<p>Hii! </p>
<p>So I'm stuck between UC Berkeley and UT Austin (Plan II Honors Program and McCombs School of Business). I'm indecisive. All of my life, I wanted the out-of-state experience! However, money is the issue. I keep going back and forth. Both schools aren't offering me any money. Essentially, i would be paying 54k for Berks and 25k for UT. It just kills me because I don't know if i should pass up this opportunity. I only get an education once. My parents are supportive of both schools. They kind of want me to go to Berkeley because of the prestige. Being undecided though is not helping the situation. PLEASE HELP!!! :/</p>
<p>I don’t think Berkeley is worth an extra $25K/year when the other option is UT Austin. Berkeley is a bit more prestigious and a lot of its graduate programs are top ranked, but for an undergraduate education Austin is one of the top public universities and you can get a great education, particularly in an honors program.</p>
<p>If your parents can and are willing to pay the extra money (you should not go into debt for the $25K), and you are really torn, make a list of pros and cons at each place. What is it that you think you will get out of Berkeley?</p>
<p>A lot of my friends had to make similar decisions. For me, it was Duke vs. UT, and I didn’t qualify for any aid from Duke, but somehow got a generous package from UT. I don’t know what your family income is, but 54k a year is a LOT of money, no matter what your parents make. McCombs is one of the best undergraduate business schools in the country, and Plan II is comparable to many Ivy League liberal arts educations. From my point of view, the choice is obvious: spare your parents the financial trouble, because 29k is a BIG difference, even if they don’t say so.</p>
<p>Yes, you should pass up the opportunity to pay an outrageous sum for a similar education. Cal-Haas is not even guaranteed – you have to apply in after your Soph year.</p>
<p>UT is a no-brainer. Work for few years, and then earn your MBA OOS.</p>
<p>I would have to agree with those who say I can’t imagine paying twice the cost for Berkeley over Plan II/McCombs at UT.</p>