<p>@NROTCgrad ; I’m not sure where you’re getting those SAT figures from, but they seem quite outdated/awfully low for both schools-- the average Cal admitted student gets at least 1900 on the SATs, and students admitted may be around 20% but only 17% of those are fall admits. (<a href=“Student Profile - Office of Undergraduate Admissions”>Academic Programs & Majors - Office of Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>Don’t know why you’re pushing Washington University in St.Louis so much, but in terms of prestige, especially in the fields OP posted about, Cal trumps the school you’re talking about. The only rankings (which IMO are good for determining ‘prestige’) in which WUStL beats Cal are in the US news, which has bias against public schools naturally. And even in those rankings, Cal trumps WUStL in Engineering and Biomedical/chem fields, which tbh Cal excels at compared to most schools. </p>
<p>You’re also not looking at the specifics-- OP is “interested in biology and chemistry although not necessarily on a premed track. I may consider engineering also.”, and you have to pick the schools right for those, that will give him/her the best research/internship/etc. opportunities in those fields! WUStL may be a “good school”, but is it the right one for those fields? And back to selectivity–the admission rates for each college in UC Berkeley are extremely varied. The admiss rate for the College of Engineering in 2012, for instance, was 12.7%. Berkeley is one of the top schools/research institutions in the nation for those fields, and thus in terms of “prestige”, def. trumps whatever school you’re trying to push. </p>
<p>So before you push whatever stats you’ve got at me, I’d like to say that, no, I haven’t made a mistake. I’d like to think that, as a student myself, I have a good idea about what schools are considered ‘name brand’ or not. WUStL may be a good school, but internationally, it doesn’t hold a candle to Cal, simply because of the subjects Cal is famous for.</p>