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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.
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<p>If Michigan's 425,000 is 20% larger than Cal's, then Cal's living alumni is an estimated ~355,000. That's 70,000 (SEVENTY-THOUSAND) more living alumni! That is numerically vast.</p>
<p>Strykur, 20% is 20%. A 70 pound difference is huge if a person ways 150 pounds. But let us face it, is there that much of a difference between a 425 pounder and a 350 pounder? Both are huge. Alumni groups of 350,000 and 425,000 are both huge.</p>
<p>My vote goes to Michigan, personally. I can't really speak to academics but in terms of environment, campus life, surrounding town, school spirit, sports, etc, I'd say Michigan wins hands down.</p>
<p>For humanities like English, History, Philosophy, Political Science, and the like, I'd say UVa has them both beat, though. :)</p>
<p>Cal is more selective than Michigan for out of staters. Both are equally expensive (Michigan has a higher tuition, but Cal has a higher cost of living. And Alice, UVa isn't better than Michigan or Cal in History, Philosophy and Political Science.</p>
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easier to get into Cal from out-of-state than Michigan out-of-state
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I found that hard to believe ... considering UCB accepts less than 10% OOS compared to 35% for Michigan. UCB does have more transfer though, about twice as much as Michigan.</p>
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For humanities like English, History, Philosophy, Political Science, and the like, I'd say UVa has them both beat, though.
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<p>Unbelievably tendentious and misleading.</p>
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Both are equally expensive (Michigan has a higher tuition, but Cal has a higher cost of living.
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<p>Not necessarily. Cal Rental housing is on average cheaper than living on-campus (on-campus averages about $12,000 per academic year, while Rentals are usually $6000+). Add-in very inexpensive public transit with BART, and it's not too bad.</p>
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The quality of rentals in Berkeley/Oakland could be scary.
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<p>You've never been to Berkeley, have you? Sure, some of the rentals are atrocious, but it's far from general. Some of the new Rental housing the University has constructed is very nice for the price, and the large availability of Cal Rentals ensures that almost all students who want clean and nearby housing will get it. Rentals in Oakland? Sure, if you really want to live there...</p>
<p>Sure the quality of some rentals in Berkeley/Oakland can be bad, but then why would any Berkeley student want to live by International and 66th (Coliseum Area). There are good neighborhoods around with quality rentaks. North Oakland has fine areas such as Rockridge and Temescal that are excellent.</p>