Sorry about the billion acronyms in the title haha. Basically I’m deciding between these three programs right now, and I’m struggling! USC costs very little, because the trustee is a full-tuition. Berkeley costs about half of JHU. I’m looking into going to grad school and getting a PhD after undergrad. Is it easy to get research opportunities at Cal? Do they give any sort of preferential treatment to Regents (beyond just the early registration stuff?) Is it super cutthroat and competitive and hard to get opportunities and interactions with your professors? What are the benefits of going to a large school vs a small school? Does the Berkeley name carry more weight than JHU (which is a research powerhouse) when it comes to applying to grad school?
There won’t be a competition to get into research programs because each research is different and only those who are interested should join for their own good. The benefit of Berkeley is that since it’s big, there are lot more professors and diverse research topics that will fit your interest. I am not the one to judge if the Berkeley name carries more weight than JHU, but I’ve seen plenty of peers around me going to whatever grad school as long as they have reasonable GPA and other academic achievements to back it up so I think the Berkeley brand is well-recognized.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, each school has very different atmosphere and vibe, and finding the right ‘fit’ is very important because you’ll be spending your 4 years before you go to grad school. If you haven’t done so already, please visit each school and pick the one that you felt good after walking/touring around. It sounds silly, but as someone who went through all the undergrad and grad curriculum, finding a school that you feel like you belong is surprisingly important.