Hi everyone! I am an international student who is very grateful to have been accepted to both Duke and Berkeley for undergrad. I am planning on majoring in engineering, maybe BME. Please help me decide!
Duke Pros
- Private
- Great budget
- Great student:faculty ratio
- More domestic prestige
- Great BME
- Undergrad focus
Duke Cons
- Location: Durham is no slouch, but definitely not Silicon Valley
Berkeley Pros
- Great engineering
- World renowned faculty
- Silicon Valley proximity
- Internship opportunities at tech companies
- International prestige
Berkeley Cons
- Public
- Bad student:faculty ratio
- Budget issues
- Inflexible major selection
I would GREATLY appreciate any input! Thanks!
What does ‘budget issues’ for UCB mean? Can you afford the costs?
Is Duke affordable?
If the cost is about the same, I’d choose Duke.
Thankfully, money isn’t an issue, so consider costs the same. I was referring to the ongoing issues with the general UC budget.
Then I would choose Duke as well.
For BME, Duke. Although I don’t personally care for BME. For any other engineering discipline, Cal.
Yeah, I’m not really a fan of BME as an undergraduate major (prefer a major that allows you to get hired after graduation).
I’d still go with Duke for any major, though.
May you elaborate on why you believe BME isn’t a great choice for a major, and possibly suggest an alternative which you think is more optimal? Thanks!
RelicAndType, do you think that Cal is significantly stronger in EECS for undergrad than is Duke, because I’m not sure whether departmental rankings matter that much for undergrad.
Also, which of the 2 schools do you consider to be more ‘prestigious’. Living in Europe, I am unsure of the relative reputation that Duke and Berkeley have in the US.
^ Well, does it matter? They’re top schools. For undergrad, Duke is an Ivy-equivalent by alumni achievements while Cal is a Near-Ivy. But if you aren’t an American citizen/PR, you will likely work elsewhere after graduation. Cal seems to have more international renown.
Departmental rankings pretty much only measure faculty research prowess. In other words, you are correct: it wouldn’t be too correlated with undergraduate education.
It seems that few places hire BME bachelor’s, taking instead those with more advanced degrees, while EE and MechE bachelor’s holders can find jobs.
Not to point of the obvious, but the City of Berkeley is NOT located in “Silicon Valley.”
I’d “steer” my own kid to Duke.
^ Bay Area. Close enough.
Not to someone who actually lives here in Silicon Valley. 
And anyway, the OP is International. Just want to make sure he/she knows that there’s a huge difference between the City of Berkeley and Silicon Valley, both in terms of location and the atmosphere.
Thanks for the clarification, but I was aware of that haha! I just mean that its in close proximity!
Oh ok, got you! I plan on working in California after graduation, do you think Duke’s alumni network will still be strong there?
I am also pursuing Columbia’s waitlist. Do any of you have input on whether Duke would be academically considered a peer school to Columbia?
Yes, at the undergraduate level, Duke is a peer to Columbia in pretty much all aspects.
And you may plan anything, but do you have US citizenship/permanent residency? Unless you do, working in CA without first getting a grad degree would not be wise to count on.
Thanks for the info! I may be a bit uninformed, so may you please elaborate on your point about the difficulty of finding a job after an undergrad degree if I do not have a US citizenship?
It will be difficult. As in, almost no one will hire you. Not sure what there is to elaborate on. You can research that subject online.