<p>No, those aren’t rankings of graduate schools. Those are rankings of research and faculty excellence (which unfortunately graduate students tend to take advantage of more than undergraduates). I used that particular ranking as it was already provided to show that penn was better than berkeley.</p>
<p>Also, I do take issue with the idea that there is somehow a huge difference. I’m a freshman at berkeley and I’m taking two graduate courses in biology, doing research with professors the same as grad students would and enjoying going to the colloquia that only a large research university can offer. Penn’s a decent research university but not on the same scale as stanford, harvard and berkeley (which are basically the big research universities in the US). This allows you to do research and get on papers so you can get into grad school and gain more experience. As an example, in Harvard’s biology graduate program there are more Cal grads than any other school including Harvard. Why? Because people who make the most of the resources berkeley offers are truly able to thrive particularly if you’re thinking of going into the sciences. Berkeley simply has better, more innovative professors in these fields. While that might not make them better teachers it does mean you can learn more from them if you are willing to make an effort and work in their lab or go to office hours.</p>
<p>Dartmouth and Brown are both basically liberal arts colleges that do some research. My personal advice to the OP would be as follows. If you feel you’re going to be able to take advantage of the things Berkeley offers that are unique (such as a much larger research effort and more professors in various sub fields) or you’re advanced enough to enroll in grad classes go to Berkeley. I don’t think Berkeley is the best place to go if you’re likely to get lost in the fray and you aren’t willing to be your own advocate.</p>