<p>Hey, all!
I'm an int'l student coming from China (ya, THE exporter), now deciding between Berkeley and Cambridge for econ. Any comment or thought or vote is welcomed:)</p>
<p>I plan to major in econ but am ultimately open to any track and career; love debating (mostly BP) and studio art (the irresistible magic of Chinese watercolor printmaking!).</p>
<p>Berkeley:
Pros:
- interdisciplinary studies and double majoring (wish I could understand the world a bit more before I trimmed down my interests) Is it that most Golden Bears double-major?
- Haas
- Bay area, California sunshine, Asian food
- easier to fit in considering how many Asian Americans and Asians are there</p>
<p>Cons:
- way too many Chinese
- way too big a school; prefer more tight-knit communities where ppl really know each other</p>
<p>Cambridge:
Pros:
- can accept focusing on econ simply because it's such a broad subject that allows much exploration
- arguably more prestigious
- the awesome debate society
- a very beautiful campus
- England and Europe is so small that travelling would be easier
- Tutorial system + the college I got in operates debates very frequently; this could put me at a disadvantage because I don't speak English as my mother tongue and at an advantage because I could get more personalized help from my tutors</p>
<p>Cons:
- plan to go to grad school in the States; the schedule is a bit too crammed to juggle study-work-life balance very well
- econ only for threee years during which I could have explored more about the world intellectually and geographically!
- immense pressure, like everyone is dying from what I know
- food... weather... yuck...</p>
<p>If you are sure you want to do Econ, than Cambridge really is an opportunity you shouldn’t pass up. They really have a lot of world experts there and you will be able to actually get personal attention from them through tutorials, something that won’t be possible at Berkeley. Berkeley is a huge public university and will have an extremely different and less personal feel than Cambridge will.
In addition, if weather is drawing you to Berkeley, the Bay Area has its fair share of “English” weather: it’s is often just a bit chilly and rainy. This is not SoCal.
However, I don’t know what the cost differences would be for you at Berkeley vs Cambridge and that is definitely something to consider. </p>
<p>Thanks, cutiedida!
from what I heard from a Cambridge fresher majoring in CS, though, he hasn’t really got as much personal attention as expected - profs are busy and underpaid and usually took three weeks or more to answer his email question</p>
<p>I don’t think Cambridge profs are underpaid. On the contrary, I think they’re paid well, relative to UK standard of living, and the salary rate of their fellow professors at other top UK universities. Also, a lot of Cambridge profs earn through talks of private-sponsored symposiums, seminars and such. Science, tech, IT and engineering profs also make through patents, consultations, etc… </p>
<p>Most tutors are not conducted by the same prof who handles the subject. The tutors are provided by the colleges, and tutorials are done in the colleges. That said, some tutors handle two students at the same time. Some handle about 5 students. It all depends on the popularity of the subject and the number of tutors employed by the college in a particular subject. Tutorials are helpful, especially to students who are having a hard time following the lectures. But if you’re the independent type of student, you’d find tutorials a bit annoying… </p>
<p>RML such a relief. I can’t tell if Cambridgians can do independent research or write their papers anytime during the three yrs - do you know anything regarding this?
I’m asking some current Chinese Econ students to get to know cam more. </p>
<p>Jaselian, I’m sorry I’m having a hard time understanding what you’re asking. What exactly do you mean by, “write their papers”? </p>
<p>As to conducting research, it heavily depends on the type of research you’re doing. Most researches in physical sciences and engineering requires that you collaborate with profs and other students (postgrad, grad, undergrad). I’m not sure what kind of research undergrad econ majors do, though. I’ve not seen undergrad econ doing research like science & eng’g majors do. </p>
such a relief. I can’t tell if Cambridgians can do independent research or write their papers anytime during the three yrs - do you know anything regarding this?