Berkeley or USC, take your pick.

So here's my dillemna. For college, I've been accepted to both UC Berkeley and USC. For the latter, I was admitted with a half tuition scholarship for four years meaning that the costs of attending either school are comparable. At USC, I was accepted straight into the Marshall School of Business and I plan on pursuing the same major at Berkeley. Being a private school, USC may be able to provide me with more contacts, but I've heard that that wouldn't be an issue at Berkeley either, given its location. I'm having trouble deciding which one to go to. Anyone care to enlighten me on some of the pros and cons?

Cal is probably one of the top universities in Berkeley (okay, I am a Stanford graduate - what can I say? :) ). That bit of cross-Bay rivalry out of the way...

To me, the most important aspects of an undergraduate education are (in no particular order): (a) quality of education; (b) quality of the educational experience; (c) quality of the life experience. The development of contacts wouldn't even show up on my list - in part because they are (and were) unimportant to me and in part because they will happen wherever you go to school.

At Cal, you will be one of about a gazillion students. I would definitely look at the faculty/student ratios in their respective departments. Who is responsible for teaching the bulk of the undergraduate courses at each place - faculty or TAs? What are the postgraduation employment statistics for graduates of each program? Presuming you live in CA you probably have a sense of the differences between life in the Bay Area and life in LA.

Keep in mind the big negative at USC, and that is having to listen to that nasty marching band at football games. ;)

Hope this helps.

TJ

go to Berkeley, USC is waste of time

Hey stop bashing the Trojans!

Top ranked business school, (and MBA if you choose to pursue).

You obviously have great credentials based on your acceptance.

I would strongly recommend campus tours, etc..
Find out how you'll spend your four years out of the classroom too.


USC Grad, 1992

My son is completing a double major in computer engineering and computer science at USC and has thoroughly enjoyed his entire college experience there. He highly recommends Southern Cal.

USC is a diploma mill. Not even a question... Go to Cal!!! O J Simpson went to USC. Do you think OJ would have been accepted at Cal?

Well, here's my suggestion.


In case you care, I'm a fourth year chem major graduating this year from UCI.

I was accpted to Berkeley, visited the place, and I HATED it with a passion. Maybe it was the 50+ year old hippy trying to sell me a bong in front of my mother. Maybe it was him trying to chat her up after I declined. Who knows.

USC is in a horrid location. If you can deal with staying on campus it might be a fine choice.

Look, both schools are good. Berkeley is very liberal, and if you don't want to deal with naked people attending classes, then... Visit them both, and make your choice off of which place you'd prefer to live. Don't worry about going to the place with the "best" graduate program for your undergrad major. In chemistry for instance, good schools don't normally accept their undergrads back into the grad program.

OJ?

What about Jason Kidd? He's a real scholar.

Jeremiah Parker, Jelani Gardner, Tremaine Fowlkes..........

Cal Berkeley is a very good university, as is USC. Berkeley is ranked 16th in the US by Kiplinger's for all public institutions. See link below:

Kiplingers (http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/pubcollege.php?sortby=INRANK03&orderby=flip&states%5B%5D=ALL&myschool%5B%5D=none&outputby=table)

I attended UCLA and UCI. I was recruited by UC Berkley. While on a tour at Berkley I ws told that the student that jumped from the tower the previous week was not a regular occurance. The people and staff just didn't impress me that this was a serious academic institution.

I didn't attend USC, but I know many people who did. Although it is sometimes known as the "University of Spoiled Children," the academics are first rate and the alumni are among the movers and shakers of the business world. Check it out for yourself.

BTW, OJ was a jock; a special category not indicative of the general academic quality of the school. Enjoy the games. ;)