The savings may be more than $20K-- that is just the debt the OP would take out. Their parents will save more. I do think UChicago has more academic rigor, but not worth the extra $,and the culture differences are real.
My 2 cents:
- Want the best academic and intellectual experience surrounded by incredibly smart students who love learning and tough challenges? Go to Chicago.
- Otherwise, go to Cal.
- I don't see any particular reason to choose Cornell in any case, unless you really like it there and feel you will "fit" - it doesn't offer any significant benefit over Cal (at higher cost) or Chicago (at equal cost)
Thanks everyone for your helpful responses! @MaroonDaddy I definitely get what you’re saying about not fitting into UChicago’s life of the mind culture. But it’s just feels strange to me to choose against a school based on something that seems kind of “fluffy”–not really backed up in fact but more of just a general feeling I’ve read about. Can you explain more about this, and where the feeling of the life of the mind/ intense intellectualism comes from? Also, thank you @prezbucky for your advice! I think I’m a person that enjoys rigor, but maybe not to the intense amount that UChicago students like. I enjoy discussing academic concepts, but also equally like discussing other aspects of my life. I’ve read a lot about UChicago students really being constantly immersed in academics, whether it be in social situations or in class. I think that’s what scares me the most about UChicago, since I’m definitely not like that. @Coldsummer123 Thank you for your kind words! That’s definitely true about the difficulty of changing majors at Cal, so I will factor that into my decision. @insanedreamer I definitely agree about Cornell. I think the only thing that sticks out to me is that it’s an ivy league, which I don’t think is very important to me. Otherwise, I just don’t think it’s the ideal college experience for me, and both UChicago and Cal are stronger in my majors. I just need to figure out what matters more to me–strength of academics or a well-rounded school overall.
Also, would like to ask…It really seems to me that UChicago is miles stronger than Berkeley when it comes to undergraduate education (even though Berkeley is known around the world, its reputation largely comes from its graduate school). UChicago ranks so far above in any ranking I’ve looked at, and seems to hold the same weight as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Columbia, and Stanford. Is that true, or do I have the wrong view of it? Thank you everyone!
Still up?
Doesn’t matter; most rankings put Chicago and Cal ahead of Cornell anyway (though any ranking differences between the 3 schools are pretty inconsequential)
Chicago, MIT, Caltech and Stanford, while not “Ivy” are considered on par with the Ivies (and better in some respects).
This is true. In your shoes, I’d do my undergrad at Chicago and grad at Cal.
I sent you a direct message.
I personally don’t see any advantage of a UChicago degree over a Berkeley degree, even for economics, and more so for CS.
Someone posted a link of the website that has an estimated counting of undergrads with the most representation to top grad business schools such as HBS, Stanford GSB and Wharton. There is showed how Berkeley is very well represented at those top B-Schools while Chicago is almost nonexistent. Surprisingly, even at their own backyard, at Booth, Berkeley grads outnumber Chicago grads. http://poetsandquants.com/2011/10/06/top-feeder-colleges-to-chicago-booth/2/
So, if this matters to you, you better avoid going to Chicago. Cornell has decent representation. But, as the data have shown, not as good as Berkeley.
A couple of additional Uchicago things. The surrounding neighborhood is good for going out. It is urban. On the weekend many people get together with friends and go into Chicago. Chicago is a great city to have at your doorstep. Share an uber or take a bus or train downtown 15 min. Plus there are tons of ethnic neighborhoods to visit for great food and exploring. Korean, Greek, Chinatown is 5 min away. Chicago is a great city to explore. And a great city to get very nice internships.
As far as I know, there’s no such thing as HYPSMC, where C is for Chicago. If there’s such a thing, then I guess it’s more acceptable for most students to refer that “C” to Caltech as the majority of Caltech admits are also HYPSM admits. In contrast, I guess the vast majority of Chicago admits aren’t HYPSM admits. And, I also guess no one would rather be at Chicago over, say, Harvard, given the same cost.
It is also very dubious to claim Chicago as being miles stronger than Berkeley for undergrad education. There maybe some undergrad programs where Chicago can head-to-head with Berkeley (I can name economics being the obvious of these programs), but we can also say the reverse to be being true, on the contrary. Chicago can’t touch Berkeley in computer science. And, Chicago’s non offering of engineering programs makes its name in the engineering/tech circle almost nonexistent. Whereas Berkeley is a solid top 3 in engineering both for postgrad and undergrad education.
If you have no clear preference by now, it makes sense to choose based on price. Go to Berkeley.
@hello1212hello I personal messaged you.
not that it makes any difference here but Chicago does have engineering at the graduate level and started offering it at the undergrad level this year (molecular engineering)
Considering Cal has 5x as many undergraduates as Chicago, in this chart Chicago outnumbers Cal by 4 to 1.
Just received aid that will make paying for UChicago equal to paying for Berkeley. Anyone have any comments on where I should go now?
I don’t think engineering is relevant for the OP, who has stated interests in CS, biology, and business.
Really, the biggest factors between UCB and Chicago seem to be:
UCB Chicago
Cost +lower -higher
Debt +none -federal loans
CS good good
+better location
-need 3.3 pGPA to enter
Biology good good
Business good -none
(undergrad) -competitive admission
Economics good good
high or med math high math
-need 3.0 pGPA to enter
(Note: assuming OP is admitted to UCB L&S.)
“Just received aid that will make paying for UChicago equal to paying for Berkeley. Anyone have any comments on where I should go now?”
I would grab that money and go to UChicago and never look back.
Looks like you’re going to uchicago. Congratulations.
Thank you guys! I know that the aid is definitely wonderful and I feel very grateful to have received it, but I’m just so nervous that by going to UChicago, I’m going to sacrifice the social experience that I always wanted in college. I think it comes down to whether I believe everything I’ve heard about UChicago, or whether I choose to go there and find my niche and the friends that will allow me to have the social experience I wanted. Any thoughts?
If you are organized with your studies, you’ll have time to socialize anywhere, even at UChicago.
Answering the UChicago hater a few posts back: average SAT scores are on par with Stanford’s, if not higher. And in terms of the greatness of the overall undergraduate education offered, UChicago is on par with HYPSM (and Columbia… I think Columbia is outstanding and underrated). The only area where UChicago trails HYPSM is in rep, and that gap is slowly closing.
If UChicago students aren’t in the top MBA programs en masse, it’s very likely by choice. Especially if they were Econ majors – it’s probably the top Econ program in the country.
Now that cost has come down, the only thing holding you back from UChicago is the rigor/social questions.
I think you’d be fine, but I’d like to hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak – from a UChicago student. Does anyone know of any UChicago students to tag?