<p>I've been accepted to both berkeley and unc-chapel hill for physics
I know that Berkeley has a famous physics department, but I'm only getting $8k/$54k per year from cal, and the rest would have to be loans
UNC, on the other hand, is giving me a scholarship for over half of what my total costs would be, as well as giving me a $5000 summer research grant</p>
<p>So my question is:
Berkeley for ~$196k out of pocket, or UNC honors (with a guaranteed research grant) for about $72k?</p>
<p>btw, I want to go to CalTech for grad school if that factors in to this =P</p>
<p>If you want to go to Cal, go there. Maybe it might not be as affordable, but if you are really leaning towards it go to the school you really want. Otherwise…I know the feeling of regret like nothing else. Lots of people each year save their money by going to UNC and lots others don’t. It’s a choice everyone has to make. If I were to tag some rankings of Cal and various other articles that highlight its stellar program…that you can probably do on your own. You should visit both campuses and tell yourself finally what you feel towards both. If your family is rich…who knows…maybe it’ll be easier to decide lol. ;)</p>
<p>You’re going to need to go to grad school for anything related to physics so save your money and go to Cal for grad school…it is NOT worth the $124K difference for undergrad. That’s a HUGE financial difference…take the $$ from UNC and run…seriously.</p>
<p>A degree from UNC can certainly get you into Cal for grad school;one of my son’s best friends from UNC is at Cal now for his Ph.D in Chem and is also a TA for Orgo there.</p>
<p>Listen to Eadad! He knows what he is talking about. The “$124k price tag difference” in your title-line means that the question should also be the answer :-)</p>
<p>I think you underestimate the unbearable stress and extreme toll that racking up near $50,000 in debt each year would have on someone. I wouldn’t rate that person’s chances of graduating very highly.</p>
<p>No undergrad is worth that amount of money. To give you some perspective, I’m sweating without ANY undergraduate debt over paying 150K for a top-tier law school. I’m sorry but you have to face the facts - UC schools are broke and they’re riding off of their reputations at this point. Tuition isn’t even locked in, right? I assure you its tuition will be raised. It is ridiculous to pay that amount even for Yale.</p>
<p>I agree with cloy, UC doesn’t have what Carolina has to offer. At the UC I attended, the only library available to students closed each night, and was closed entirely on Saturdays and Sundays, because they’re broke and needed to save money. Not only that, but tuition just jumped to $12k a year. I’m thrilled that I qualify for the Carolina Covenant; UC has nothing like that.</p>
<p>He’s right, unless you’re rich, an undergrad education is not worth that.</p>
<p>Berkeley is clearly better than UNC for what you want to study.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that amount of loans is just ridiculous. Choose UNC.</p>
<p>eadad, I’m gonna disagree about needing money for grad school. If she’s any good, in a subject like physics she will get funded for grad school.</p>
<p>I believe that keepittoyourself is correct about the funding. Professional graduate degrees – Medicine, Veterinary, Law and the like – tend to be very expensive. I have a professional graduate degree, and can speak first-hand to the significant out-of-pocket cost. However, I know a number of academics with PhD’s in the hard-sciences, and they tell me that reputable PhD programs are very different. They sound like work-study programs: you go to school to get your PhD, and pay for it by working as a Teaching Assistant, team member in a lab, etc.</p>
<p>Yeah it is true that you get wages for getting your phd, but even getting to that point is a big if. In no case would this debt be reasonable, I don’t care how rich your parents might be. It’s the principle of the matter. Undergrad isn’t worth that much money and only a fool would think it is (dream school or not). Sorry for my harsh words but there it is.</p>
<p>Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, argues that, “we’re in a bubble and it’s not the Internet. It’s higher dducation.” His point of view supports the point of view that incurring massive debt to pay for an education at an elite school might not be the best idea. Here is a link to an article that summarizes Thiel’s thinking:</p>