I’m having trouble deciding. I’m a California resident. I was admitted L&S to Cornell and Berkeley and I was admitted College of Natural Science at UT Austin. I really like the city of Berkeley and the weather, but I have been told that it is pretty rough academically. All the UT alumni I’ve talked to say that Austin is an awesome place to live. I would be paying out of state the first year, but I think I can get in state tuition after that from what I’ve heard? I am visiting Cornell later this month. I am not entirely sure how I will like it or what to expect, or if the tuition is worth it, given my other options. The “Ivy” label isn’t really a big deal for me. Unless it should be?
I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to major in when I applied but I knew I was leaning towards chemistry (which is what I applied as) and now I am thinking about Chemical Engineering. I’m having trouble finding information on internal transfers other than the fact that engineering is competitive (duh). Does anyone have any experience with internal transfer to chemical engineering? I know Berkeley’s is under College of Chemistry and I don’t know how that compares in terms of difficulty transferring. I’m still not entirely sure about how I feel earning a B.A. in Chemistry as opposed to a B.S. in Chemistry at Berkeley either. I high-key don’t want to take more humanities courses than I have to if I go to Berkeley, and Bachelors in Science has a nicer ring to it, doesn’t it?
It seems that GPA at UT is the main factor, with the cut off at around 3.8 for the first two semesters, but getting a 3.8 at UT is probably easier than getting a 3.8 at Berkeley I’d assume? Berkeley is ranked 2nd and UT is 4th, but if I can’t even transfer into Chem then that extra two places doesn’t seem to do me much good. From what I’ve read, Cornell seems like it would be the easiest to internal transfer, but UT and Berkeley are ranked significantly higher and they are cheaper so I feel like Cornell would be a way I could “pay” my way into engineering.
I am also thinking about pre-med which, I know, isn’t really affected by one’s choice in major. But I figure if the courses I have to take for Chemistry line up with pre-med requisites, why not? Also, I heard a rumor that it is way easy for Texas residents to get into a Texas medical school because they have way more spots than we do in California. Has anyone else heard this?
Berkeley would be the most practical choice, and I know disproportionately more people face the inverse decision which is “Do I go out of state for Berkeley or in state UT?” which makes me think that choosing Berkeley should be easy, but I know a lot of pretty bright friends of mine who get there and struggle for a B in Chem 1A because of a ridiculous curve on top of a ridiculous class size. My family is willing to pay for Cornell but I still don’t have much information on it. Is there anything I’m missing?
Anyone want to help out?