<p>So I’ve narrowed my college choices to CU or Cal and I have a few days to decide! I live about ten minutes from CU campus and might go to CU for undergrad and cal for grad. However, I don’t think it is smart to assume that I would be accepted to Cal grad school and may want to take the opportunity to go there for undergrad? I am going into the college of Arts/Letters and Science and plan to major in bio. Another factor is that I am going to run cross country and CU has a far better program as well as location to train. CU is also significantly cheaper but I have no problem taking loans at Cal. However I feel Cal has better academics and opportunity, but is also higher pressure and massive amounts of work. I’ve heard that prestige of undergrad does not necessarily matter, its all about the masters? I have been to both campuses multiple times and like the vibe of both. I know CC threads are very ranking oriented but I think CU has its advantages. At this point it is basically a coin toss between the two. </p>
<p>CU<br>
+better cross country<br>
+close to home +not as intense<br>
+30K
UC Berkeley
+better academics/prestige
+more opportunities/networking
+50K </p>
<p>CU’s biology program is pretty decent. If the only real upside to Berkeley is it’s prestige, I wouldn’t do it. Save yourself the money, enjoy the running program, enjoy living at home, and since your’e planning on getting a masters anyway, go to a to a top grad school. It might not be Cal, but I’m sure you can get into another top school! If someone went to a bad udergrad school but then went to MIT for grad school, I’m sure it wouldn’t be held against them. And CU is by no means a bad school.</p>
<ol>
<li>If you’re going to be competing in cross country, which coach do you like better?</li>
<li>Living only 10 minutes from school and commuting is a much different college experience than going away and experiencing a new environment. What do you prefer?</li>
<li>Can you afford to come to Berkeley? How much student loan debt would you incur? If it’s a large amount, this would be a deal killer for me.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>Bottom line: If you and your parents have discussed finances and can afford Berkeley and you want the opportunity to go away and experience a different environment, go to Cal. If not, go to CU.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses, it basically comes down to the better academic environment at cal balancing with the better cross country program at CU. They are actually pretty similar schools but cal is like getting everyone at CU and raising their IQ by 30 (Not to say that there aren’t smart people at CU). I am not too concerned about the difference in price since I’m fine taking student loans.
-Is prestige an important factor for undergrad if planning to go to grad school, or is it better to “stand out from the crowd” at a less prestigious undergrad?
-Is it wise to plan on being accepted into a good grad school if I go to CU? I would rather go to a top undergrad than go to CU and not get into a top grad school
-Since I don’t think I can decide in three days, is it possible to commit to both Cal and CU and then cancel one later?</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to give the impression that I don’t care about taking 80K in loans, its just that my parents will significantly help me out and a degree from a school like Cal could be a worthwhile investment in the long run. Although it would be relatively cheap to commute to CU I think it is important to have the dorm experience. My main concern is if the academic compromise between CU and Cal is justified by the superior athletics at CU and how important the reputation of the school is for undergrad. Both schools are D1 and have solid programs but CU is a top five cross country school in the nation.</p>
<p>I have many friends that have gone to not very prestigious schools for undergrad, schools that for sure are not as good as CU, and ended up in Penn, Columbia, Harvard etc. for grad school. Now these were very bright people that had great gpa’s and great gre test scores. Although I’m sure it’s probably easier to get in from a prestigious school, if you gpa and gre are high you’ll get into a top program.</p>
<p>The thing is, mreese1600, the amount of loans is a meaningful piece of data to help people advise you, if what you want is advice. If you are “fine with” $25,000 worth of debt and your parents are “fine with” paying the rest of the difference in cost between Cal and CU Boulder, that’s one thing. </p>
<p>If you are “fine with” a much larger amount of loans, you may wish to reevaluate that. For instance, $80K in loans, depending on what happens with interest rates, will run you anywhere from a bit under $800 per month in repayments to a bit over $920 per month. I wouldn’t be fine with that, myself, and I have been working full-time for more than 25 years and have a good income. That would be burdensome for most people and certainly for a young person starting out. </p>
<p>It sounds to me that you have an actual reason, independent of finances, to prefer Boulder, because of your interest in cross country. This stands in contrast to the predictable and unoriginal arguments in favor of Cal that may or may not translate into real advantages for you.</p>
<p>The “better academics/prestige” you cite? We all know about that. This needn’t and, frankly, rarely does matter for individuals who are motivated to get a good education. </p>
<p>“More opportunities/networking”? Do you know that Boulder has a problem in this arena or are you assuming it pales in comparison to Cal (because you see people make this argument over and over again whenever someone poses a choice between “This Prestigious School” and “That Solid but Less Wow School”)?</p>
<p>What will cross country do for you post college? There’s plenty of opportunity o run the beautiful trails surrounding Cal.</p>
<p>This is a no brainer to me if your parents can afford the $80K. Cal is the MUCH better school. You can’t count on a top grad school. Getting away from home and having a full college experience will benefit you greatly.</p>
<p>The OP hasn’t said how much of the $20K per year differential needs to be covered by loans. That’s meaningful data. To Waverly I would reply that a good student at either of these schools is much more likely to get into a good grad school than he or she is to land a job that makes paying back $80K in loans comfortable.</p>
<p>* Although it would be relatively cheap to commute to CU I think it is important to have the dorm experience.*</p>
<p>I agree that having the dorm experience can help “connect” you to a college. BUT, you don’t have to go to Cal for that. </p>
<p>If you dorm at Boulder, you save $20k per year over Cal. AND, more importantly, you’d have the option of not dorming for the later years and saving more money. Think about it…you could dorm at Boulder for the first year or two, establish friendships, etc…and THEN commute for your later years. You’d save a bunch of money that way.</p>
<p>I got that, Waverly. But the OP mentioned debt so it makes one wonder how much debt. The fact that the amount is not specified makes me think it’s a significant amount.</p>
<p>You can go to a good grad school from anywhere if you have good grades, and you’re more likely to get good grades at CU than from the biology department at Cal, which is going to be highly competitive. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not nice, and a bit expensive. Call the offices, and ask if you could extend the deadline by a few days. Better yet, take the advice you’re being offered here, and send the deposit only to CU. The debt you are contemplating isn’t going to be a mere $80k for four years at Cal, because it is a very safe bet that tuition costs will be going up, especially for the cash cow out of state students. Remember also that interest will be accruing while you are in school. Your final debt for Cal by the end could easily run to $90k-$100k. Your parents would be cosigning those loans, and would be responsible for them. Are your parents in good health, with sufficient retirement funds? Is their credit good enough to be approved for additional loans?</p>
<p>Thanks for the high quality advice! Although I like Cal (including reasons other than reputation), I realize that up to 100K debt (which my parents would not help pay) would not be the best way to start a career. The idea that “a good student at either of these schools is much more likely to get into a good grad school than he or she is to land a job that makes paying back $80K in loans comfortable” is eye-opening. I also found that due to budget cuts in the UC system less students have been graduating in four years.<br>
However there is one other consideration. At my high school there are college level classes that allowed me to obtain transferable credits through the University of Colorado at Denver. These credits in combination with credits from AP tests add up to 50 college credits. With these credits I could potentially skip intro classes in order to graduate early, use the additional time to obtain multiple degrees, or “re-take” the classes in college to solidify material and increase GPA. Would it be possible to utilize these credits at Cal to negate the high cost? Is it a good idea to skip out of classes at Cal/CU that may be more in depth than their high school counterpart?</p>