<p>Never thought I'd be choosing between two universities with the same lettering (UCB & UBC)</p>
<p>Anyway... I have less than two weeks to decide where to go, and, as you can tell, I've narrowed it down to two schools. To make a long story short, I'm pretty confused on what to do.</p>
<p>Cal's academic reputation is across-the-board better ranked in every category compared to UBC. Where UBC brags about being a top 40 school, Berkeley is in the top 5 (depending on where you look, I looked on Shanghai rankings). The employer reputation between these schools follows similarly. To get a taste of how different these schools are academically, here are a sample of different rankings from different sources:
UC Berkeley I UBC
ARWU 4 40
QS 25 49
Times 8 31</p>
<p>But of course overall academic rankings shouldn't be the only issue, so I looked at my own preferred major, Neuroscience. Sadly, UBC does not offer a major in this field, and UCB does. While I'm not completely set on this major, knowing that I will go in with a solid degree definitely helps.</p>
<p>On the other side, it seems like UBC is the best fit for me in student life. The city of Vancouver is amazing, the people are great, the amount of pride and social life seems exceptional... It almost felt perfect when visiting Vancouver and the campus. Partying seems to be pretty good. UCB on the other hand seems like most people stay in their dorms all day, studying their asses off just to pass. Some guy on college confidential wrote a review about how Berkeley basically turned him mentally unstable, so that definitely made me feel uneasy. I've heard of "Berkeley goggles/vision", where male students actually lower their standards because of a lack of attractive women? I assume this is not entirely true, but that's what I have heard. Also, when I visited Berkeley, I didn't really like the surrounding cities, both in Berkeley and San Francisco. While the difference in location is not a dealbreaker, it definitely changes certain things.</p>
<p>But then I think about what that name "Berkeley" could do for me on a resume or job application, and what opportunities being an alumnus of Cal could do for me in the future. I want to make sure that I land the best job I can straight out of school.</p>
<p>I almost forgot, tuition. I live out of state, so Berkeley is RIDICULOUSLY expensive, costing about 60,000 per year. I'm almost completely sure I will attend a graduate or medical program in the future, so I could very well be sinking in student debt, paying off these loans until I'm 40. Not to mention the rumors that the UC school system will probably up their tuition, or so I've heard. UBC, on the other hand, is less than half the price of Berkeley, and with a $30,000 scholarship, I know I will be sound with the financial part of my higher education.</p>
<p>I can sum this up best with "Heart says UBC, Brain says Berkeley" (despite financial costs of course).</p>
<p>I got some questions. Which should I pick? If there's any Cal alumni reading this, is it really that cut-throat and hard to get good grades, and do you feel the degree helped you with employment? UBC alumni, do you feel your degree helped you? I'd love to hear from anyone who has an opinion. All I've been hearing first-hand is "Go to Berkeley", especially from those living in Canada, but I still don't know. Thank you again for reading this, I know it's a lot, but your feedback is greatly appreciated! Thank you!</p>