Virginia vs. Berkeley

[Globalist]

<p>Hahaha…we do spew out a lot of info.</p>

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I don’t see why you feel like praising UVa and belittling Berkeley at every turn?

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<p>Vicissitudes, I don’t have anything against Berkeley. I think it’s a good school…definitely under-ranked in US News in my opinion. Read my previous posts, you don’t see me posting hateful and negative comments about any UC schools. I just can’t stand cocky posters (read: Communist Smurf) who claim their school is better based on misinformation. My post was meant to show that UVa does stand up to Berkeley and in some areas outshines it. (i.e. Berkeley’s 52% 4 year graduation rate vs. UVA’s 83%.)</p>

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Did you mention even one positive of Berkeley?

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<p>My post was meant for Communist Smurf who didn’t bother to post anything positive about UVa either – and in the UVa section mind you. I’m sure a smart motivated student can get a great education at Berkeley. </p>

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I am curious, however, as to why you decided to focus on the Rhodes Scholars.

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<p>I chose to look at Rhodes Scholarships because it is one of the most prestigious awards a college student could win. I could have easily referred to the Wall Street Journal study showing UVa having a better placement in “top graduate school programs” (i.e. Wharton, Yale Law, Johns Hopkins Medical School, etc.) than Berkeley. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.classroomedition.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503.pdf[/url]”>http://www.classroomedition.com/pdfs/wsj_college_092503.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I’m sure there are areas where Berkeley outshines UVa – probably in engineering and sciences.</p>

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The question is: how many does UVa give out? UVa caps the amount of need-based loans. So basically UVa makes the decision for the student as to how much loan is given out. If the student needed more, too bad. Berkeley gives the STUDENT the choice as how much to take out. If the student is afraid of landing too deep into dept, then he can choose to take out less loans. So explain to me now how choice is a bad thing?

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<p>If you’re a middle-class student, UVa will cap your need-based loans at around $15,000 for 4 years. Any amount of need above that is replaced with grants, which don’t have to be repaid. This goes for out-of-state students as well. If you’re a low-income instate or out-of-state student, you are eligible for a free-ride or near free-ride to UVa. One poster here on CC is attending UVa from New York on a full-ride and is getting a free laptop. Last year, a girl from California chose to come to UVa and was asked to only pay $1,000/year to attend. The rest was covered with grants.</p>

<p>You should check out AccessUVA: <a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/accessuva/[/url]”>http://www.virginia.edu/accessuva/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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I think it’s commonly accepted that Berkeley has a stronger faculty than UVa.

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<p>Eh…maybe. This reputation is based on the research that Berkeley faculty conducts more than teaching, but how much are Berkeley students benefiting from these professors, who may focus more on their research than their undergraduate students? Plus, how much are Berkeley students benefiting from these professors when they can’t get into their classes which keeps them from graduating on time? </p>

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But wait, didn’t you just talk about how great the research at UVa is? Now you are discrediting it?

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<p>No, I’m not discrediting UVA’s research. Berkeley is known as a great research university, and much of its reputation which elevates its US News Peer Assessment is based on its research. UVa is not as well-known as a research university as it is for being a school that has great teacher-student interaction. Nonetheless, UVa offers its students a lot of research opportunities – including international opportunities from being a member of Universitas 21.</p>