<p>My son recently got accepted at all these three colleges. He wants to major in neuroscience/cognitivie sciences.</p>
<p>He is quite confused right now. He has gotten his major in UC SD. In UT he was offered "undeclared major in the college of Liberal Arts" but we have been told by several counsellors that he should be able to declare his major in Neurobiology in the department of Natural Sciences without any problems. At Berkeley everybody joins as undeclared.</p>
<p>He will be graduating from TAMS so the big advantages at UT will be getting 2 years of credit and ofcourse it will be cheaper than paying out of state in the UC's.</p>
<p>But I would like to get the opinion of students at UT. It is a very hard decision and any input would help. In particular - would it be equally competitive, how are the professors, is the undergrad experience rewarding, what are the opportunities for undergraduate research etc. etc. We have already visited UC SD (and loved the place!), we will be visiting UT tomorrow (Fri 14th) and will be going to the Cal next week.</p>
<p>If he likes UT, let him go to UT. It's MUCH cheaper and he will place out of all the boring intro classes! Austin is amazing by the way. And yes he will be able to declare a Natural Sciences major with no problem.</p>
<p>I'd go to UT as well (even though of course we're a little biased here).</p>
<p>i haven't heard favorable things about Berkeley for undergrad, and know UT is great.</p>
<p>My friend from TAMS is lovin it here.
Also, considering the price difference to me it seems pretty obvious.</p>
<p>As for your questions...it can get kinda competitive here, especially for premed majors (if he is a premed).
The profs are very informative, but he will meet some along the road who are jerks, but I believe this is the case will all universities. For research, it is a great place. I am researching right now (I am a freshmen) in chemistry. There are so many profs doing research that it is very easy to get a lab position (so long as you have the right attitude). I'm guessing the situation is similar over at UTSD and UCB too. </p>
<p>Well Alkanand please do post after ur visit,because even my son(intn) got in both ut and ucsd comp sc major.NO scholarship or fin aid.If any current students can post it will be helpful.Though we are more inclined towards ut .Even applied for turings but no ans till now.Also if someone can tell me how easy or diff it is to get instate for internationals.</p>
<p>TAMS is tuition free. But you are right about the dorm money. And there are some small fees I believe.</p>
<p>Also, UC would accept at least some of the credits he earned at TAMS, since the courses at TAMS are actually college courses instead of AP courses.</p>
<p>Still Struggling! We attended Brkeley's Cal Day this past weekend and we were definitely impressed. My son just loved the campus and the buildings ;-)</p>
<p>We have narrowed it down to UT vs Cal
The key factors now are
1. Peer Group
2. Academics -(faculty/courses/resources) - My son is majoring in Neuroscience/Neurobiology and their Molecular and Cell Biology Department faculty reads liek a who's who - with degress from Stanford, MIT, UCB, CalTech etc.
3. Cost
4. Undergrad Research
5. Name/Prestige/future prospects...
6. Transfer of Credits (UT gives him 2 years/ Cal gives him about a year)</p>
<p>Right now UT is a close second to Cal. We have to make a decision by May 1st .. </p>
<p>On a scale of 1-5 can people rate UT as per yr perspective as an enrolled student..</p>
<p>I live about 30 minutes or less away from Berkeley. I honestly think the school is overrated for what it is. I didn't even waste my time applying. The city isn't anything special unless you like unique stores selling strange things. I am probably biased because this is like the dream school for everyone from my high school besides ivy leagues. A big chunk of students from my high school go there and I want to go to college to meet new people and to have fun. My high school, the#1 ranked public school in CA, is 80% Asian and very competitive. Two students in my senior class got perfect scores on the new SAT. The night life at Berkeley is pretty dead although it seems there is a high use of marijuana. The students are very liberal and political, which you probably aren't used to living in Texas. The lifestyle is just very different out here, a lot more fast paced and fake. Your son should stay closer to home because he will have similar breaks as his friends, cheaper plane tickets, cheaper tuition, and an easier move. If he doesn't like it, he can always transfer next year.</p>
<p>I am currently a student here at UT, and on a kind of arbitrary scale from 1-5 I would have to give it a 5. </p>
<p>As far as 'peer group', i'm pretty sure UT wins hands down. My peers are mostly very intelligent people, but what I find the most interesting is their drive. So many people here want to do more than just make money - they want to make an impact on in the world or reach a goal that is higher than the norm. My friend came to visit from WashU (looking to transfer to UT), and said that this was a huge difference from WashU, and could notice this in the student body at UT. She also believed that the people were a lot more 'personable' and fun. </p>
<p>Also, the Freshman Research Initiative program was just started here, encouraging and matching freshmen with professors to work under. I am going to be a sophomore next year and will be doing work under a prominent biochemist here. I am sure these opportunities will be available at UC-Berkeley as well, so I'm not sure that you will be able to differentiate between the schools in this measure.</p>
<p>I had a great first year and wouldn't have spent it anywhere else.</p>
<p>Wow, I actually have the same choices. I think I'm probably going to go to UT though. Though I do wonder, how easy is it to transfer from Berkeley to UT ( or UT to Berkeley)?</p>
<p>I cannot agreew with a lot of what shegonecountry says one bit. What're you comparing it to, anyway?</p>
<p>With 22k students here, you can meet many outside of the 100 or so you know coming here. The night life isn't dead here, but if you want something more, San Francisco is easy to get to. Some students do use marijuana, but many, probably most but I don't know most so I cannot definitely say, do not. Do drugs not exist at UT Austin? Most students are liberal, yes, mostly from very to somewhat liberal, but there are many moderates, and some conservatives - maybe 1/12 people on the facebook identified as conservative or very conservative, and you can find these people if you want to spend time with only them. Austin is supposedly a fairly liberal place. I've never been.</p>