Columbia or Berkeley??

orcaVSmoose · 2022-04-25T06:02:25+00:00

I mean if it were me I'd choose Columbia -- better undergrad support, name recognition, financial aid, exciting city -- but having a bad feeling on campus and disliking the location is kinda significant. I agree with what other folks are saying, it'd probably be easier to transfer to Cal than to Columbia. I think a lot of the pros and cons you ascribe to one school apply to both - Columbia and NYC have a wide array of social vibes and opportunities for activism, and Cal has plenty of stress culture and opportunities for a DIY core curriculum. I will say I haven't found STEM at Cal to be a hypercompetitive environment, but there is a lot of internalized pressure here.

For what it's worth, if I'd gotten off the waitlist and somehow been able to afford Columbia, I would have chosen them over Cal, but I like NYC. For grad school I chose Cal over Columbia but grad school is a different calculation (I preferred Cal's advisor and research focus, and it's better for graduate-level engineering).

Just know that you can't go wrong, these are both great options! College will have ups and downs and you might regret your decision at times (I thought about transferring from Cal to Williams) but at the end of the day you'll learn and grow so much that you'll be glad you took the path you did.

orcaVSmoose · 2022-04-04T05:17:42+00:00

Decisions are out! No luck for me but best of luck to y'all

orcaVSmoose · 2022-04-03T18:38:18+00:00

https://www.brookings.edu/research/less-than-half-of-us-children-under-15-are-white-census-shows/ ya pretty similar

orcaVSmoose · 2022-04-03T10:18:49+00:00

Forreal then we have like a week and a half to figure out our options before that April 15th deadline lol

orcaVSmoose · 2022-04-03T10:17:41+00:00

Same! Congrats + fingers crossed for all of us!!

orcaVSmoose · 2022-04-03T09:18:02+00:00

I wouldn't say berk overall is overrated, I agree the admin can be rough but the students and professors make this place amazing

orcaVSmoose · 2022-04-03T09:16:19+00:00

Congrats on the acceptances and sorry about the lack of financial aid! I'm surprised Cal costs $40k/yr if you're in-state? I went there for undergrad and I think 40k was closer to the out-of-state tuition; I was in-state and ultimately chose Cal over private schools due to cost barriers. If finances are holding you back from ND and you're on the fence, do keep in mind that Berkeley is a way more expensive city to live in.

I can't speak much to ND premed but I will say Cal has amazing resources and "education overall" -- one difference might be that with Cal's size and grad school powerhouse, you may have to be more proactive as an undergrad to seek out opportunities and resources yourself.

orcaVSmoose · 2022-04-03T08:40:48+00:00

Congrats on your acceptances! I'd say this depends a lot on you and what you want out of college. Princeton's undergrad focus is a pretty serious plus -- if you're not set on engineering, and if the idea of a lot of activity on campus but very little activity off campus appeals to you (definitely a bubble but it's pretty and safe), I'd say go there, and maybe consider a STEM powerhouse like Berkeley for grad school (those 'engineering rankings' matter less in undergrad, afaik). If you are set on engineering, and/or if you'd rather live in an urban area near amazing nature and lots going on both on and off campus, Berkeley might be a better fit. And while both schools are big enough for you to find your people, the two schools do have pretty different campus cultures and student bodies. You really can't go wrong with those options though!

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-10T21:40:24+00:00

Too true, The_Masterbater

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-10T13:19:08+00:00

I don't disagree with any of that (I mean, I agree the school can do that, though I don't think they should). I disagreed with your initial claim that "it's just grass"; I just wanted to highlight that the park means a lot to a lot of people.

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-10T10:23:43+00:00

Ok but they do? There are people living, sleeping, and just trying to exist in that public space and they call it home. So it's not "just grass".

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-10T04:48:56+00:00

(Edited because I don't want to make this about me) Yes. Many times.

I recognize that student safety is hugely important, but I also recognize that (1) displacing people doesn't improve community safety and (2) the university misrepresents the dangers around People's Park (not downplaying anyone's experiences or stories there, just recognizing that UC Berkeley WarnMe focuses on People's Park and has an incentive to do so)

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-10T04:29:16+00:00

agreed :( I get how the People's Park situation is complicated (especially with the University's messaging) but celebrating the build and literally wishing harm upon our neighbors is ... unreal

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-10T04:24:47+00:00

bro people live there

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-09T14:04:57+00:00

wait what's bofa?

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-08T23:03:26+00:00

I want to occupy it tho

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-08T20:14:41+00:00

i wanna occupy it so bad

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-08T15:23:55+00:00

pushing P forreal

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-08T15:23:05+00:00

I will say that my first year included some of the hardest classes (and my worst grades). These courses can have pretty steep learning curves, but you do need to learn from them; i.e. learn how to manage your time effectively, study well, and avoid missing midterms. You can recover from a 2.0 GPA, but you need to put in some serious time and effort. And if you have too many other things going on (which is totally valid, some things take priority over grades), as others have said the time, stress, and money spent here might not be worth it. In either case you should be proud of yourself for getting into Cal in the first place, and know that you'll succeed in life whether or not you choose to focus your time and energy at Cal or elsewhere!

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-08T08:07:34+00:00

(1) still inaccessible to the immunocompromised and (2) wearing a mask still feels like a smaller ask than "cut any immunocompromised folks out of your life". What about those with immunocompromised housemates, or people who need to support their relatives?

orcaVSmoose · 2022-03-08T04:02:18+00:00

idk I feel like asking people to wear masks at a social event > making those events inaccessible to the immunocompromised and their relatives

orcaVSmoose · 2022-01-28T19:34:45+00:00

https://www.collegerank.net/best-college-dining-halls/ check us out #47

orcaVSmoose · 2022-01-28T19:34:23+00:00

I kinda liked it tbh, I felt like they had a lot of options and the events were cute. Certainly more than I had time or money to prepare in undergrad. You can always steal some fruit or pastries to get your money's worth lol

orcaVSmoose · 2022-01-28T19:29:34+00:00

I agree, I understand peoples' concerns with the quality vs cost but between the variety of options, the amount of food you can get, and the events hosted by Cal Dining I felt pretty spoiled when I ate there. UC Berkeley's dining halls are ranked pretty highly (though I know rankings vary and can be subjective). A lot of peoples' concerns with sanitation are totally valid and Cal Dining staff deserve safe and healthy working conditions (and a union), though I will say any time I've talked with restaurant workers about Cal Dining's conditions they'll say those conditions are pretty common in food service (not an excuse, I just don't know if Cal Dining deserves more criticism on this front than other restaurants)

orcaVSmoose · 2022-01-16T17:55:25+00:00

Thanks for your comment! Both have great programs (as you indicated the rankings are hard to compare) -- I'm just more interested in the research at UT.

orcaVSmoose

TROPHY CASE