D24 accepted in to CMU & UC Berkeley for Cognitive Science
Would love to get the insight of any alumni/parents of kids who have attended CMU/UC Berkeley on making this decision.
Key Interests: Neural Computation/Neural Engineering
Major: kind of complicated since I am hoping to stick with cognitive science but also add on either comp/eng courses/specializations
Pros (CMU)
- more flexible double major program → reached out to academic advising and they made it pretty clear that the major is flexible. i was particularly interested in pursuing a dual degree in cogsci (concentration in AI) with robotics (@SCS) which seems to be allowed without too much of a hassle
- closer relationships with teachers and advisors (I have worked really hard to have this aspect present in a large public hs, and have come to really value it) - i imagine that it would be slightly easier to make these connections within a smaller school compared to cal
Cons (CMU)
- comparing sf vs. pitt, sf definitely has a more vibrant vibe in my eyes and is full of opportunities in biotech, high-tech, and research labs
- heard that there are not many restaurants nearby and the area around campus is shady (?) this is based on external perspectives; i still plan to visit!
Pros (Cal)
- in-state tuition
- vibrant social life/infinite opportunities in the area (especially like ucsf-berkeley joint labs have amazing research going on that I’m interested in)
- opportunity to minor in electronic intelligent systems which seems similar to certain courses in CMU’s robotics major (still not sure if minoring will have the same value as a doub. major at CMU)
Cons (Cal)
- heard that club culture and class registration is extra competitive since obv. it is a larger school w/ more students
- difficult to double major across colleges (would ideally add a double in DS if i am allowed, but there seems to be an intensive application process)