<p>If you had to choose one to attend, which one would it be and why? I'm trying to narrow down my list of 14 schools to apply to.</p>
<p>Are you a resident of California or Michigan? What are your stats? I personally got into both Cal and Michigan and chose to attend Michigan because I preferred Ann Arbor to Berkeley and Michigan’s campus feel to Cal’s campus feel. But for out of state students and international students, Cal is more selective to get into. As such, those two universities do not fit the same needs. Most “qualified” out of students apply to Cal as a reach and to Michigan as a match.</p>
<p>“If you had to choose one to attend, which one would it be and why? I’m trying to narrow down my list of 14 schools to apply to.”</p>
<p>I have to say depending on your major. I am very impressed by Berkeley’s Bio and Chem (not that UM is that bad) but to me, I like Berkeley’s Bio and Chem better than UM’s. But if we were to talk about engineering (Specifically BME, Civil and Environmental, and Nuclear), I would have to go with UM.</p>
<p>I’m actually from Maryland :P</p>
<p>So far, I have a 4.0 GPA, I’m going to take the SAT soon-ish, (215 on the PSAT), and I take challenging courses…which is a bit of an understatement xD</p>
<p>I’m sort of undecided on any majors…honestly, I can see myself enjoying any field of work…I don’t have any one preference at this point, which makes this process a little harder >.<</p>
<p>If you’re going to be the type of person who applies to 13 schools, you might as well apply to 14.</p>
<p>^lol (10 chars)</p>
<p>Michigan and Berkeley are arguably the two best schools in the country for someone not knowing what they like. They have and are good at everything. I would leave both of them on your list. If you are accepted to both, pick based on which campus you like better. go blue!</p>
<p>“If you’re going to be the type of person who applies to 13 schools, you might as well apply to 14.”</p>
<p>lol, nah, I was trying to narrow down the list to sub-ten :P</p>
<p>But yea, both schools are great, so I guess I’ll apply to both then</p>
<p>Well, I applied here only, so even 10 seems excessive to me. Probably not to most people around here though. </p>
<p>Probably easiest for you to post the whole list you’re thinking of applying to and asking which ones you should apply to.</p>
<p>in the process of applying, the numbers of schools you apply will narrow it self when you run out of time…
I planned apply 12 and finally applied 6 because of essays deadline and losing confidence after get bad grades…
so your 14 might end up to 7…</p>
<p>Michigan may give merit aid but cal definitely won’t</p>
<p>Cal has the Regents scholarship which is primarily a merit scholarship, but it is given out to very few students, generally straight A, 2300+ SAT types.</p>
<p>Yeah but even that is only worth 5k a year max (or maybe it was only 2.5k a year)</p>
<p>^i thought it was like a full ride?</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I live in Ann Arbor and S2 is considering both UCB and UM.</p>
<p>To my way of thinking the two schools are academically identical. The differences would come down to individual departments/majors, since you’re undecided that’s out of play.</p>
<p>So my suggestions:</p>
<ol>
<li>Apply to both</li>
<li>Go to the campus you like best and/or</li>
<li>Go to the cheaper one. </li>
</ol>
<p>The rest of what I have to say is hearsay and conjecture. Articles on the net and posts on CC are implying that the budget crisis in California is causing some major cutbacks at all the UCs. This is resulting in fewer classes offered and larger class sizes for those that are offered. Also there have been some posts about increased crowding in the dorms. Again, this is what I’ve read here, I have no direct knowledge.</p>
<p>Michigan the State, as everyone knows has been in economic trouble for a while now. Michigan the University, has gone through a number of budget cuts sent down by the state. It is to the point now where the state contribution is approximately 8 - 10% of the operating budget. As a result, UMichigan has had more practice at working with limited state support. </p>
<p>There have been announcements of more cuts for UM, but nothing like what I’ve read about the UCs. To me the UCs are in a state of flux and it’s unclear how they are going to adjust. This is not a knock on Berkeley, their stature will probably allow them to survive and thrive better than most of the rest of the UCs. It’s just something to pay attention to.</p>
<p>where would you like to work after college? Yeah, I know it’s early but I hear it’s a bit easier to find a job in Cal if you go to a school like Berkeley. Michigan grads are well received in the Midwest (Chicago) and East and internationally (as is Berkeley). I’d be a little concerned what California is going to look like in 4 years. I’m sure this is splitting hairs and many, many UMich grads find jobs in California, and many Berkeley grads find jobs in the MidWest and East. That said, the adjustment is going to be easier given where you went to college.</p>
<p>I’m kind of in the same situation- so where di you guys end up?</p>
<p>Well, note that UC Berkeley has become a lot easier for out-of-state applicants given the money crisis that California is going through.</p>
<p>Anyhoo, I’m an out-of-state applicant for both schools, and both are major research universities with top graduate programs in nearly everything and slightly less dazzling though still great undergraduate colleges, but I’d <em>probably</em> take UMich over UCBerkeley. I rather wouldn’t go to college all the way in California (I live in Connecticut), and though I’ve never been to Berkeley, Ann Arbor is really nice.</p>