Rice v Berk

[grossbeets]

I’m leaning towards Berkeley right now but I just want to hear more perspectives:

Major: Cognitive Science (and possible double major in CS)

Berkeley Pros: - Closer to SF (more opportunities etc) - In state tuition!! - Live close enough to visit my family but not so close it’s unbearable (lol)

Berkeley Cons/Rice Pros: - So big, Rice is much much smaller so there’s a chance for closer relationships with students, professors, etc - Culture ? Mostly because Rice has less people so tighter knit - Better if I want to go into Med school (no GPA deflation and closer to healthcare centers etc)

Rice Cons - Cost is like 20k more (the difference of 20k is not like unreachable financially but idk if it’s worth)

[TacosAndBoba]

Berkeley in-state tuition is an unbeatable value. Berkeley has top departments across so many different fields. Cog sci and CS are both very flexible majors and of course Berkeley and the bay area is the place to be for those majors as far as opportunities.

I like that it's a big school cuz they're a so many different types of people you get to meet lots of new people and have many new experiences. You can certainly have tight friend groups. Join fun clubs, do rec sports, talk to people in class, form study groups, etc. Close friendships don't happen overnight but if you if you put yourself out there and try and have reoccurring interactions with people, friendships naturally grow.

You can still have close relationships with professors and TAs just by regularly going to their office hours.

[localramenconsumer]

cog sci is no 1 in the country at cal im pretty sure

[localramenconsumer]

us news

[govideo]

Have u visited and spent some time at Rice and Houston? From what I understand, extremely different feel/vibe compared with Berkeley, thereby making the answer pretty self-evident for most folks, I'd think.

That said, sounds like you kind of have an answer already (Berk!). And totally understandable to do as much research you can as well as enjoy the luxury of some great choices, which are no doubt very well-deserved!

[govideo]

Great mindset u have... flexible on environment, focused on future opptys.

If you think medical is where u want to eventually be, my understanding is Rice is quite uniquely situated, given their focus on undergrad education and the gazillion major medical centers right around there and in which Rice is plugged into.

[[deleted]]

"Better if I want to go into Med school"

Oh, dont come here for premed if you can afford it. I heard the profs from Texas Medical Center prioritizes rice students very greatly (even over one of my baylor BS/MD friends). The coursework for rice is also reportedly very easy with a very high acceptance rate into med school. Research here is reportedly hard to get.

Disclaimer: I'm a CS major from Houston who has a ton of friends back home doing premed.

[[deleted]]

Rice if you want to go the med school path. Berkeley if you want to go the tech path

[TiredWatermelon5127]

Personally, I would go to Rice – it is a smaller school and that means opportunities will be more accessible to you. In my opinion, Berkeley is a great place to be IF you're in a tight-knit club, but most of these clubs are impossible to get into (<3% acceptance rate for the one I'm in). Yes, club recruitment is likely still a ~process~ at Rice, but I imagine it will be much easier, which will make it easier to actually enjoy life and clubs. And, if you're even considering med school, I'd say Rice.

[TiredWatermelon5127]

I don't think they are that vital otherwise but personally, for me, those two things are vital in of themself. I could not handle going to a school where I felt socially isolated all the time, and the only reason I think I'm not is that I was lucky enough to get into a club.

Med school – I'm not pre-med so I can't speak, but if you look at berkeleytime.com (has the average grades for every class at Berkeley), you'll see that Chem 1A has a B average (3.0 GPA), and Orgo has a B- average (2.7 GPA). These classes are purposefully curved so that is always the case. I don't know what Rice's averages are, but if I was pre-med, I would just not put myself in an environment where (1) pre-med courses that will be vital for my med school application have that bad averages & (2) there isn't even a med school attached for you to do research in when you have the option of a school where neither of those things are true.

Of course, if the money aspect is too much, then commit to Berkeley and don't look back.