<p>Hello! I was recently accepted as a freshman to Northwestern University (Weinberg) , UCLA, and UC Berkeley. The cost worked out to be about same for all three. My intended major is economics and long-term I plan on getting an MBA. I live in southern California and UCLA/Berkeley have always been my dream schools, but the more I research NU the more impressed I am with it (class size, faculty, special programs etc). However, Im a little nervous about the weather there (freezing winters) and living so far from home. Also LA and Berk seem to be more nationally and internationally recognized than NU (am I wrong?). I love UCLAs campus, thought Berkeleys was so-so, and plan to visit NU later this month. Any advice/opinions on where I should go? Thanks!</p>
<p>If you are a California resident and were accepted to Berkeley and Los Angeles, there is absolutely no reason AT ALL to go out of state and pay OOS tuition or attend another expensive private university. Berkeley and Los Angeles are elite world class institutions. </p>
<p>“I love UCLA’s campus, thought Berkeley’s was so-so”</p>
<p>Go with Los Angeles then. </p>
<p>Some notes: Berkeley has a very selective Business school to which you apply in your sophomore year.</p>
<p>We live in the Northeast, and my D thought Northwestern would be too cold. I’m afraid you would be miserable.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses!
@XtremePower - I was actually given a large scholarship from NU, making its total cost about the same as what I would pay at either of the UC’s. </p>
<p>Any other advice?</p>
<p>Go to Wildcat days at Northwestern before making your final decision. I would choose between Cal and Northwestern and base your decision on your visits and the vibe of each place. The intellectual environment is not much different unlike the community and campus environment.</p>
<p>5 years ago I’d tell you to go with fit.</p>
<p>Today, given equivalent cost, interest in econ, AND the reality of state budget cuts and all that that entails from use of TAs and part timers, expanding class size, graduation delays, lab funding cuts…</p>
<p>I’d wouldn’t hesitate to go to Northwestern. </p>
<p>Weather is a non-issue. Chicago has so much to offer that a cold winter day is just one great excuse to head indoors to any club, bar, movie, theater or museum an El ride away. Talk to the Texans, Floridians and the Californians that have headed off to colleges in the Midwest or Northeast. The pretty universal response is this should not even factor into a decision. Most relish being able to experience the climate change (in preparation for climate change).</p>
<p>I’d pick Northwestern if you like the campus as much as UCLA’s, and can deal with the cold weather. If either of those end up being false, i’d pick UCLA.</p>
<p>Berkeley. The other schools are sorta plain vanilla in comparison. </p>
<p>You could also shoot for Haas and forego the MBA.</p>
<p>Berkeley is also a good distance from Socal… you’re going away but just a short 50 minute plane ride home. Southwest airline flights to Oakland are cheap and numerous. You can get around the entire Bay Area without a car via BART.</p>
<p>Do you like math? Berkeley offers intermediate micro and macro economics and econometrics courses that are more math-heavy (Economics 101A, 101B, 141) in addition to less math-heavy versions (Economics 100A, 100B, 140).</p>
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<p>He should be referring to the city not the U itself versus the other two U’s cities. In other words, the area, the city which encompasses the U is a bit more edgy and probably seedy. You can encounter bums, and bohemian personalities, if that’s what you like. Actually, he might be referring to the U itself. ;)</p>
<p>All three are respected nationally. Go where you will be happy, trust your gut…so congrats on choosing UCLA! haha no really, the school sells itself.</p>
<p>Assuming you can withstand the weather in Chicago, with costs being the same I’d go with Northwestern. It has highly regarded Econ studies, classes will be smaller on average, and the student body as a whole will be stronger. You could also pursue a kellogg certificate at NU which has tremendous value.</p>
<p>Weather is a non-issue. It’s pretty much the same thing as what NY and New England get, and no one worries about whether they can handle the winters in Boston. Indeed, in the last few years the Northeast has had much harsher winters than Chicago. It was Philly where I was snowed in for a week a few years ago, not Chicago; and it was Boston that got the huge snowstorm earlier this year. I don’t know why so many people in the northeast picture Chicago as a frozen tundra when it’s pretty much the same thing. At one point, your activities will go indoors anyway, whether it’s 20 degrees or 15 degrees.</p>
<p>If costs are the same, go with Northwestern</p>
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Says the 25+year cold hardy Chicago resident…</p>
<p>As I said, no one seems to worry about the weather in Boston when contemplating schools there. Same difference. It’s the same as the Northeast for the most part.</p>
<p>The OP isn’t from the Northeast. And yes, it has been voiced as a concern before from kids from warmer climates considering northern schools.</p>
<p>Heck, a lot of SoCal kids get turned off by even Berkeley’s cooler/wetter climate.</p>
<p>Weather’s certainly considered, it’s just a trade off, like the neighborhoods of JHU and Chicago for the students that matriculate to those schools. But seriously, in So.Cal, we regard hi 40s not as cold, but freezing! OP should certainly take consideration of the weather when considering NU, but the opportunities and city of Chicago might be worth dealing with it.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the advice everyone! I visited NU and loved it, so that’s the school I chose. :D</p>