<p>Me and aother friend were discussing these two colleges earlier. I say that Mich was better, he said Berkley was better (he's from California, hence much bias). </p>
<p>We were talking about their business programs and it turns out they are actually tied on USNEWS. I thought it would be an interesting conversation here, considering they are amongst the elite public universties (or any colleges for that matter).</p>
<p>I still think Berk wins...</p>
<p>Well, you really have to be more specific than "which college is better?" Although they are similar, still one college exceeds in one area while another college exceeds in another. For example, if you are from Out-Of-State then it is much easier to get into Berkeley than Michigan. I believe Berkeley has more transfers as well. If you're talking about name-recognition Berkeley beats Michigan. Honestly though, I think there are few (if any) areas in which one college clearly dominates over the other. For example, Berkeley has a top-notch engineering program but Michigan's is also very very good. And, both have really good Business schools. So, it's pretty hard to compare. Overall, I would say Berkeley is a little better, though again, it really depends on what you are looking for.</p>
<p>Michigan has a better arts community, and way better sports/school spirit. Both are great towns.</p>
<p>It depends on what you are looking for.</p>
<p>UCLA is better than UCB. Personal opinion and hopefully soon to be fact.</p>
<p>I would choose UCB over Michigan, unless I was a Michigan resident. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I'd say Berkeley's better.</p>
<p>Hey, they have the same colors, right?
Coin-flip!</p>
<p>But seriously:
I think they're close enough academically that you should choose based on some combination of fit and finances. I'd say Berkeley has a bit of an edge academically (grad more so than undergrad), but not quite enough to justify paying a lot more if you like them about the same.</p>
<p>They're close, but Berk does get the edge</p>
<p>Academically, I give Berkeley the edge at the graduate level, and obviously there is going to be a bit of a trickle effect to undergrad, but I hardly think there's a difference at all undergrad. I attend Michigan as an out-of-state student, and though I've never been to Berkeley, I find it hard to believe it could compete in the more atmospheric qualities such as school spirit, funness of the town, quality of social life, love of sports, etc. Hence why I chose Michigan.</p>
<p>If you're talking overall academics, Berkeley is better. And "funness" is not a word.</p>
<p>Berkeley slightly in undergrad, a lot more in grad.</p>
<p>It depends on many things. </p>
<p>Generally speaking, Ross is considered slightly better than Haas, especially in the Midwest and the East Coast. Both schools are very good (top 5 nationally) in the Engineering, Social Sciences and Humanities, with Cal having the slight edge. But in the pure sciences, Cal is better than Michigan. Academically, I think Cal has a slight edge over Michigan, but both are extremely highly regarded.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Michigan is more versatile and balanced. Michigan has a top 10 Medical School/Hospital. Cal doesn't. Michigan has top Architecture, Dentistry, Music, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and Social Work programs. Cal doesn't. Michigan's alumni are generally wealthier and more loyal to their school, giving it an edge over Cal where networking is concerned. Michigan sports, football and hockey in particular, have more tradition and are generally considered better. Michigan also has a much larger endowment ($5 billion vs Cal's $2.5 billion), which means Michigan is better placed to adjust as needed. </p>
<p>Those two schools really have much in common. However, as far as campuses go, they are completely different (aesthetically, culturally, socially etc...). You really have to visit both schools to get a feel. Chosing one over the other because of perceived quality is pointless since both are very highly regarded.</p>
<p>Haas is not very good at placement on the east coast but it works out as most top corporations are not on the west coast. However I think Berkeley is better for the sciences because CA has Silicon Valley and Cal is very much respected in the west.</p>
<p>Overall I think Cal is a bit more reputable but that may be because of the grad level prestige trickling down. Personally, I'd go to Ross for business and Cal for everything else.</p>
<p>Both are totally wonderful amazing schools! There are indubitably differences and strengths and weaknesses but both are fabulous!</p>
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Michigan's alumni are generally wealthier and more loyal to their school, giving it an edge over Cal where networking is concerned.
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</p>
<p>Michigan has MANY MORE alumni than Cal, so of course Michigan's networking will be better, although I'm still not sure about that. With Berkeley so close to Silicon Valley, I find that claim dubious.</p>
<p>Cal's alumni body is almost as large as Michigan's, so size isn't the issue. The issue is loyalty and attachment. Michigan alums tend to be irrationally loyal to their school and very attached. </p>
<p>And I am sure Cal alumns have far more influence in the Bay area. But what about the rest of the country/world? There are over 60,000 Michigan alums living in NYC, many of which have some serious influence. There are almost as many Michigan alums in Chicago. That's not surprising considering 35% of Michigan undergrads at from out of state compared to just 10% at Cal.</p>
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<p>You certainly couldn't have made that any more obvious. ;)</p>
<p>Michigan's living alumni population is 425,000 by the way, one of the largest in the country.</p>
<p>Good one Central Perky! LOL </p>
<p>Strykur, Michigan's iving alum base hovers between 400,000 and 450,000. I am not sure how large Cal's is. However, ever since I can remember, Michigan has been 20% or so larger than Cal and both schools graduate 85%-90% of their students, so I would asume that Michigan's alum base is rougly 20% larger than Cal's. That is indeed larger, but not by as much as you seemed to have indicated below.</p>