<p>Does Berkeley's renowned chemistry program justify the big bucks (out of state)? Or is Plan II and chemistry at UT Austin good enough? Do people get their chosen courses in Berkeley
and has it been significantly impacted by the California economy? Both are big schools (UT bigger). How do the GPA's, research opportunities, academics compare?</p>
<p>I don’t know too much about UT Plan II, but what I’ve read suggests the students will be at a similar caliber to those at Berkeley. </p>
<p>Where there may be differences is in the quality of the research being conducted… UCB is the top (certainly top 3) Chemistry Dept. in the country, and UT is… I’m going to guess top 15. Does this matter at he undergraduate level? I don’t think so. I think what matters most is ACCESS to the professors and their research. You’d rather be actually interacting with an A- professor than never getting access to an A+ professor. </p>
<p>So, if I were in your position, I’d be trying to find out how much access I’d have to Professors and their Labs, as an undergrad at Berkeley and UT, and factor that largely into the decision.</p>
<p>What’s the price differential? If it’s $20k or more per year (I’m guessing), I can’t see spending that to go to Berkeley over UT unless your parents can afford it without blinking an eye.</p>
<p>The cost in Berkeley is significantly high out of state;52K vs 25K(UT). Will be a lot of debt and extra work by parents.</p>
<p>How would you compare biochemistry in Emory with UT Plan II and Berkeley. Is the UT plan II well known outside Texas? What is the average GPA in these programs, if one is thinking about med school ?</p>
<p>52k - 25k = 27k</p>
<p>Which means that UCB would be more than twice as much as UT. This one is a no-brainer. Go to UT. Save your debt for Med school.</p>