berkeley is higher ranked in engineering, but Rice more than holds its own in engineering. Besides prestige, Berkeley has more break-through research. But that isn’t really important if you are not part of the research team, which brings the whole competition aspect into play. And I’m sure Rice will/is doing some great things in the engineering field. </p>
<p>I’m not confident I’m going to succeed in mechanical engineering, as I’m lost in AP Physics C E&M (my teacher talks about all these complex circuits but never really taught the basics - really annoying, only 1 guy in the class knows what is going on). So I may not be the best mechanical engineer, but I don’t think that will hinder me much at Rice in terms of getting decent grades and good research opportunities. Many Berkeley students admit that you are on your own, and that prepares you for life, but I’m not sure I’m ready for that.</p>
<p>Berkeley may be ranked higher, but I’m leaning towards Rice, albeit I’ve never visited either school. Either way, you/we should be glad that you got into two great schools, and that you/we will get a very high quality education and should have a great experience.</p>