<p>I kinda have an almost sure decision, but before i completely confirm i just wanna know what other ppl would do in this situation.</p>
<p>I got rejected from UT (instate) so I applied for CAP at UTD and will get a full ride if i go, but then unexpectedly from the grace of God I got accepted to UC Berkeley with a $15,000 scholarship out of $50,000 total cost.</p>
<p>So would u go to UTD for CAP with full ride or UC Berkeley and take out a $30,000 loan...</p>
<p>btw UCB was my top choice</p>
<p>you are better off taking the full ride, with 30k in loans you wont make it far. Now if you get more scholarships or your parents can pay most of the loans then go to UCB. You will more than likely have to take out loans when you get to UT, but i doubt they will be 30k. the decision is touch but 30k in loans is not good, take the full ride.</p>
<p>Go to Berkeley. It is a world class school. You can always transfer to UT after a year or two if you are not happy, or the financial strain is too much. Berkeley, like Austin, is a liberal place. A Berkeley degree will mean more in the long run. I think it would be just as easy for you to transfer back to UT, than through the cap program. </p>
<p>As a California resident and UT Parent, that is my opinion.</p>
<p>then again go to UCB, that full ride is only a year</p>
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<p>I agree with this. I’d go to Berkeley and transfer back to UT if finances became a problem. UT is great, but Berkeley would be hard to pass up…</p>
<p>Berkely…</p>
<p>Like everyone said, go with berkeley</p>
<p>Did you get into your major? What major are you trying to get into? If you’re already in the major you wanted to be in at UCB then go their instead. UCB is a “better” school, the programs are solid across the board the only problem is tution (not like UT doesn’t have tution woes).</p>
<p>If you did not get into your major consider doing the CAP, maybe you might even like your CAP school instead of UT, I know several students who just stayed at their CAP school instead of transfering over.</p>
<p>yea the problem is that i really don’t even know my true major…</p>
<p>so ive decided itd be stupid to go into a school that costs so much w.o even knowing what i want to do…</p>
<p>I’m now deciding between a full ride to TAMU and hopefully a fullride to UTD with or without cap program…</p>
<p>honestly i don’t want to go to TAMU… i don’t really like their traditions and atmosphere… i like UT’s liberal feel… but i do like that for 4 years i don’t have to worry about money!</p>
<p>but if i do CAP… once i get into UT ill have to start paying and that’s a huge problem…
but im thinking I’ll save money if I live at home with my family in Austin…</p>
<p>does anyone know how much ill save by living at home?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>yea you will save money, but honestly a good part of the college experience is not living with your family. just my 2 cents</p>
<p>This year, I’ve almost had the same choice as you dae0528. I got accepted to UC Berkeley but I was accepted to UT Austin and I had to pick between the two, with Berkeley being my number one choice.</p>
<p>I chose UT Austin and I realize that it’s a somewhat different situation (you got CAP’D) but I think my thought process would be helpful for you. The first reason I decided against Berkeley was because of cost. Whether I got a loan or my parents paid for it (which they were willing to do), it’s an enormous burden on you and your family. For an out of state student, the total cost of a Berkeley education (according to their own website) is $60,000 a year, not even including airfares. Moreover, this estimate is probably conservative since it comes from their website. That’s a quarter of a million dollars right there, compared with the $120,000 it would cost you for UT. That’s $130,000 difference, now tell me, is Berkeley really worth that much money?</p>
<p>My initial answer was yes. Yes it is, it’s a world class education, great experience. I refused to even give UT a fair “trial” and fully research UT. Eventually I came around and started perusing the UT website. The more I looked at it, the more I loved it. On the face of it, UT appears a somewhat jocky, unrefined state school (I’m sorry UT fans but it’s true). Yet, when you actually visit and see the campus, see their resources, see the atmosphere and immerse yourself in all the fantastic academic opportunities they have to offer, you’ll see very differently. Obviously, you’re very intelligent (you got into Berkeley!) and I understand the athletic atmosphere is hard to get past. But please, give UT a good look.</p>
<p>UC Berkeley almost unquestionably has the better professors and the smarter people. However, it’s very unlikely you’ll be able to do research at Berkeley. Although they receive more funding, Berkeley is infamous for crowded research labs and crowded classes. At least at UT they’re in constant need of undergrads for research and you’re guaranteed a research position at UT. Back to the classes, although UT has many, many crowded classes, there are a lot of interesting and easily accessible programs that often have classes under thirty people.</p>
<p>Onto prestige, I disagree with earlier posters who argued that a Berkeley degree will mean more in the long run. Nowadays, a B.A./B.S means almost nothing compared to grad school degrees. If you’re going to a grad school (medicine, law, business, etc), employers are going to care about where you went to grad school, not where you received your undergrad degree. To that end, why waste a quarter of a million dollars on Berkeley, plunge into serious debt and then have to take out another loan of a quarter of million dollars for a great grad school? Save the money for an awesome grad school. Of course, if you’re not going to grad school, then Berkeley is more attractive. Furthermore, where you got your degree is a factor, but not actually that important. There’s an “acceptable range” of prestigious schools. If your school falls into that range, then it doesn’t matter where you got it. For example, a degree from Topeka Community College is not going to be valuable as one from Harvard. But UT Austin, Berkeley, UCLA, Rice, Umichigan all fall into a similar range of prestige. Granted, they’re not as prestigious as Harvard, but they’re still very well liked and should enable you to do whatever you want. I understand that this is a topic of contention and I’m sure many people will disagree, so be sure to get other people’s opinion too.</p>
<p>And lastly, you’re an instate student. Austin is the perfect place to go to college. You’re far enough from your parents and family that you’re away and independent but also close enough that if everything gets too overwhelming or you just feel like coming home, your hometown is just a drive away. When you’re in San Francisco (which is a very expensive city, again adding to the cost of the Berkeley education), you can’t do that. It makes far more sense to go to UT.</p>
<p>I know going to a “lesser UT” is tough. But UT Dallas is also a fine institution, unfortunately underrated for the strength of its programs. There’s nothing wrong with a UT Dallas degree and you might even come to find you don’t want to transfer. Coming from someone in your position, I would highly recommend you go to UT.</p>
<p>Best of luck with your choice, I know it’s a tough one!</p>
<p>UT DAllas sucks as far as Campus life, now as far as academics its pretty good.</p>
<p>its pretty much either UTD for a year or Berkeley for a year. I would go with Berkeley and just transfer if cost is to much of an issue a year from now. ive visited UTD and the school just doesnt have that “it” factor. outside of working, you probably wont have much fun at UTD. and consider what you are trying to major in at UT, because as most of us know you will be competing with transfers for certain majors (business,engineering architecture)</p>
<p>Unbelievably amazing that you got into Berkeley but got capped from your state school. Ah, the beauty of the top 10 rule! I’d go to UCB in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t even consider cap.</p>
<p>thanks everyone </p>
<p>@pierrechn : trying one year at UCB sounds tempting, i know… but that just one year will cost the average oos 50k and for me 30k, so its actually not as tempting anymore…</p>
<p>@tim739 : Thank YOU! i have finally, almost sure at least, decided to do UTD for one year and then cap over to UT Austin… I know UTD not so fun, but i feel like its all about my perspective in it…</p>
<p>I have a question tho…</p>
<p>I recently got a full scholarship to A&M, but noticed only $5,000 was from A&M Regents and the rest were from state and federal govt… so about $14,000 from govt. (because EFC is 0)
consisting of : ACG grant, Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG grant, Texas Grant-initial</p>
<p>so i’m still waiting for UTD FinAid scholarship letter, but from looking just at the money given to me from the govt. and assuming that my family’s income doesn’t soar by next year, should I at least be receiving $14,000 of grants when I go to UT austin after one year of CAP?</p>
<p>(+ i may live at home, saving me even more!)</p>