(Undergraduate) UPenn VIPER vs Berkeley Energy Engineering

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everybody.

Like the title says, I need some advice in picking a school between the two mentioned in the title:
VIPER (Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research: a dual degree program combining engineering and science) of University of Pennsylvania and Energy Engineering at UC Berkeley

I’ve considered the fact that

  1. Penn (specifically VIPER) has the advantage of name value, Wharton, frequent research opportunities, smaller classes which lead to closer bonds with professors, two degrees when graduating, and a rather higher average gpa than that of berkeley
    WHILE
  2. Berkeley is one of THE universities for engineering, is close to the Silicon Valley, a more technology related atmosphere than Penn’s rather business atmosphere, and having prodigies in physics or math as my peers (although this pro might backfire)

Plus, I’d be more than delighted if you could consider that my dream is to make my own company using some kind of technological insight I discover through my research (Examples: Facebook, Google, Apple)

Thank you in advance to everybody who invested their time in reading this request and special thanks for those who decided to relieve some of my agony in making this decision.

P.S: Please go away if you’re here to start a fight with other people.

2

Wow… first off, congratulations on getting into these great institutions! I’m sure that you will do great things in your future.
Penn VIPER is an EXTREMELY hard program to get into, with only ~25 people admitted a year, so I think it would be a better option due to its prestige and double-degree.

How will finances work out? Did you get money from either school?

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3

I figured out that as an international student, i would seriously jepeordize my admissions if i applied with FA leaving me with no place at all…
But I`m looking into external financial sources