RML, I have no need to replace Berkeley with Cornell or Michigan, especially since I do not think it is worth to debate the merits of schools in the manner it has been done in this thread. Deciding on the schools worthy of an application --let alone one to attend-- should be an individual process based on weighing personal criteria. It is really up to the OP to weigh facts he can discover on his own against his own criteria, and then perhaps measure his results against the knowledge --of lack thereof-- and prejudices of the people he needs to please. Of course, the first step for Genre is to be admitted at the various schools he has applied to. After all, based on his prior posts, it seems that the ultimate decision will be made by … others.