<p>Hello everyone,
I have to decide between Berkeley and University of Chicago for undergrad. I come from a liberal arts high school and am very interested in the humanities, but my real passion is math and science.
A little about me:
I'm the life of the party. I'm the most popular guy at school, and get along with everyone. Throw in the fact that I am quite nerdy, I am passionate about everything. I don't have the strongest work ethic, and I like hanging out with friends more than anything.
I'm looking for a good area, good education, active social life, good weather.
If you have any input, I would greatly appreciate it.</p>
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<p>man this is a tough one.</p>
<p>i’m a ucla student but the last 2 summers ive taken 3 or 4 classes at berkeley, and on the other side i have a few friends who attend chicago. </p>
<p>the real issue here sort of lies in where you want to work: you said you’re interested in math and science right? so if that means you want to work in finance, then don’t even think twice. chicago is your best bet by a mile. however, if you’re more into the silicon valley science/tech scene, then i would definitely tell you to pick berkeley. proximity goes a long way in deciding where you’re going to be working so tell us what you want to do so we can align your decision more accurately (although of course you’re young so i’m not expecting you to know with 1000% certainty). </p>
<p>with that said, my “general” answer is this: if money isn’t an issue, then go to chicago. you mention that you enjoy being the life of the party and having everyone know you, so chicago with its 5k undergrads makes a lot more sense than berkeley with its 15-20k undergrads. i was pretty similar to you in high school in the sense that i really liked the idea of having everyone know me, i knew everyone on friendly terms, etc. After i came to UCLA though that entire mindset went out the window: when you’re going to school with 20 thousand undergrads you won’t be the life of the party, simple as that. you’ll be in classes sometimes with maybe 200-250 kids and only 20 will know who you are. i’m not saying this is a bad or a good thing, but if you’re used to walking around EVERYWHERE and having people say “oh whats up man? how you been?” then a huge undergrad isnt the best bet.</p>
<p>and i know i’m rambling here but also in terms of education alone, the problem with schools like berkeley/LA is that their teachers (ESPECIALLY IN SCIENCE/MATH) are so heavily invested in their own research that their teaching is compromised, which ends up makign classes quite literally 20 times harder than they have to be. so if you’re looking for the better education, again i’d tell you to go to chicago.</p>
<p>basically my point comes down to this:</p>
<p>if you know with 1000% certainty you want to work in silicon valley, go to berkeley.
if money isnt an issue, and you’re 999% sure you want to work in silicon valley, go to chicago. with its rank / prestige, all your opportunities get expanded</p>
<p>lol how? ■■■■ out of here we both know its true. chicago IS the better school unless you want to work in silicon valley…did i say something wrong?</p>
<p>I’m not sure what I would pursue in life. I think either medicine or researcher. Economics is also a possibility. It seems like everything I would be interested in is better at Chicago if Berkeley truly is only better for silicon valley. I’m worried about the weather in Chicago for the most part though, coming from Arizona all my life. Also, I’m wondering about the social life in Chicago. I’m not going to want to party everyday, but I definitely would like to know that there are parties I could go to. </p>
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<p>You mistyped and meant to say if you’re sure you don’t want to work in Silicon Valley go to Chicago.</p>
<p>No, that’s not what he/she meant. Reread it. It means that if the OP is a little less sure about working in silicon valley, but still pretty sure, OP should probably still go to Chicago.</p>
<p>The state of California is broke. There are cutbacks in everything. The UCs will have ongoing cuts in offerings and growing class sizes for the foreseeable future. Required courses will likely become harder to get. Now, I went to Cal. I loved it and highly recommend it. But the cutbacks have to be taking a serious toll. The weather is WAY WAY better in Berkeley, but Chicago is a big city with a small town heart. People are very warm and friendly. I love Chicago. </p>
<p>I can’t say anything comparing the academics that you can’t find online.<br>
I’m just offering my thoughts about intangibles you may not have considered but that will make a difference in your actual day-to-day experience. </p>
<p>Also, Cal is 80% Asian. Not that race matters (I am Asian), but I like to think of college years as a time to experience a broad spectrum of experiences and cultures, so diversity is very important to me. Not sure what your priorities are, but that would be one of mine. Cal is world renown though, there is no mistaking that. </p>
<p>I wish you all the luck in the world. You sound like a very cool person! Whatever you decide will I am sure be the right choice for you.</p>
<p>fyi, Cal has over 30K undergrads! It’s great if you like getting lost in a crowd. I’m that way but a lot of people like a cozier college experience.</p>
<p>You should go with UChicago!</p>
<p>Berkeley is nowhere near 80% Asian, nor does it have 30,000 undergraduates (actually about 25,000, of whom about 40% are Asian). Relative to white students, Asian students tend to be more heavily represented as freshmen in engineering and (intending) biology, but less heavily represented in (intending) math, (intending) social sciences, and (intending) physical sciences. (“intending” because freshmen in the Berkeley College of Letters and Science division enter undeclared, regardless of major marked on the application)</p>
<p>Both schools have top reputations for math and economics (for economics graduate school, you want to take a lot of math courses as well as economics).</p>
<p>If you decide to do pre-med (which can be done alongside any major), consider cost, since you want to save money and/or avoid debt because medical school is expensive.</p>
<p>hippups mentioned some really good points about the cutbacks to the UC system (and california education as a whole).</p>
<p>as far as weather…dont even worry about it. you’ll get used to it like everyone else who goes from the west coast to the east coast. </p>
<p>it really sounds like chicago is the better fit for you</p>
<p>Do you think Chicago is TOO nerdy? Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely a nerd but still want to have fun outside of academics and extracurricular interests. I hear Uchicago students “make their own fun” but I’m afraid their fun is nerdier than my fun. </p>
<p>I’m aware it’s college and so there will always be people who share your interests, but is it common?</p>
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