Please help me pick - Berkeley or UF?

College Search & Lists
1

Hey, so I’m stuck with a pretty hard decision and I’m really looking for much need advice.

I was admitted to Berkeley into the college of letters and science, and plan to transfer to Haas undergrad business in my second year.
However, Berkeley wants me to pay full - even though I am solid middle class. My parents are willing to pay, but I know it will cause Financial strain, as my brother is also in college and they will be paying over 70K a year!
Also, the Haas thing is a bit of a gamble because half the kids don’t get in.

I liked the campus and it’s chillin- I can see myself there but I’m not in love with the school. If I don’t get into Haas, I’ll probably major in econ.

My other option is my state school - UF. I was admitted to their Honors College. I know if I go there, I’ll have a great time and will be able to get a lot of the pre recs out of the way because they accept all of my IB/AP credits as opposed to Berkeley giving me empy “graduation credits” meaning i’ll have to retake the classes anyway. Also, UF is a pretty good school, but Berkeley and specifically Haas is way better.

So my main question is, is an econ major at Berkeley worth 250k if I don’t get into Haas? Or should I go to UF and save all that money?
I’m pretty good at networking and pretty resourceful - I’m sure that if I go to Berkeley I’ll be able to secure an internship or something with a good company in San Fran, as opposed to UF which doesn’t offer much for business internships in Gainesville.

I’m tired about talking about this with my family - Parents are pushing for Berkeley, while brother wants me to go to UF with him.
I should point out that I want to get a solid job right out of college, and make money. I don’t really care about getting in MBA - but I will if I have to.

Right now, I’m in the “screw it, let me move across the country to go to Berkeley” phase, but I’m sure that will shift.
Please help!

2

Hmmm, your parents are pushing for the much more expensive choice… do they really have that much money so that it won’t create difficulties in retirement savings (or college funding for younger siblings if you have any)?

Yes, it may be easier to get an internship or job in San Francisco from Berkeley, but if you go to Florida, the amount of the price difference can more than easily pay for your relocation there and living expenses for some time while you look for a job.

3

Like I said, we are solid middle class. It wouldn’t really mess up their retirement savings, but it would cause a strain on them. My father said he would take loans if he had to.
I want to be recruited out of college.

4

Parental loans are generally a bad idea, since it implies that they do not really have the money (possible exception if they have a large asset that they prefer not to liquidate now but intend to later to free the cash).

5

Do you want to go to work straight out of college? Because you could go to UF and save up money for Berkeley’ Business school or a comparable one. Another bonus is being in the honors college allows you to have a very close relationship with professors, which would help grad school admissions!

6

Go to UF.

How much is your family’s income?

Solidly middle class people can’t afford to pay back those loans.