Need Help Please! Penn LPS vs Berkeley L&S

DoNotUseRealName
Mon, 30 Apr 2012 02:51:46 +0000

I’m a transfer student and got into Penn LPS and Berkeley L&S (A one letter difference). Gee I wish I only got into one of them so that I don’t have to make this difficult choice.

OK. I know they’re both great schools and I should be happy at either one. But as greedy as a human can be, I just want to pick the one that’s the best (for me).

A little about myself: International, Asian, went to a college in my country for two years (a pretty good school, but definitely not Penn or Berkeley caliber.) Got bored and dropped out, one semester gap, and came to a community college here in the U.S. So I’m pretty much a non-traditional student. My work experience includes a book translation (one of the most classic one about film editing), and a once-a-week tutor. I also had tons of ECs/leadership at the college in my country.

Here are the pros and cons of both schools:

Penn
Pros:



Prestigious Ivy (yeah yeah…)
Top-notch education with more personal attention
I’m admitted undeclared, so pretty open with major choices (I’m looking into PPE, it has one of the subjects I love which is philosophy, and it looks good in terms of job placement.)
Philadelphia, and not far from NYC
Cons:
It’s LPS, not the traditional CAS (not necessarily a con though, since both confer the same degree/diploma and I can take the exact same classes if I want, the only difference will be on the transcript)
I’m quite interested in computer science, but Penn SAS seems to be one of the very few, if not the only, school among the top universities that doesn’t offer a liberal arts track CS major. Although I can do a double major, it would cost more time and money.
In my country, sometimes it would be like “University of Pennsylvania? And University of California? both are state schools, right? I knew Berkeley, though.” (But Penn is still well known generally speaking)



Berkeley
Pros:



Also prestigious, and sometimes I felt it has more name recognition than Penn, at least in my country.
Also a top-notch education
Has a computer science major that is one of the very best (and hardest, and I’m not sure whether I’m ready to be a nerdy geek right now)
Close to San Fran



Cons:



It’s huge. Coming from an over-populated country, I want to try something boutique
Applied as a film studies major, which is fine and is one of my interests, but I want to keep my choice open for a bit longer.
Budget cut makes it difficult to get into popular classes



Something else to consider: At Penn I will be an absolute minority: international, Asian, transfer, LPS non-traditional student.
At Berkeley there will be more people in the same situation with me: Asians are taking over the UC system now, including Berkeley (Bravo!), and a good number of transfer students there, too.
So my concern is, will I fit in at Penn?

By the way I’m a (indie/rock) music and movie lover, very independent but definitely not anti-social. In fact, would it be too late for me as a transfer to join a frat?

If I go to Penn, does the fact of being at LPS undermine my education/ college experience/ career opportunities?

So many questions. Forgive my insecurity. You would’ve understood me if you’ve interrupted your college education and spent two more years in a cc for the sole purpose of transferring to a top school and getting a worthwhile college experience.

So please. Thanks!