Hi all! I’m having a tough time deciding between these three colleges. Please help!! For each one, I’ll list all the pros/cons I know of. (Or those that apply to me)
By the way, I am an engineering major planning to go on to grad school
UC Berkeley:
PROS: urban environment, good food outside of school, offered research opportunities as freshman, weather is nice, #1 in civil engineering(not sure if i want to keep this major though) less change overall since Im from CA and know quite many people going here
CONS: huge class sizes, may not graduate on time because of course enrollment difficulties, less individual attention, have to pay full in-state tuition
Cornell:
PROS: a big change (not sure if this is a good/bad thing though), smaller class size than UCB, community feeling, also great engineering dept, can choose major later, easier to get As than UCB, want to try new weather too
CONS: I dont know anyone whos going here (again, not sure if good/bad), rural environment, heard that course enrollment is just as bad (is this true?)
KAIST(In Korea):
PROS: full ride, the school even gives u some spending money, great engineering program, uber prestige within Korea
CONS: may be limiting when applying for grad school, super competitive, may not be able to come home too often
Ahh tbh I like all of them
ADVICE NEEDED. PLEASE SAVE THIS POOR SENIOR WHO STILL DOESNT KNOW WHAT SHES DOING (yes, i know. Ill be the one making the final decision)
How affordable is Cornell? I would cross out KAIST because it’s all the way in Korea and you want to attend grad school in the states. I would cross out UC Berkeley because you have to pay full tuition.
@TheDidactic It’s not the cheapest option, but my parents are willing to pay a big part of the cost for me. I didnt get my financial packet from Cornell yet, but it will most likely be slightly more than Berkeley
@heybluebear Hi! I am also in almost the same boat as you. Accepted at HKU(70 % Scholarship) and have applied to KAIST as an intl. student. Waiting for the decision of the regular cycle. I’d recommend choosing Cornell if they give you decent aid as its engineering program is THE BEST and if you are comfortable with taking some loans to pay off the remaining cost. I’d put KAIST in the second place since it is an AMAZING school that people don’t really know about (partly due to prevalent stereotypes and partly due to BAD work KAIST’s promotion team is doing :P). Good Luck!
@naturalphil
Hi! This is super late, but I decided to attend Berkeley for many reasons. I wanted to stay in the states for grad school and Cornell didnt give me as much aid as I expected. Plus, Cal has great engineering program too, especially for my major. Thanks for all the help though!!
