I have recently been offered admissions into UCL Bartlett and UC Berkley for an undergraduate degree in architecture. For UCL, my offer is an AAB at A Level. i am not a UK or US citizen so prices are pretty much equal for both schools.
I have never considered going to Berkeley as I did not think that I would be offered admission. However, since university applications, I have been confident that I would be going to the US as a result of the flexible nature of switching majors etc. Right now, I am confident in pursuing a degree in architecture but I have not had the chance to explore other subjects as a result of the restrictive nature of A-Levels. This is the reason for me wanting to go to he US.
I have also never considered the West Coast as I have never visited at all. I have also studied in the UK for the past 5 years so London is a place I am very familiar with. University life and experiences is also a very important factor for me. Having spoken to some people who go to Bartlett, they say that social life may be ‘dead’ and a proper university experience may not be offered. A concern I have for Berkeley how big the class sizes are, I am not completely sure if architecture has the same massive class sizes but I am sure that it is inevitable for me to be in a 300-500 person lecture hall and I find that extremely daunting. Researching further into Berkeley has also drew me to the housing crisis, grade deflation, lack of support and competitive/ toxic feel. I am not sure if these are true fact but it is what I have garnered from internet research, reviews (on Niche etc) and Youtube videos.
I am also considering transferring the Cornell University architecture program after first year regardless of where I go and how I will be feeling about my current place of study in the fall. Would it be more beneficial for me or give me more of a boost in applications when transferring if I attended UCL or Berkeley. This is extremely important to me as I would want as much of an advantage as I can if I am (hopefully not) unsatisfied with my decision.
It is also my understanding that UCL Bartlett is the no. 1 institution in the world whereas Berkeley is not as strong in the undergraduate level but 6th for graduate degrees. Will this affect transferring and is this something I should consider highly for future careers? Although not an extremely important factor, I believe that Berkley may hold more ‘prestige’ generally than UCL
This is something I have been extremely stressed about over the past few days since receiving uni decisions. I have always pictured myself in the east coast but those universities didn’t pull through (Tuft and Penn, I did not apply to Cornell). Thank you so much for reading and helping me through this future-defining time!
All my schools:
UK: UCL Bartlett. Edinburgh, Bath, Newcastle
US: Berkeley, Boston University, Northeastern (Honors Program), UC Davis, UCSB, UCLA (waitlist), NYU (waitlist)