My whole life I have thought I was going to go to SLO for Engineering. I really like the school environment, the “Learn by Doing” philosophy, and Computer Engineering seems like my kind of major. Then out of no where I was accepted to UCB for EECS. I thought I had no chance, but here I am. To help me make my decision I have a few questions.
- How superior is UCB to SLO in terms of prestige? Will the prestige help me down the road or only right out of College
- Is the EECS environment at UCB over the top cut-throat? I am all for a competitive environment, but how bad is it really?
- Will there be any "normal" kids in EECS at UCB? I've heard from a friend currently attending in a different major that EECS majors are known as the "nerdy virgins." I have nothing against really nerdy kids: as it is also a part of me, but are there any non-socially awkward kids in EECS?
- How different is the curriculum between EECS and Computer Engineering? Even though SLO is the school with the "Learn by Doing" motto, will I still get a lot of hands on experience going to UCB?
- What will my options be after graduation? If I go to the UCB will I only get good offers from Bay-Area schools? I am from San Diego and would like to stay here (to be honest not a huge Bay-Area fan)
- Would it be stupid to choose a school like SLO over UCB?
Also what is your opinion on it? What would you do if you were in my situation?
Thanks!
1, 5: Both UCB and CPSLO have career surveys by major:
https://career.berkeley.edu/Survey/2016Majors
https://careers.calpoly.edu/search.php
2: EECS is not a popular major among pre-meds, so it should not be cutthroat (though there may be grade-grubbing in CS 61A, 61B, 70 by L&S students trying to meet the 3.3 GPA for L&S CS). However, it is one of the most selective majors, so the density of top-end students may make it seem competitive.
3: Yes. Your friend may remember the odder ones because they are more memorable.
4: See the curricula:
https://eecs.berkeley.edu/resources/undergrads/eecs/degree-reqs
https://cpe.calpoly.edu/students/
Many UCB EE and CS courses do include labs and/or design projects (this includes EE 16A, 16B, CS 61A, 61B, 61C). Labs and/or design projects are not unique to any school’s engineering curricula, since some amount of engineering design is required for ABET accreditation. The UCB EECS major does allow the student to choose his/her upper division course work from a range of EE and CS, while CPSLO has the range in separate majors EE, CPE, CS.
You did not mention costs, so you may want to check how costs compare between the two schools.
I am exactly in the same boat as you. Except I’m an international student which means I have to pay double the cost at SLO if i choose to go to Berkeley. Is it worth the price to go to Berkeley?
I’d say Cal.
Here’s why: I think the odds are against you making it too far in the engineering program. Last summer according to your post you were going to be a mechanical engineer, now its EE or computers. I’ll be the first to say that I don’t think its a good idea or fair that students need to pick an engineering flavor so early, or decide on engineering from the get-go. But the flip side is that I’ll bet you don’t really know much about what EE or Computer Engineers do, and without the commitment to make it thru come hell or high water then a lot of people (50% or more nationally) end up dropping out of engineering.
So then the question becomes: if/when you decide engineering isn’t right for you after all, which school do you want to be at? SLO offers a lot but Cal is hard to turn down for the general student.
EECS!!
My nephew was accepted into EECS and will be going this fall!
He’s a normal kid…friendly…not a gunner type…