<p>I was accepted to both, but I live in Indiana so I would get almost no aid from UCB since I'm OOS. The UCB financial aid said i would get only about 6k in scholarships and have to pay the rest which is about 50k/year. For USC, I know I'll get about 20k for being a national merit finalist and i think they'll give me some university grants to cover rest of the 30k (USC costs about 50k as well). </p>
<p>So pretty much, the decision is either go to USC for less than 30k a year or go to UCB for 50k a year. I want to major either Biomedical Engineering or Business Administration (not sure yet...). I know that Berkeley has more prestige and is ranked 2nd in Engineering and Business Undergrad programs while USC is 10th in Business Undergrad and I think Top 25 for Undergrad Engineering. If money wasn't a problem, I would want to go to UCB, but what do you guys think... Is it really worth it to pay 50k/year?</p>
<p>Try to visit both schools. I go to Berkeley and our engineering and business programs are stellar and USC are as well. Berkeley is top 3 in both areas, so keep that in mind. Both schools have very different environments and I’m well versed in both since my sister goes to USC. </p>
<p>Here is the gist:</p>
<p>Berkeley
Social: Greek life is present but not a dominate force. We are located very close to San Fran and those who are 21+ like escaping to the bars there. Sports Games are still big deal here and have gotten even bigger since we have been doing well in football and basket ball (pac 10 champs). Because Berkeley has so many students, I believe one will find a social setting and group that fits their personality.
Physical location: Berkeley is located in a urban city and has several urban problems that are present in all urban locations. The location does not harm the academics or social life.
Student body: Largely Asian and I like that since I am Asian American. Book worm types and very politically active. The student body will protest everything and anything. One cannot say Berkeley’s student body lacks passion.
Academics: People on CC like to say Berkeley’s environment is cut-throat, but it’s not that bad. One needs to be very independent and self motivated. If you possess those characteristics you will be able to deal with the bureaucracy. </p>
<p>USC
Social: Greek life is prevalent, but one does not need to be Greek to have a life. The primary reason Greek life is so prominent is because there is very little to do in the intimidate area. However, the admin is changing that by developing a new university mall, similar to Westwood, in 2014. Sports are king at USC. I don’t think I need to talk about more about their legendary sports program.
Physical location: Same as Berkeley, except USC is investing more money in the surrounding area. So, it may get better with time. I’ve been the campus several times and it’s not that bad at all. I have friends who go to SJSU and that area is more dangerous than USC’s.
Student Body: USC is the school of the work-hard-party-hard moguls. They are beautiful, well connected, wealthy, and smart. Some people believe because the students like to party, it means they do not study and are not intelligent but it is simply not true. That statement should be reserved for UCSB.
Academics: USC is very student orientated. They have several resources for students to perform well and if one is struggling, USC will try everything to keep you and your money. Out of all honesty, USC undergraduate academics are very comparable to Berkeley’s. It’s when one compares grad schools that gaps in rankings appear. Any university that’s ranked in the 20’s are very comparable with others in the 20’s. The same goes for any set of the universities grouped in the same 10’s place. </p>
<p>Again, you should try to visit both campuses and see which one calls to you.</p>
<p>It’s the classic story of Nor Cal v. So Cal. One area will grab you and I guarantee you will fall in love.</p>
<p>If all things were equal, I’d say Berkeley. Under these circumstances, I’d choose USC. But I agree that it’s worth seeing them. I think it’s crazy to spend nearly $50,000 for a big impersonal school like Berkeley, though. Isn’t there somewhere a little closer to home where you could get a fabulous education with that kind of money–Macalester or U Chicago or anywhere like that?</p>
<p>I agree with what some of the posters here are saying. Berkeley is great and all, but I don’t think it’s worth more than a savings of 80k from USC. </p>
<p>OP, USC’s undergrad engineering is probably not top 10 according to USNews, but according to payscale.com, an engineering degree is an engineering degree wherever it is earned from. And, engineering is one of USC’s fortes, so they must also be good at it, though does probably not have the reputation of Berkeley’s engineering yet.</p>
<p>If you are from Indiana, why don’t you just go to Purdue. I bet it would be just about free for you and it’s a top ten engineering program, or very close to it, that is highly respected.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your comments, especially BayBoi.
I really don’t like Indiana cuz of weather, boring, rural, I only lived here for 5 years because of my dad’s job, so I really wanna escape it. Yeah, I got into Purdue and it will be really cheap but again, I don’t like it here. </p>
<p>BayBoi, I visited both campuses last summer. I liked them both, though I liked Berkeley’s landscape better. San Fran seemed more refreshing to me. I don’t think I should spend another grand to visit Cali unless it’s absolutely necessary… </p>
<p>So pretty much, I’ll be paying for the extra “reputation” at Berkeley, but I’m not sure if that would be worth 50k/year compared to ~25k/year at USC. I rather go to Berkeley if money wasn’t a problem…</p>
<p>You’re very welcome. They are two amazing universities, you can’t go wrong with either. USC has a great culture and Trojans dominate the So Cal area, so enjoy it my friend and best of luck!</p>
<p>If you don’t really mind paying the whole amount and your parents don’t complain about it, sure, Berkeley is worth it. In fact, there are thousands of students at Berkeley who are paying the full fees, and they’re happy with that decision. </p>
<p>There is an Italian girl who graduated IB program in Singapore who’s now turning into senior year at Berkeley majoring politics (and is in the Dean’s List) who opted to pay the full fees of Berkeley despite multiple acceptances at Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Brown, Bowdoin to name a few. She wanted to go to Yale but she was denied. However, Duke offered her scholarship. But after visiting Berkeley, she and her rich parents decided that the almost 50k per year at Berkeley would be worth it.</p>
<p>Huge schools like Berkeley, UCLA, UMich, UVa and the like are not worth the full fees ONLY if you can’t afford the fees, and you have cheaper options. But if your parents have money/savings and can afford the fees, these schools are surely aren’t a waste of your parents money.</p>
<p>i’m stuck in a similar situation, except i will have to pay a lot of tuition either way. its looking like usc might be 5-10K cheaper, which might not be a huge difference if the berkeley education is that much better. does anyone know if this is the case? should i spend an extra 5-10 thousand dollars a year at berkeley and potentially not get into haas school of business my junior year, or attend marshall school of business? and will i be all that different from the usc kids coming from connecticut and not extremely wealthy?</p>
<p>to the op, either way you have two great options and it sounds like you’re really smart so you’ll make the right decision. personally i would choose usc because it’s safe money-wise and because im a chicken like that. but if you really think berkeley will give a more valuable education, go for it. i really couldnt tell you which one was better since i’m probably twice as indecisive about this!</p>