listing pros and cons…do add on!
Pros:
JHU - brand, smaller class size, research, build relationships with faculty, recruitment
UC Berkeley - better ranking, bigger community
Cons:
JHU - safety, expensive
UC Berkeley - large classes, fight for resources, teacher attention and classes
Rausser actually seems pretty friendly and supportive, but since I don’t have a student in that college, perhaps @worriedmomucb can speak more to that.
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Yeah, so far my daughter has had a pretty good experience with Rausser. She is in her second semester at Cal.
Within Rausser I don’t think there’s really any fight for resources. The main “fight for resources” is probably part of the larger university in terms of getting into the gen ed/breadth classes you want. That can be tricky sometimes. But it doesn’t seem to be difficult to get the classes for your Rausser major.
There are also research opportunities which are competitive but not impossibly so - my daughter got a place on a student research team her first semester and now has a reasearch group leadership position in her second semester.
There are also environmental clubs that accept all who are interested, and opportunities for student teaching (this is true throughout the university, but one of the CNR classes my D took last semester had a final project where you could design a class and then teach it through CNR the following semester, so she is teaching that class this semester through the college).
She will also be a CNR peer advisor in the fall, so I’m sure she’d be happy to offer suggestions to any student interested 
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I don’t think I’ve seen JHU on any lists for best ES schools. Berkeley definitely is on some
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Why can’t you build relationships with faculty at UCB? You’re making an assumption. If you make the effort, you can build relationships at any school.
And JHU is expensive - but do you have aid? UCB shows for International Students - $52,269 tuition this year and $21.6K living - so $73K.
That’s without transportation, insurance and more.
Cheaper than JHU but not inexpensive.
So you chose two very expensive schools.
Do you want to be in Baltimore or in the Bay area?
It’s hard to tell on the JHU outcomes - $62K mean and $55K in A&S - I know the major is low paying.
At UCB, they show 47% working and 16% still seeking with 28% going for more schooling. It shows a median salary of $80K.
Of course, they’re in the bay area and you are international, so you’re likely not staying but to give an idea. I think that UCB has a school of natural resources - says a lot.
But in the end, if you prefer one, go with it.
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Thanks so much! Just checking if your daughter’s major is Env Sciences? also would you have any details on employment opportunities for seniors…
I lived in Baltimore for 5 years. The area around Johns Hopkins is relatively safe, as far as such things are concerned. The whole city isn’t “The Wire.” I lived in a way worse section of town and it was fine.
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that’s very helpful…thanks for sharing
No, she has a different major in the college. We haven’t really gotten to post-graduation employment plans, but I recall my daughter’s first meeting with her major advisor where the advisor did review popular career paths with her, so I know the college is on top of that sort of thing.
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