<p>I'm more likely to meet and talk to a Nobel prize winner speaking at middlebury than you are to come within 50 rows at the lecture hall talk he or she is giving to the graduate students.............maybe you can stalk them at the parking lot</p>
<p>What do you think? Who would knowingly turn down a top LAC and choose an enormous school where he is likely to be lost in all the faces? Berkeley may have a name, but Midd is many times better for undergrads. And, every employer and grad school admissions officers SHOULD know Midd. Go to Berkeley, please!</p>
<p>turning down midd was the most difficult decision of my life... have some respect ab med. LAC's are definitely the way to go. for me, carleton is a better fit (it's closer to home), but i still love club midd. have fun being a nobody at Berk.</p>
<p>Are you guys kidding me? 35 out of Cal's 36 graduate programs rank in the top ten in the country. Berkeley attracts the most brilliant people from every field. There are so many prominent intellectuals that teach there. Seven elements on the periodic table were discovered at Berk!!! This school is a research powerhouse. What is Midd known for??? Nothing. </p>
<p>So, you guys have fun going to a noname school while i go to THE BEST school in the nation and probably the world!</p>
<p>While berkeley is a good school, I'm pretty sure that the honor of being the best school in the world belongs to a little north eastern treasure known as Harvard. Ever heard of it?</p>
<p>Trust me though, we'll all be having a blast. No one ever blasted berk, because everyone here knows how awesome it is. You were the one being criticized for talking crap about a school you know nothing about aside from random information presented on internet sites and college books...</p>
<p>Ironically, Boalt Hall the Berkeley law school historically regarded applicants from Middlebury as much more desirable than applicants from Berkeley. This was revealed in a recent lawsuit that forced Boalt to disclose some secret admissions practices. </p>
<p>Turned out that Boalt was weighting the GPAs of applicants from different schools. Students from preferred schools got a GPA "boost", which obviously improved their chances for admission. Students from other schools got no GPA boost, or even had their GPAs lowered.</p>
<p>The weightings were obtained and released by the Los Angeles Times (see them here</a>). Applicants from Middlebury got a GPA boost; Midd was ranked just below Harvard and just ahead of MIT. Berkeley grads, in contrast, got no GPA boost; Cal was ranked just ahead of SUNY-Binghamton and tied with UCSD. The bottom line is that Berkeley clearly preferred to recruit law students from Middlebury, rather than from its own campus.</p>
<p>These results are not surprising at all. Most grad schools and professional schools, especially the UC schools, are known for their dislike of "inbreeding." In fact, i am surprised that Berkeley students dont get points off from their GPA at Boalt Hall. The UC grad schools do not, unlike most private schools, give preference to their graduates and they strongly encourage students to seek grad studies elsewhere. I am not sure why they use this kind of policy, but thats the way it is.</p>
<p>They do this because they know where the best and brightest come from :-)
And they know how well a LAC education prepares one for grad school esp law school.</p>
<p>"Are you guys kidding me? 35 out of Cal's 36 graduate programs rank in the top ten in the country. Berkeley attracts the most brilliant people from every field. There are so many prominent intellectuals that teach there. Seven elements on the periodic table were discovered at Berk!!! This school is a research powerhouse. What is Midd known for??? Nothing."</p>
<p>Last time I checked, you were going there for Undergrad. Right?</p>
<p>Exactly...</p>
<p>Well, the only reason i used the graduate rankings is because US News does not have undergraduate rankings in specific subjects for undergrads. Plus, if a school is that good for grad school, there must be some "trickle down" effect. Its the same profs and GSIs that teach undergrad and grad at berk. Sure, the profs care more about their grad students than undergrads, but that doesnt mean that undergrads dont get to take advantage of the brilliance available at Berkeley</p>
<p>keep trying to convince yourself that you made the right choice...</p>
<p>You'll find that out soon enough. I actually wonder how many rows of seats will separate you...
I met a berkeley grad at wesleyan when he was there with his daughter, he was laughing about having 1000+ student chem lectures.
Enjoy yourself, you're going to be in for a surprise! :-)</p>
<p>Good luck all the same...</p>
<p>Haha, lets leave him alone.
Hopefully berkeley won't dissapoint him.
Does sitting near the statue or portrait of a brilliant person count?</p>
<p>i chose berkeley over middlebury and cornell, don't regret it at all. here is why (from another of my posts): </p>
<ol>
<li>berkeley is berkeley, enough said. where else will you find a place as diverse, interesting, and fun, especially as a student?</li>
<li>#1 ranked civil engineering program in US (my major)</li>
<li>the people are all incredibly friendly and will take the time to talk to anyone who asks</li>
<li>ok, its a large school, so of course, everybody assumes that it is impossible (or near it) to get advising or get to know your professors. This is not necessarily true- a few days after finding out about acceptance, a professor from my major called to talk - a professor at berkeley, a gigantic school, took the time to call a prospective student. I actually met him and sat in on one of his classes, he is awesome and his class was really interesting.</li>
<li>sports: great selection and facilities</li>
<li>bay area</li>
<li>streaking in the library at finals - just plain entertaining</li>
<li>great weather - you're not gonna freeze your ass off and become morbidly depressed by bad weather</li>
<li>lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of majors, courses, activities, clubs to choose from</li>
<li>lots to do on and off campus</li>
</ol>
<p>Challenge question: What is better about middlebury then berkeley? (give a few reasons)</p>
<p>ab_med has made the following points about Berkeley in his last few posts: </p>
<ol>
<li>Berkeley has many top-rated graduate and professional programs.</li>
<li>Berkeley profs care more about graduate-level research and instruction than about undergraduate teaching.</li>
<li>Berkeley graduate and professional programs favor applicants from other schools (like Midd).</li>
</ol>
<p>All three points are valid. However, the conclusions that most people would draw from these points are that:</p>
<ol>
<li>The best way to take advantage of Berkeleys undeniable strengths is as a graduate or professional student, not as an undergraduate; </li>
<li>The best way to become a graduate or professional student at Berkeley is to get an undergraduate degree somewhere else (like Midd).</li>
</ol>
<p>Some Middlebury pluses:</p>
<p>Average class size: 16
Student Faculty ratio: 9:1
Number of TAs that teach classes: 0
Smog: non-existant
Traffic: Route 7 can get a bit congested around 5pm
Two words: Snow Bowl
Mountains, rivers, and lakes out your window
Earthquakes: nope
History (founded in 1800)
Reputation as an elite, private New England college: priceless among those in the know.</p>
<p>Number of Berkeley students who graduate in 4 years: 58%
Number of Middlebury students who graduate in 4 years: 84%</p>
<p>Berkeley Quality of Life Rating (by PR): 78
Middlebury Quality of Life Rating (by PR): 98</p>
<p>Gnargnar, You made an amazing decision because Midd doesn't have engineering so it'd be a good idea to go to berkeley instead. Especially if you were in state...</p>
<p>I chose Midd over Berkeley as an instate, regents scholar because Midd's International studies and opportunities for study abroad don't even compare to Berkeley's. Midd would also allow me to pursue a minor (or even a double major) in physics which would eat up all my elective credits at Berkeley. Midd also has great connections on Wall street, which is where I want to work, and the Haas school of business is much more focused on the west coast, plus I didn't want to study undergraduate business. I just felt that Middlebury has a tremendous amount of clout and prestige that is comparable to Berkeley for an undergraduate education. The students that graduate from Midd also seem to be more focused and better guided than the people I met from Berkeley. Overall, Midd was just a better school for me and I feel that my interests are much better served at Middlebury despite regents scholar status at Berkeley.
p.s.- Midd's campus is SOOOO much nicer and their facilities are unmatched.</p>
<p>WOW..How can you choose Midd over Regents at Cal??? BTW, Berkeley's campus is way better than Midd's. Berk's architecture is awesome and the campus is so vibrant.</p>
<p>This is a ridiculous conversation. I wonder whether ab-med even applied to Middlebury, or if he's just looking for amusement by goading people.
There are lots of poseurs on CC.</p>
<p>And if you did apply to Middlebury, Ab-Med, I wonder why you did.</p>
<p>I'm not waiting for your answer. Just go to Berkeley.</p>