Hey guys! So it’s that time of the year when decisions must be made and painful checks, written. I got into the 4 schools mentioned above. What do y’all suggest?
And some things to consider:
- I'm from Austin
- I'm an English Major
- I have an interest in art, writing, design, journalism, literature, languages, foreign study, Chinese, Japanese and yeah
UCLA
pros:
- good for English major
- amazing surroundings: climate, food scene etc. (though I’ll probably be too poor to really go out often
)
- location makes it a lot easier to find internships/ jobs involving advertisement, writing, design etc = OPPORTUNITIES
- great education
- It’s an all new experience
- big university = lots of new people/ resources
cons:
- COST: 54k a year roughly; I did get a 6k achievement scholarship for 4 years, which is why the annual tuition isn’t 60k
- It’s far away/ I’m not sure how much I like cali/ LA culture
- large size
UC Berkeley
pros:
- REALLY good for English major
- great education; excellent name for resume (as much as people say choose the college of best fit, the benefit of the name is there…)
- pretty nice climate/ surrounding area
- I think the overall atmosphere might fit me better? I’m a little more introverted (not super into sports/ school spirit/ loud parties); I know Berkeley students aren’t all nerdy/ lame or anything close to that; but it seems that the atmosphere is a little more intellectual, which I really appreciate
- big university = lots of new people/ resources
cons:
- COST: 60 k a year. No scholarship, no aid, ouuchhh
- I heard the competition is pretty intense/ there’s grade deflation ??? D: (I don’t mind being surrounded by really driven and talented people, but there should be a difference between unnecessary/ petty competition and having a vision/ direction right?)
- large size
Emory (and Oxford College! if anyone would like to have inputs on that difference!)
pros:
- good for English major/ CREATIVE WRITING
- smaller class sizes: I thrive in intimate communities
- good resources
cons:
- COST: not sure yet, but it’s probably not going to be that much lower than my other out of state options
- I find the surrounding area to be quite drab
- It’s prestige isn’t as good as the UC schools, but in this case, I value Emory’s education more than its prestige really (though in terms of employment, that’s always a factor to consider)
Oxford college
pros: SMALL classes: more one on one attention/ tighter community
cons: I’m not sure if the quality of education is as high as Emory; also I do know that the student body is admitted on generally lower standards, though I’m sure that everyone in Oxford college is amazing and talented
UT Austin:
pros:
- near home; family is a really valuable thing to have ;~;
- UT is a pretty good school
- I have friends to back me up in case I crash in college (and if my current planned roommate and I room together, it’s going to be AMAZING, because we share a lot of the same interests, and I haven’t had many friends I can say that about)
- English at UT is pretty good
- college town/ surrounding area is really awesome; excellent food scene; opportunities available; lots of things to do etc
- COST: in state tuition, bless!! 20-30 K (closer to 20, I think)
- As it’s course load is not as vigorous as the other mentioned colleges, I’ll have more time to develop my hobbies (art, novel writing etc, which is important to me for my long term goal)
cons:
- educational quality can NOT be compared to that of UCLA/ Berkeley/ Emory
(gg UT honors )
- It’s in state, in my comfort zone, where I won’t be able to explore and establish my independence; my growth as a responsible and well-rounded individual would be a lot greater somewhere new, as I’ve lived in Austin all my life; I WANT to go out and see the world, and learn about people and things I’ve never seen before
- my close friends are all in the honors program, which is great, but that just makes me understand all the more of what I’m missing out on, having been rejected from the honors program
- It’s course load probably isn’t as challenging as the others however, because of my nature, I don’t think I’ll be spending any less time on school work; it’ll just be less fulfilling
Thanks for reading, all you wonderful, helpful people!! 
- Have you run the Net Price Calculator for Emory? Depending on your parents' assets and whether you have any siblings in school, Emory might offer a strong fin aid package.
- I think that Emory is just as strong as Cal and UCLA for undergrad -- undergrad-centered rankings certainly put it in their league. I don't think prestige is a problem for Emory; it's a high-quality private university and undergraduate rankings reflect that.
- Don't sell UT academics short. I bet even if you applied yourself to the best of your ability, they have more academic resources than you could ever hope to exhaust. They don't quite carry the cache of the other three, but it's not a directional school. I think it's among the better flagships. And it has one gigantic alumni network, one of the benefits of being such a populous school.
I think you should look at classes and programs – see which school’s offerings interest you most; definitely do allow finances to be a factor in your decision – a difference of as little as $5k can add to your post-school burden, depending on the type of employment you secure; and if you can, visit them: walk around campus, talk to students, maybe ask if you can sit in on a class or two. Try to “live the life” for a couple of days and, in so doing, figure out which one feels most like home to you.
All four are good schools – don’t worry too much about prestige.
Emory and Berkeley have the best academics.
@prezbucky @GnimInTx thanks for the thoughts I know that UT is still a good school…I’m just a little salty/ sad about the honors program thing… and I might be a little too enamored with the idea of going out of state haha…
Well, you have to do what you have to do. The other three are potentially fine fits for you and if you’re going to brave a different region, you might as well do it at a quality school.
How will you pay for the public UCs?
You can only get $5500 per freshman year in loans.
FYI: The weather in Berkeley is Northern California weather, with more rainy and cold weather. It is not in Southern California.
@prezbucky yeah I’ll probably have to test out each school
@“aunt bea” My family is, I guess, ‘capable’ of paying for the UCs? Like our income is above the 150K range, under 200K but of course I don’t want to put that kind of crazy pressure on them, which is why I’m still debating abut those two… I’m trying to think of a way to get in-state tuition…and I’m applying to a ton of scholarships, so I guess we’ll have to see
I also really like rainy and cold weather - at least as much as fine and sunny weather
But yeah, if anyone has any suggestions on that in-state tuition (like should I take a gap year and get a job? marry? lol 
)…
You won’t get instate tuition coming from an OOS school if your parents don’t move with you. It is very tough to gain instate residency. Big red flag is your OOS transcript. OOS students are admitted for their money. If you come for educational purposes, you’ll be paying for all 4 years at OOS rates.
If you take a gap year, and try to work in California, you cannot be claimed by your parents on income taxes, and you cannot accept any financial help from anyone. Rentals have to be paid at market rates, so you can’t get a discounted rate for your expensive rent. Getting married makes you even more broke. You won’t get any financial advantage for that!
Also, the UC’s won’t hold your place.
http://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/ed-affairs/uc-residence-policy.pdf
California happens to be a very expensive state in which to live.
There seems to be nothing obviously wrong with UT Austin for your subjects of interest, but it is much less expensive for you as a Texas resident than all of the other schools you list. So why not go to UT Austin?
@auntbea @ucbalumnus yeah I’m pretty well aware; and I’m definitely not ruling UT Austin out; it’s just that I’ve lived in Austin all my life and I’ve already missed out on the best part of the UT Austin education… so now I want to see what’s most worth my time and money…
*breaks into disney song: all those days, watching from my laptop, all those years outside looking in ~~ all that time that I’ve been studying, has finally got me innnnn~~~~ (except for UT Honors~~~ :(( )
Update: 15k from Emory + 5.5k in loans; also I think I should be getting 2k from natl merit scholarship
Definitely Cal if money isn’t an issue. You’re probably going to need to go to grad school so I guess you should try to save your money. In that case, I’d recommend UT Austin, as it is near home and relatively cheap. UCLA is great too if you have the money, but you might not want to take the risk if you don’t like the SoCal culture. I suggest visiting the campuses.
How is bio engg in berkeley
@ums1971 Try starting a different thread.
@nduclaunc I went for Emory! Berkeley was just too expensive 
kinda sad because I really really loved Berkeley when I visited…but I don’t necessarily regret my decision. I love all my classes/ professors (and that’s pretty rare for a lot of students) and I think I’m pretty happy here.