<p>I'm deciding between UC Berkeley and small LACs like Pomona, Pitzer, and Occidental. I'm a California resident so Berkeley would be a lot cheaper than any of those private schools. However there are a lot of other factors to consider. I know all 4 of those are great schools, with Berkeley and Pomona maintaining the best reputations. However the big difference between Cal and the other 3 is of course the size. I go to a small high school and I think I work pretty well in a small school environment, and my parents think I'd do well at a LAC. However I also loooove Berkeley, the school and the area. I like Socal too, but the Berkeley atmosphere just fits me so well. I'm afraid the school size might be overwhelming and impersonal, but then again the idea of a big university excites me, with all the opportunities available there. The thing is, people say that because Cal's a public research university, it's only good for science/math/engineering/business majors. I probably major in PoliSci, but there's a chance I might change to English or even Environmental Science. How would this change which school is the best fit for me? What are your experiences with a small vs large college? Also, my main question is: IS IT TRUE THAT BERKELEY IS ONLY WORTH IT FOR MATH AND SCIENCE MAJORS AND IS A RIP-OFF FOR LIBERAL ARTS DEGREES?</p>
<p>**If this helps, there's a pretty good chance I'll go to law school after</p>
<p>Berkeley is good for a wide range of degrees. </p>
<p>You are wise to think about cost, as the others are extremely expensive. You are also wise to consider size and figure out if you might get overwhelmed at such a large (and very liberal) school. Spend time on the different campuses to see how the fit feels for you.</p>
<p>If you continue to love Berkeley, then go for it!</p>
<p>How can you decide between these schools? Pomona hasn’t released their RD decisions yet. I don’t think Pitzer has either. More likely then not you’ll be rejected from one of these schools, if not multiple. Wait and see where you get in first and how the financial aid looks.</p>
<p>Berkeley has a very high reputation in political science and English. However, no specific major is required to apply to law school. Because the LSAT includes a logic puzzle section, you may want to take courses which will give you practice with logical thinking (e.g. math with proofs, philosophy logic; math and philosophy majors are among the higher performers on the LSAT).</p>
<p>The usual tradeoff between a big university like Berkeley and a small LAC is the following:</p>
<p>Big university: larger selection of courses, offered frequently, but larger class sizes
Small LAC: smaller class sizes, but smaller selection of courses, often offered less frequently</p>
<p>You can look at the on-line catalogs and schedules for each school to compare offerings, frequency, and class sizes.</p>
<p>Of course, cost and financial aid can be significant to many students.</p>
<p>I think it was economics that was the best major for the LSAT, probably so people don’t forget their math… In any event, Berkeley is pretty well known for humanities as well. Do you seriously think all the ‘flower children’ were STEM majors?</p>
<p>Some of my kids’s friends think the way your parents do about LACs. I personally don’t get it, since I figure the big research universities have that and everything else as well. The one thing Berkeley won’t have is intimacy with your professor in lower division courses, as a rule. If that is very important to you, you should take it into account. I do see the benefit of more undergraduate focused universities as well, but that pushes me more towards UCSB than LACs. But then, I don’t mind anonymity, and you cut the university down to size socially by joining groups, clubs and projects. It depends on where you think you will thrive.</p>
<p>LOL! @ucbalumnus agreed. However, Berkeley was known for its strong humanities departments for a long long time. Lately the general public became focused on stem majors but that doesn’t make the humanities program quality lower; people just don’t discuss it as much.</p>
<p>DD, UCB 2005, was a history major emphasizing US foreign policy. She spent her junior year reading history at Oxford and was accepted into their very exclusive International Relations program for the MPhil after Berkeley. After completing that degree, she went to law school and is now an associate, practicing in London, with the largest US-based law firm in the world. Berkeley opened countless doors for her. Others can do the same, but Berkeley is an amazing place. Go Bears!</p>