Colleges Colleges ... worrisome to the core! (sung to Pocahontas' "Savages" ::wince::)

[summercomfort]

okie, I've visited UChicago and Berkeley, so now, I'll sit down and write out the analysis.

Feel free to tune out on this


(but in case you're interested in UChicago vs. Berkeley... Help me make my college decision!)

First, I'd like to point out that with UChicago, I just did the basic tour, talked to the admissions, and ate at a dorm dining hall, while with Berkeley, I got the Overnight Host Program, which is more talking with students, etc.

And now, a handy-dandy table:

UChicago

Berkeley

FACTS 4:1 Student-Faculty ratio. Small faculty-led seminar classes from the very beginning. Demographics: mostly whites, 25% Asian. (Like Paly) 4000 Students. Core Cirriculum, with lots of breadth requirements. Fast-paced quarter system. Winter = Snow. Small and compact campus, but with lots of courtyard space Decent dorm food. Great Classics, English, Econ, Bio departments, not so great CS and East Asian departments. (Nothing utterly horrible/non-existent) 3 Frat Houses. Chicago! Lake Michigan! Far from home, independent, clean slate. Not too far from home, only 4 hour plane ride. 25,000 /yr Overall: Academically challenging, very serious and nerdy, not a lot of social life, but lots of intellectual discussion. Small seminar classes means lots of contact with very good professors. Far away from home, on my own, predominantly "white" culture, but more "sheltered." I think I need to learn white culture. Is getting thrown into it headfirst best idea? MAIN CONSIDERATIONS Guaranteed top-notch education, but will I survive? (dunno) Private School. Closed, insulated environment. Chicago very pretty. Also lakeside suites available. (Am I ready to be away from home? Yes)

FACTS 17:1 Student-Faculty ratio. Humongus classes for the first 2 years, slightly better in 3rd and 4th years. Demographics: 50% Asian. 25,000 students. Lots of people!!! Overall very crowded and confusing. only 7 breadth requirements, semester system. hard to get desired classes. Bay Area = Chinese food + good weather hilly + confusing campus. Dwinell is nightmare. Horrible dorm food. Other food opportunities in Berkeley, however. Decent everything. Good Business, EECS, Bio. 30 Frat Houses. San Francisco! Bay Area! Already know lots of friends. Family w/in range. 17,000 /yr Overall: Decent academics, lots of Asians (good: Asian culture prevalent. People know how to use chopsticks. bad: Asian Test Mafia, etc). Humongus, impersonal classes, lots of social life (maybe too much?) Good Asian culture stuff, but since what I really need for college is European culture stuff... MAIN CONSIDERATIONS Very good education, but do I have the self-will to pursue it? (dunno) Public School. Open, "real world", close to home, lots of opportunites, very social. (Am I ready for so many choices? dunno.)

So yeah, I really can't decide. There's good in both. It really depends on what sort of person I am, what sort of potential I have. (dammit, I thought all the soul-searching was done by the essays!)

Do any of you have an opinion? Knowing me as well as most of you do, where do you think I should go? Anything I forgot to consider?

Comments

[kaitoujeanne.livejournal.com]

Well, it's good that you visited both campuses. I finally made my decision yesterday after walking around UCSD (lovely, but huuuge! I'd get so helplessly lost). For me, it came down to how I felt on campus. Was it too big, too small, would I get lost easily? Did I like the buildings, the trees, the flowers, the weather? What about the surrounding community? Is the college isolated, as in, nothing to do except on campus, or is it in a town/city where you can go _do_ stuff? Do I want a football team, and if so, what level? More soul-searching, I guess, but that's basically what it came down to for me.

[callistoskye.livejournal.com]

My thoughts: I agree with Jeanne; I think it comes down to how you feel on campus. When I was visiting schools (it was a year ago, but whatever, it still applies), I felt somehow uneasy on some campuses (to varying degrees-- from a vague sense of "this isn't *quite* right" at Dartmouth and Yale to recoiling in horror at Harvard), while I really felt comfortable/at ease/content at Princeton. You've got a great list of logical pros and cons for each school, but I'd more heavily consider how you *felt* at each campus. And that's all the wisdom I have to contribute. ^^

[mao.livejournal.com]

If you have any questions about Berkeley, I know quite a bit about it for someone who doesn't actually go there. I know a lot of people who do. :)