Hey I was fortunate to be accept into both of these great universities.
The total cost of attendance for four years for each will be:
Duke: ~$285,0000
UC Berkeley: ~$120,000
I want to pursue a degree in CS + Something else, a double major. Currently I’m leaning towards CS + Econ but I might do something else like CS + Bio or CS + (x field im interested in).
Could someone sell me on the advantages of going to UC Berkeley over Duke?
Are you very wealthy?
The big disadvantage of attending Berkeley is incredibly large classes. You’ll get more face time with professors at Duke. Whether or not that’s worth $160 k is debatable. If it’s a small fraction of your parents’ income I can start to make the case for Duke. If it’s a tremendous financial burden I would advice you to go to Berkeley.
If you’re looking to do something in Silicon Valley, Berkely can hold its own against most elite private schools. If you’re looking at Wall Street or med school, I’d give Duke a significant edge.
You’ll meet some astonishingly smart people at Berkeley but the average student at Duke is probably a little better academically (simply because being accessible is part of Berkeley’s mission).
Berkeley is also in dire straits financially so you may bear the brunt of some significant cost cutting measures. In fact, it was just revealed that Berkeley has been compromising academic standards for OOS and International students who pay more in tuition.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-uc-audit-admissions-20160328-story.html
I’m reasonably confident that Berkeley will emerge unscathed in the long run but the next few years will likely be plagued with niggling anxieties.
I’m definitely looking into a career in the silicon valley. While 160k is affordable for my family, It would force them to sell the house and deprive themselves of travel/retirement opportunities. They also have to pay my brother through medical school. I don’t want a career in east coast finance/ wall street and i don’t want to become a doctor.
I suggest you pay each school a visit before making the final decision. I’ve never been to Berkeley campus, but I’ve stayed a night at Duke. I’d always admired Duke’s campus with its forest and garden and Gothic architecture, but the moment I set foot in it felt haunted. Seriously, I’m not the kind of person who would be scared easily but Duke campus gave me the creeps.
People in the dorm in which I stayed were not friendly (but my host was). I visited around a dozen East Coast schools and Duke’s dorms seemed to be in the worst condition compared to those of the rest. Campus food, though, was extremely tasty (but they charged for every cup of coffee…???).
Now that I realised I badmouthed Duke quite a lot, I want to add that I might just have had a bad trip, and therefore, I looked at everything in a negative way.
“While 160k is affordable for my family, It would force them to sell the house and deprive themselves of travel/retirement opportunities.”
That honestly doesn’t sound like “affordable” to me.
If you want into Silicon Valley, I don’t think there’s much better of a ticket than with UCB’s CS program unless you’re in CS at Stanford.
I’m not one to put much weight into rankings, but out of curiosity I took a peek at US News’ list for top CS undergrad programs in the world and I’m seeing UCB as #4, only behind MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. I’m not sure where Duke lands, but it wasn’t in the top 40, but keep in mind that’s a global list, not US only.
To me, the choice seems pretty clear. The only thing–to me–that would be worse than taking on that much debt would having my parents be forced to sell their house and seriously impact their retirement and quality of life.
If you want Silicon Valley, the proximity, connections, networking, and recruiting can’t be understated at Berkeley.
I would submit that having to sell their house and liquidate retirement savings to pay for Duke does not fit most people’s definition of affordable. Giving up luxuries or whatever you want to call vacations for awhile is one thing, but clearly if they would have to sell the house and presumably downsize, as well as work to a later age, there is not the kind of money laying around that makes Duke “affordable”. In fact, I would submit that for you to choose Duke knowing that would be an almost unconscionable decision on your part, especially when Berkeley is your other choice as opposed to Cal State Podunk.
To me this is a no-brainer. UCB is the only realistic choice, and it is an excellent one. Even with the cutbacks people are talking about, you will get an excellent education. Heck, you could spend an extra year or two at UCB and it would be cheaper than Duke. But that isn’t likely and you will be in great shape for getting employment in California if you graduate from UCB.
Thank you all for your sound advice. I think i’ve made up my mind 
I also have Berkeley and Duke as options. I am going into mechanical engineering or electrical engineering and computer science. I’m feeling like Berkeley is the obvious choice because I’m going into engineering but I don’t want to automatically rule out Duke solely based on department rankings.
^ It would be rather foolish to rule Duke out based solely on a few departmental rankings. You’re making a good decision. The departmental rankings are more relevant to graduate students. Institutional rankings are much more important at the undergraduate level.
You will never be disadvantaged by having a CS degree from Berkeley, especially in California. Plus your family will have an extra $160K in the bank.
Leaning towards Berkeley currently.
If you’re in-state, go Berkeley.
Duke is kind of mediocre for Computer Science. Put the CS curriculum side by side and you will know. Also the electives and areas of concentration in the CS are limited in comparison with Cal…
Berkekey!! Better choice for you and your family.
@desiindian597, that’s not true at all. You’re clearly an international student who is jumping to conclusions based on departmental rankings which penalize smaller departments. Also, departmental rankings are not really relevant to undergraduates.
I’m not saying the OP shouldn’t go to Berkeley because it’s cheaper but Duke’s computer science department is top notch.
Have you visited both campuses are surrounding areas? If you are looking for a more conservative student body Duke is a good choice. The state itself is very conservative. I don’t know about Cal’s engineering program, but here in NC if you want engineering you don’t go to Duke, you go to NC State (entire 2nd campus devoted to it). But you are in the middle of RTP (Research Triangle Park) that will give you access to high tech companies. There is little public transportation.
Berkeley, being in the Bay Area is almost the opposite. You have Silicon Valley for internships and San Francisco to explore closeby. BART station within walking of campus. You’ll find every kind of food, music and diverse population in the area. Can’t beat the weather.
I’ve lived in both places. Feel free to message me with questions about both areas. Congrats on being accepted to both!
If your family’s finances are as you describe, this is a no brainer: Berkeley. One of the world’s outstanding public universities, strong CS department, and, as you will be in the Bay area, you will have internship opportunities in CS companies. My daughter and I toured Berkeley last spring and we had a great tour guide who chose Berkeley over Johns Hopkins for similar family/financial reasons and was very happy with his choice.
https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-to-study-computer-science-at-Duke
check this out from a student in CS at Duke, informative…!
I would pick Berkeley. Like Duke for CS is not even close. Unless you have some huge affinity for the Duke environment.
I’d hate to see your definition of “unaffordable”.