<p>I'm deciding between UC Berkeley and Northwestern, engineering at both schools. I know that Berkeley is ranked higher, but I know both schools will provide a great education. What I'm more concerned about is the social life and other activities that would be available at each school, along with the competition/cutthroat nature in the classroom. </p>
<p>As a NU engineer (or UCB for that matter), do you have a well-balanced life? I want to be able to have time to work out, play basketball, and have a social life aside from studying on the weekends. That being said, I also plan on working hard and getting good grades, and will usually put my academics ahead of my social life. My main question is, which school will provide the LEAST instances where I would have to set aside my social life in order to keep up with academics? </p>
<p>Engineering at Northwestern is definitely do-able with an active social life. I mean, you can’t expect to be as active as you were in high school–it is very hard to juggle three club sports, a handful of clubs, and Greek responsibilities with an engineering major (though a few do manage), but the expectations you listed not only seem very possible, but also the norm with the students here, including engineers.</p>
<p>Also, studying, especially for classes like the Engineering Analysis sequence (mandatory for all engineers), is mostly done in groups, and EDC is a project-based class that is completed with a group. So, while studying still can be (is) a chore, it isn’t mutually exclusive with socializing, especially if you’re working with friends.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about UC Berkeley, but what is nice about Northwestern is that engineering school is, like the university, medium-sized. It is a highly regarded research institution that has some amazing opportunities and equipment, and it is large enough that you’ll be able to find professors and do research (if you want) no matter how specific your interest is. On the other hand, it is small enough so that you’ll probably know everyone in your major in your year–you won’t be lost in the crowd, as well as all the professors in the department, pretty much on a first-name basis, which is amazing. </p>
<p>But either way, really, you can’t go wrong. Good luck!</p>
<p>As an engineer, I really think NU’s innovative first-year curriculum is superior to pretty much all others out there, including those at the higher-ranked schools. Also, one clear advantage over Berkeley is the flexibility of switching majors. If you decide to change your mind and want to major in (which happens all the time and I changed mine 3 times), say, economics, it’s not a problem at all at NU but it could be a problem at Berkeley. You can also easily double-major.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman engineer and I don’t have the highest GPA in the world but it’s definitely above the engineering average and I manage to only work on Sundays…</p>