<p>I have narrowed down my choice of college to attend between UC Berkeley and Wellesley College. I really like aspects of both but I'm having a hard time deciding which one to attend, especially since they are both so different. I will be visiting both again and fin aid is not an issue. Are there any insights or advice anyone could give about the schools to help me with my choice? thanks</p>
<p>My daughter is making the same choice. Tough call, but so far she seems to be leaning east. Class size is important to her. Plus she loves how intimate the Wellesley campus seemed on our visit there last year. The Berkeley pull, however, is that it’s so much closer to home and she’s kind of a hippie at heart. We’ll visit both in the next month, but I think Wellesley’s in the lead.</p>
<p>I am, too, on the same boat. My friend last year was the same with Berkeley and Wellesley, but since she was from Cali, she chose Berkeley for the sake of coming out in less debt. However for me, I kind of have to lean towards Wellesley since I’m an out of stater and Wellesley is immensely cheaper than Berkeley. </p>
<p>I say that the major factors to look at both of them is to take note of the size of the school and the opportunities each of them offer (i.e. Wellesley allowing you to take MIT classes and Berkeley have fantastic weather compared to Wellesley).</p>
<p>For me, I’m kind of indecisive because Berkeley has been my childhood dream school since I was in 7th grade. Looking at the price, I’m hesitating…</p>
<p>A lot of people from California have this decision to make. It’s a tough one indeed. They are very different schools and both have their own pros and cons.</p>
<p>Berkeley obviously is a large university, made up mostly of students from California. There’s also a pretty dominant Asian population, which anyone can see by visiting the campus. It’s located in a more urban area and has access to San Francisco. Many of your classes at Berkeley will be quite large, especially in your first and second years – in the 300-500 range for many introductory level classes. Berkeley also has some pretty strict rules with course selection; to pass out of Math 1B you have to have scored a 5 on the AP Calc BC exam, even if you already have credit for say Math 53 and 54. Most/all of your courses will be lectured by a professor; however, most of your interaction with a teaching figure will be with your GSI - graduate student instructor. Your GSI is the one who will (generally) grade your assignments; the professor is more of a figurehead presenting the material. </p>
<p>Cal is the top public school in the nation/world and rightly so. You will get a great education there, but you will have to fight to get into the courses you want. Scheduling is highly competitive, since most everyone will take Intro Econ, Intro Business, MCB, etc. One of the biggest pluses for California residents is the price; you can’t beat it – especially if you also have Regents and/or Alumni scholarships. Another thing to consider is housing. You are only guaranteed housing your first two(?) years (it may only be one year now), and then you will have to find your own apartment, pay rent/insurance, etc. It’s a good opportunity to learn about “life skills” in that area, but it also can be another area of stress beyond academics. You also pay for your meal plan based on the number of meals you want per week.</p>
<p>Wellesley is a small LAC. You will have smaller class sizes (my largest class size was in the high-30s; my smallest class size was 2 – most around 10-15). You will be taught by a professor, and you will have the chance to interact with your professor on a daily basis if you wish. Your coursework will stress knowledge in all areas, not a pre-professional track (eg. pre-med or pre-business at Haas). And you have Boston within easy reach. Granted, your price can be a lot more (depending on your financial aid or lack thereof). However, your pay will include an infinite amount of meals (no swiping in the dining halls even!) and guaranteed housing for all four years. It also includes the ability to cross-register with Olin, Babson, Brandeis, and MIT should you choose to take classes there. </p>
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<p>My opinion since I had to make that decision before…</p>
<p>*I value most the easy access I have to classes/events at other schools in the Boston area. I can have friends at a slew of other schools and know what life is like there. My friends at Berkeley only seem to know other people at Berkeley, and only stay at Berkeley/SF for activities.</p>
<p>*I miss the California weather a LOT, but I’ve gotten the chance to have my “east coast experience” and I won’t regret missing out on that. Personally, if I would have stayed in CA for college, I would have always asked myself “What if…?” Most of my HS friends went to Berkeley or other CA schools, and I still have the chance to hang out with them during breaks, but it’s nice to branch out and have different experiences from everyone else.</p>
<p>Also, I would visit both schools first before deciding (if you can). I don’t believe Berkeley has an official visiting program, but most CA residents probably know someone at Cal they can stay with for a day or two (or know someone who knows someone there). </p>
<p>The environments are very different. And even who you stay with can influence your impression of the school. Take everything with a grain of salt, and in the end, make your own decision. The college decision is your own decision to make; not your friend’s, your parents’, or anyone else’s. It’s your decision that will help shape the rest of your life. No matter where you end up, no matter if you end up loving or hating the school you end up at, this decision has to be your own. You don’t want to end up blaming someone else for your unhappiness (if you end up unhappy).</p>
<p>I am in Wellesley so my opinion might be biased. </p>
<p>So first, Do you know what your major will be? If it is in the science area, I think you should consider Berkley because I don’t think Wellesley is as strong as Berkley in that area. However, there’s the MIT option which is really good.This will enable you to have both the liberal arts college experience, having supportive professors that know you very well, and have the research facilities of big universities. </p>
<p>I am currently taking classes at MIT and doing a research there. Wellesley is very supportive about this. They even pay for your meals at MIT. However, to say that taking classes at MIT is completely easy is not that correct either. There are free buses for Wellesley running from MIT-Wellesley every hour, but it takes about 40 minutes to get here and another 40 to get back. I have an apartment in Boston, so that is not really a problem for me. So if you are willing to travel, MIT is a very good opportunity.</p>
<p>A downside of Wellesley is the social life. If you are a big fan of parties… parties at Wellesley are not that great at all.
You should also consider the weather…</p>
<p>Hope it helps!</p>
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<p>For quality of academic research, yes. For quality of undergraduate education, it is nowhere near a good LAC.</p>
<p>Also consider the financial situation of the UC system right now! Some kids can’t even graduate in four years because they can’t get into the classes they want. You can deal with it but you’ll definitely have to work harder at Cal to fight through all the bureaucracy.</p>
<p>When we toured Berkeley in Spring '07, we spoke to several people who said that they had to do 5 years because they were closed out of prerequisite classes and were unable to fulfill their graduation requirements in 4. I can only imagine that the dramatic fiscal problems in California will intensify cutbacks on classes.</p>
<p>That being said, from an educational and social perspective, you probably couldn’t think of 2 more different schools. One is state, the other private. One is mostly California students, the other is known for its diversity. One is large lecture hall/TA, the other small classroom, discussion-based learning from a Professor. One is coed, the other all women. One is lively, party-oriented, the other relatively quiet. One is in a classic college town, the other a suburban town. One has grad students, the other is purely undergrad. One is (probably) closer to your home, and the other a long flight away.</p>
<p>You need to consider how you feel about each of these, and weight how important each is to you. You might even try assigning a “desireability rating” to each of them from 1-10 and multiply each by its weight of importance. When you sum them up for each college, your “score” for each may help you decide. </p>
<p>They both have beautiful campuses, proportionate to their student population size. They both are close to great cities, which to my mind are similar in style and feel. They both will give you a great education.</p>
<p>My daughter made the choice between the two schools yesterday at Wellesley’s Spring Open Campus … and she picked Wellesley. We’re thrilled and genuinely think it’s the right call for her.</p>
<p>By the way, she visited Berkeley the previous weekend as part of an overnight stay program. She loved it, but Wellesley just seemed like a better fit to her.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter, CAdad23. I was still confused/unsure about where to go after SOC and decided at the list minute on May 1 :)</p>
<p>Made a similar decision back when I was weighing acceptances, except with UCLA. </p>
<p>I know you said that financial aid was not a factor for you, but for others:
FinAid was a huge deal for me and Wellesley was actually cheaper, despite being a CA resident. I want to argue that even if a large UC and Wellesley cost the same, I firmly believe that you’re getting a better deal at Wellesley because you are paying to be get into the classes you need and be taught by professors in reasonably sized classes. </p>
<p>I visit Berkeley every so often because all of my friends from HS went there. I really loved the access to restaurants and the bay area. I base all of my excursions on where to eat, so that’s what I loved. Boston is cool, but the town of Wellesley is less interesting.</p>
<p>Academically speaking, it would depend on your major I suppose. I’ve noticed that Wellesley can be weaker in areas that depend on very concrete or technical skills and instead focuses on academic, theory, and broad skills. This is a general LAC versus nonLAC though, so I dunno.</p>