<p>Help my daughter decide among these wonderful acceptances. Assume $ roughly equivalent at all. She's interested in cognitive science/linguistics, classics, sociology, psychology, comp lit. 3.95UW/4.36W, 33 ACT (34 superscored). Taking AP Latin, Ancient Greek as IS, Chinese 4; took AP English Lang (got a 4) and is taking World Lit Honors. Wants to be able to participate in singing groups/musical theatre as an EC if not also take classes/minor.</p>
<p>This is a collection: 3 Seven Sisters, 2 other LAC’s in cities, 2 universities (1 private and 1 state). D sounds like the LAC type over Berkeley, which has many large lecture classes, or pre-med flavored JHU.</p>
<p>Just as a guess: Wellesley or Reed.</p>
<p>She does prefer cities or close suburbs. Why Reed over the other LACs? She was also accepted to Brandeis and UCLA, but the latter is only 4 miles from home, and Brandeis, although wonderful, isn’t stacking up to JHU or Berkeley. Class sizes at JHU look pretty good for her areas of interests.</p>
<p>You’re in-state for Berkeley. Wouldn’t Berkeley be cheaper than JHU? Frankly, Berkeley has stronger academic departments in your daughter’s area of interests. The Bay Area also has much more to offer than Baltimore. Berkeley has Pac-12 sports…cheap flights to Socal on Southwest and great public transportation… your daughter will not need a car. </p>
<p>I would say choose an LAC if small classes and individual attention are important… Berkeley if a dynamic research university environment are more to her liking.</p>
<p>Thank you, UCBChem. But Berkeley isn’t much less expensive than the LACs when you consider the merit $.</p>
<p>Be sure to check the conditions of keeping the merit scholarships. A 3.0 college GPA is usually not a big deal for a top scholarship student, but a 3.5 college GPA is a riskier bet to maintain.</p>
<p>They are either 3.0 or just remain in good standing, so no problem there.</p>
<p>Berkeley if it’s significantly cheaper. JHU if it’s equal pricing or close with Berkeley. JHU offers smaller class sizes and more individualized attention due to the faculty student ratio. Additionally at the undergraduate level, JHU gets tremendous respect in Cali (largely due to all the large pipeline of Cali alums and students from JHU) as it’s a selective nationally renowned private. JHU’s rep also carries quite a bit of weight (more so than Cali institutions and over Stanford even at certain locales) due to the regional bias on the east coast should your daughter decide to move around.</p>
<p>JHU classes are not necessarily small, and follow the typical research university model of a faculty lecture with TA discussions. For example, JHU’s introductory psychology course has an enrollment limit of 400.</p>
<p><a href=“Registrar - Homewood Schools (KSAS & WSE) | Office of the Registrar | Johns Hopkins University”>Registrar - Homewood Schools (KSAS & WSE) | Office of the Registrar | Johns Hopkins University;
<p>Berkeley’s schedule lists class sizes. Berkeley’s introductory psychology course has an enrollment limit of 525.</p>
<p><a href=“http://schedule.berkeley.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://schedule.berkeley.edu</a></p>
<p>personally, I would choose Barnard! that way she doesn’t have to choose between the individual attention of a LAC and the opportunities of a large research university (columbia)</p>
<p>True, Summer, but Wellesley also has cross-registration with MIT.</p>
<p>Barnard - Columbia (2 minute walk) is a lot more convenient than Wellesley - MIT (13 miles away, 26 minute drive or 1:11 by mass transit) from a commuting standpoint.</p>
<p>Barnard is basically the ideal school for someone who wants the usual advantages of a small liberal arts college without the usual limitations of a small liberal arts college.</p>
<p>I’ve taken intro psych at JHU as an elective and it was about 120 students (limits are limits after all). How did it number at berkeley?, ucb? And how are berkeley students coping with the inability to register for key courses, ucb? Regent scholars at Berkeley get priority registration, something top private school students take for granted. Regardless, across the board the class sizes will be smaller at Hopkins. The difference between berkeley and jhu is likely more prominent at the upper level concentration courses.</p>
<p>Tell her to visit each one and then go with what her heart tells her.</p>
<p>definitely visit; do not base any life decisions on opinions from these forums.</p>
<p>
You can read threads on the Berkeley forum about current students having difficulty getting key courses… they are few and far between, for your info.</p>
<p>Berkeley has increased funding and added sections of key courses.</p>
<p>120 is still big enough to be a “big” class, if it matters to the OP’s daughter. (If it does matter, the small LACs on the list are obvious choices, if affordable, particularly Barnard if she wants to avoid the usual limitations of small LACs.)</p>
<p>On the Berkeley forum, students are not complaining about not getting key courses for their major to graduate on time. All students do get priority for about half of their schedule before any get to sign up for the rest in order to ensure that.</p>
<p>there’s a huge difference between 120 and several hundred.</p>
<p>Also see here:</p>
<p>[University</a> of California–Berkeley | Best College | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-california-berkeley-1312]University”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-of-california-berkeley-1312)</p>
<p>[Highest</a> 4-Year Graduation Rates | Rankings | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/highest-grad-rate/page+2]Highest”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/highest-grad-rate/page+2)</p>
<p>Why is berkeley’s 4 year graduation rate only 71% versus around 85% for Hopkins and other top privates?</p>
<p>^ And 120 students can be showered with individual attention by the prof?</p>