<p>for the past few days, I have been in this dilemma, trying choose among these three schools I got accepted to:</p>
<p>Washington University in St.Louis</p>
<p>UC Berkeley</p>
<p>Vanderbilt University</p>
<p>I know that they are all good schools, but when I weigh the pros and cons of each school, I can't seem to choose one easily...</p>
<p>The major I applied for is Biology for each school, and I am an international student who have to pay full tuition no matter which school I choose to go to. </p>
<p>It's actually coming down between Wash U and Berkeley because I know that they both have amazing bio programs. However, while Wash U is a private university that has small classes and also a medical school (which Berkeley doesn't have), it is not much well known internationally despite its higher ranking compared to the prestige that Berkeley has. </p>
<p>If you were in my shoes, which college would you choose?
Any advices or comments will be fully appreciated.</p>
<p>Not from the west coast and I’m not a prestige monger, but Berkeley’s prestige is 90% due to its graduate programs. Not saying that Berkeley is lesser of an institution by any means, but it is the graduate programs at Berkeley that garner it’s respect in academia. </p>
<p>Either way, comparing Berekely and Wash U is really an apples->oranges comparison… public/private, huge school/medium-sized school, larger classes/smaller classes, less individualized attention/more attention… there are literally more differences than similarities. Each environment can be better depending on each person. if you haven’t had a chance to visit yet (you are an international student), you should be able to at least figure out what type of environment best “fits” you at the undergrad level. Hopefully it’s Wash U :)</p>
<p>I had to choose between Berkeley and WashU as well. Due to financial aid, the prices were the same. However, I had several reasons for choosing WashU.</p>
<p>One of the main issues I had with Berkeley undergrad was the poor financial situation of the school. Professors are being cut, furlough days are occurring, class sizes are increasing, etc. Students are finding it harder and harder to enroll in required courses due to the speed at which they fill up. I just didn’t want to have to deal with those issues. At WashU, the endowment is on the upswing, no professors have been cut, (in fact, the bio department is in the process of hiring another Plant Biology professor), and registration for classes is almost never a problem.</p>
<p>Academically speaking, you can’t go wrong at either school. I prefer WashU because I was able to get into a lab right away without hundreds of other undergrads competing for the spot. (I work in a biochem lab in the bio dept.)</p>
<p>Warning: I had a bit of a bias because I went to California public schools my whole life and was just sick of the bureaucracy that severely detracted from the entire experience. Therefore, when I was faced with the decision to go private, there really wasn’t much hesitation…</p>
<p>Either school you choose, you will get a great education. Grad schools and employers are well aware of the strength of Berkeley’s as well as WashU’s programs. In my opinion, don’t let prestige make the decision for you; choose the school that suits your personality best. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>99% of the time people shouldn’t choose where to go to college by what program they have, or how well known a department/program is.<br>
Also, if you’re paying full, I wouldn’t go to a public school at this point.</p>