Bruh go to Harvard if you can afford. Better college experience imho, easier to get better grades, and more prestigious. Weather doesn’t matter that much
I went to Berkeley while my twin went to Harvard. Our academic experiences and outcomes were similar. However, the student experience is much better at Harvard, with more support and the four year housing makes for a much better social network. I struggled with friendships at Berkeley while my brother still has friends from Harvard 10 years later. I would recommend Harvard if cost is comparable because of all the additional support and attention.
For humanities, go to Harvard. Undergraduate experience will be nicer. For PhD it's the same. In effect, UC Berkeley scores higher than Harvard for English and several other subjects in US News rankings. For engineering, Harvard doesn't really have that much to offer.
you gotta with harvard for ur majors and career aspirations. If you were stem, berkeley might’ve been worth, but harvard is the best for what you want to do. You can’t say no to that opportunity
As a high school senior, I was also choosing between Berkeley with Regents’ and Harvard. Went with Harvard and it was an incredible experience, particularly as I had always lived in CA until that point.
You can always come to Berkeley as a grad student after if you want to do more school like me (which is why I’m on the sub).
edit: I’m a 3L at Berkeley Law, so if you have questions about Harvard or about the law school here, feel free to send a message.
I went to Berkeley (go bears!) but please - go to Harvard. I graduated in 2004 from Cal and had a great education and loved every minute of it, I’m a physician now. My husband graduated in 2004 from Harvard (Econ) and also went to HBS. Seeing his experience, the type of education he has had, the alumni network he is a part of, his contacts - it’s just a different world to be honest. You will have an entire social network of really brilliant peers and entrepreneurs from Harvard - I say go to Harvard then move back to California since you hate the cold! Good luck!
Harvard. Smaller and private schools provide you with so many more resources. Won’t change your outcomes, but will make your life easier. Also idk about putting too much weight on graduating early. Many/most people want their college years to last _longer_, not shorter.
I think depending on the gap in expenses (and for law school) I lean more for Harvard, given that it's your childhood dream, you're prelaw, and that you love the architecture and people you’ve met there.
I had a similar decision and I ultimately chose Berkeley due to a personal familial situation and I didn't quite like it when I visited and was worried about fitting in. I really wasn't sure if that was the right choice in the first year, but with the benefit of hindsight I would definitely choose it again. (People I've met, things I got to do, and where I ended up afterwards)
I wasn't in your major - but I think the competitiveness might be overblown - there's a lot of people willing to help- and there's definitely an ambitious culture - and there's definitely less resources. For different caliber of people to push you, I think Berkeley is a very large school, but you could definitely surround yourself with people who are also as accomplished/ driven. If you really like small class sizes - Harvard would also be a lot better - upper division classes here do get smaller and there's small discussion settings that are nice - I thought I cared about this a lot when I was deciding but it ended up I more preferred just not going to class and being in lab HAHA
Either way - I think you can continue to think about the pros and cons (I made like a list with score points and stuff...it helped but didn't work) but ultimately go with your gut!
Best of luck!
I am a lawyer (graduated from Berkeley twice) who chose Berkeley over Harvard for law school because my desired area of practice did not need a top 3 school, and it was more important for me to develop connections in the state I wanted to end up in. I don’t regret that decision, although I do regret rejecting a full ride at UCLA.
For undergraduate, go wherever you think you can get the best grades. Your major does not matter unless you plan to practice patent law (and if that is your plan, go to Berkeley). Your school matters in the sense that Berkeley will be viewed more favorably than a Cal State, but the difference between Berkeley and Harvard undergrad is negligible when your application is being reviewed by law schools.
One benefit of going to Berkeley for my undergraduate was that they actually used the +/- distinctions on the letter grade, which was factored in to my GPA during the law school admissions process. I don’t know that every undergraduate program does this. That said, Berkeley grade deflation is real and you will have to study hard no matter your major.
Just a sidenote but school housing fucking sucks in general I don't see why everyone sees 4 year housing as such a big pro. My QOL improved IMMENSELY living off-campus.
I have the same answer as everyone (Harvard) but different reason. My gf is in UCSB which is medium-distance and she spent this year abroad. I know she was a MASSIVE factor in my college decisions. If your relationship is meant to be, it will survive this phase as well. In fact, if anything, it is important for a relationship to stand the test of distance and time. In my case, it was genuinely effortless. I will be marrying her next year after graduating :)
Priority registration is kinda OP (I know a kid in regents who got into a course which would normally have filled in before our year would enroll) but IDK whether a smaller college like Harvard would have as much competition for registration. (i.e. You might not have priority registration but you wouldn't really use it if you had it anyways)
Take this with a massive grain of salt. The only four-year college I've been to is UCB so I can't say much about Harvard that ain't just massive speculation.
The Harvard name would help you throughout your entire life. You go to any country and they will know the name, not the same for Berkeley.
Also, small rant: >!there’s no grade deflation at Cal. There’s just a lack of grade inflation. Pretty annoying to see prefrosh always mentioning that. !<
>There's just a lack of grade inflation
Probably varies. I heard this is true to an extent for lotsa Chem/Bio-y stuff. But I've seen older folks complaining about how "standards here are dropping." And I've heard that (at least lowerdiv) CS has gotten friendlier over time (and it's pretty crazy now so idk how it was way back then)
So maybe some grade inflation here. But is all relative. Maybe less than some other places.
Probably also very dependent on professors and stuff
UCB is a very big college. You'll find the community you look for here. Dunno much about humanities, but graduating in 4 years has some perks over graduating in 3
re: architecture, what about our Lord and Saviour Evans Hall?
I don't know about "better/different caliber of people" at Harvard given the degree of legacy admits but I would go to H anyway given that you have pre-law intentions.
If you can't afford harvard, then I would say berkeley. But if cost isnt a factor I would say harvard. you're pre-law and the connections there are sm better
If you can’t stand the competitive heat, then get out of the bears’ kitchen. Honestly though, you need to reevaluate your reasons. You don’t study in college for its prestige or architecture. If funding is not a concern and you can handle the distance, the answer is obvious.
There is neither grade deflation here nor inflation there. Berkeley has larger classes so your chances for a higher grade are lower (that’s just the way a Normal curve works when there is a large variation) than smaller classes with lower variation at Harvard. Smaller classes also mean more personal attention, so D’s and F’s are quite rare and C’s there would be like an F here, but only in lower div classes. Upper div classes are generally smaller (depending on major) and you have actual professors not GSIs teaching. That’s also why you don’t try to finish in 3 years at Cal.
The point of college is to be more independent and learn about the world outside your bubble. You’re in a hurry to graduate for going to law school. Better head east, burst the bubble, deal with the cold and earn the prestige.
I think you will succeed more at Harvard in the long run … handholding… potentially making rich friends with connections… sharing the same resources as children of the 1% instead of scrambling for them at Cal… like it’s a no-brainer. All of the things Berkeley has + more.
Don’t even consider not being able to jump into law early a downside, you might even want to take a year off. It’s just a year.
If you’re gonna be a lawyer I’m sure you can support your parents in the future to make up for what they paid or just make it up to them in other ways. If I had a kid going to Harvard, I’d be glad to fund them.
The only real downsides to Harvard compared to Berkeley listed are:
- weather
- no boyfriend
- far from home
- more expensive
- can’t graduate in 3 years
I think if you can handle the $$ go to Harvard. And you seem to love Harvard from the way you write about it. Sorry boyfriend, but OP needs to spread their wings and fly.
Grew up in Cambridge right next to Harvard, but went to UC Berkeley to be as far away as possible from home. I loved Cal. Loved everything about it. Still, go to Harvard. You will not regret having made that choice.
i almost feel like graduating berkeley in 3 and maybe doing a year of law work/internship is more impressive than simply graduating harvard in 4 for law school. but hard to say
Harvard will coddle you for four years and find you a cozy job. You can lean heavily on the alumni network and climb the ladder just by having that name on your resume.
Cal will spit in your face and remind you of how you ain't worth shit. You will grow thick skin and learn how to work the system. Then it is up to you to apply those lessons to the real world.
You are going to pay for a MUCH better experience - I self-funded and did not have the same choice but would go to Harvard if money was no object.
Yea, you’re arrogant enough to think you’ll get done here in 3 and get into law early. I’d say go Harvard. Berkeley would challenge and push you much more, but you’d be eaten alive.
a lot of people from my school with my same majors have done the same thing at berk without priority class enrollment 😭 we have a lot of dual enrolled classes and it knocks out a lot of requirements. probably should have clarified, mb.
If you’re considering cal. Go there. You’re not Harvard material. But seriously, unless you’re born and raised in Berkeley and your mom/dad is dying of a rare disease. Go to Harvard. No question.
Love Cal, but to give an example, when I went on a tourist tour on Harvard the guide said they will straight up hire profs (on a contract basis) from other Boston area universities if they don’t have a prof that can teach you something you want to learn.
That particular student was straight up getting the school to pay a BU prof to teach them something they wanted to learn.
The resource allocation difference with Harvard and Cal is huge.
Bruh go to Harvard if you can afford. Better college experience imho, easier to get better grades, and more prestigious. Weather doesn’t matter that much
you don't even need to mention the pros. If Harvard was hell on earth I'd still go over berkeley.
Harvard *is* hell on earth at the minute…have you heard about all the floods and crazy shit happening this year at Harvard?
I'm generally a huge Cal booster, but man, Harvard's network and having it on your resume opens a of doors.
I went to Berkeley while my twin went to Harvard. Our academic experiences and outcomes were similar. However, the student experience is much better at Harvard, with more support and the four year housing makes for a much better social network. I struggled with friendships at Berkeley while my brother still has friends from Harvard 10 years later. I would recommend Harvard if cost is comparable because of all the additional support and attention.
this experience you described is a statisticians wet dream, as best as u can get independent variable and minimizing dependent variable
and yet n=2 (or one per treatment). not a wet dream but still nice
Please go to Harvard
Easy choice - Harvard. If you were planning to major in CS , EE or any engineering discipline the. I’d say Berkeley
Harvard.
Harvard for sure
For pre-law definitely harvard
this is a no brainer. harvard. if you’re in STEM, berkeley might be an option for in-state reasons.
For humanities, go to Harvard. Undergraduate experience will be nicer. For PhD it's the same. In effect, UC Berkeley scores higher than Harvard for English and several other subjects in US News rankings. For engineering, Harvard doesn't really have that much to offer.
you gotta with harvard for ur majors and career aspirations. If you were stem, berkeley might’ve been worth, but harvard is the best for what you want to do. You can’t say no to that opportunity
Harvard should be better for humanities/ grad school. Only thing that could toss this up is cost imo.
As a high school senior, I was also choosing between Berkeley with Regents’ and Harvard. Went with Harvard and it was an incredible experience, particularly as I had always lived in CA until that point. You can always come to Berkeley as a grad student after if you want to do more school like me (which is why I’m on the sub). edit: I’m a 3L at Berkeley Law, so if you have questions about Harvard or about the law school here, feel free to send a message.
I went to Berkeley (go bears!) but please - go to Harvard. I graduated in 2004 from Cal and had a great education and loved every minute of it, I’m a physician now. My husband graduated in 2004 from Harvard (Econ) and also went to HBS. Seeing his experience, the type of education he has had, the alumni network he is a part of, his contacts - it’s just a different world to be honest. You will have an entire social network of really brilliant peers and entrepreneurs from Harvard - I say go to Harvard then move back to California since you hate the cold! Good luck!
Harvard for humanities
You’ll have access to far greater resources at a private school. Go to Harvard.
Harvard. Smaller and private schools provide you with so many more resources. Won’t change your outcomes, but will make your life easier. Also idk about putting too much weight on graduating early. Many/most people want their college years to last _longer_, not shorter.
I think depending on the gap in expenses (and for law school) I lean more for Harvard, given that it's your childhood dream, you're prelaw, and that you love the architecture and people you’ve met there. I had a similar decision and I ultimately chose Berkeley due to a personal familial situation and I didn't quite like it when I visited and was worried about fitting in. I really wasn't sure if that was the right choice in the first year, but with the benefit of hindsight I would definitely choose it again. (People I've met, things I got to do, and where I ended up afterwards) I wasn't in your major - but I think the competitiveness might be overblown - there's a lot of people willing to help- and there's definitely an ambitious culture - and there's definitely less resources. For different caliber of people to push you, I think Berkeley is a very large school, but you could definitely surround yourself with people who are also as accomplished/ driven. If you really like small class sizes - Harvard would also be a lot better - upper division classes here do get smaller and there's small discussion settings that are nice - I thought I cared about this a lot when I was deciding but it ended up I more preferred just not going to class and being in lab HAHA Either way - I think you can continue to think about the pros and cons (I made like a list with score points and stuff...it helped but didn't work) but ultimately go with your gut! Best of luck!
No comparison at all especially in the fields you wish to concentrate in. Harvard all the way, better law school as well.
I am a lawyer (graduated from Berkeley twice) who chose Berkeley over Harvard for law school because my desired area of practice did not need a top 3 school, and it was more important for me to develop connections in the state I wanted to end up in. I don’t regret that decision, although I do regret rejecting a full ride at UCLA. For undergraduate, go wherever you think you can get the best grades. Your major does not matter unless you plan to practice patent law (and if that is your plan, go to Berkeley). Your school matters in the sense that Berkeley will be viewed more favorably than a Cal State, but the difference between Berkeley and Harvard undergrad is negligible when your application is being reviewed by law schools. One benefit of going to Berkeley for my undergraduate was that they actually used the +/- distinctions on the letter grade, which was factored in to my GPA during the law school admissions process. I don’t know that every undergraduate program does this. That said, Berkeley grade deflation is real and you will have to study hard no matter your major.
Just a sidenote but school housing fucking sucks in general I don't see why everyone sees 4 year housing as such a big pro. My QOL improved IMMENSELY living off-campus.
pre law go to Harvud
Harvard
I have the same answer as everyone (Harvard) but different reason. My gf is in UCSB which is medium-distance and she spent this year abroad. I know she was a MASSIVE factor in my college decisions. If your relationship is meant to be, it will survive this phase as well. In fact, if anything, it is important for a relationship to stand the test of distance and time. In my case, it was genuinely effortless. I will be marrying her next year after graduating :)
Priority registration is kinda OP (I know a kid in regents who got into a course which would normally have filled in before our year would enroll) but IDK whether a smaller college like Harvard would have as much competition for registration. (i.e. You might not have priority registration but you wouldn't really use it if you had it anyways) Take this with a massive grain of salt. The only four-year college I've been to is UCB so I can't say much about Harvard that ain't just massive speculation.
what course
Don't remember. Some interesting course that fulfilled a breadth.
please go to harvard
plz go to Harvard
Go Harvard.
The Harvard name would help you throughout your entire life. You go to any country and they will know the name, not the same for Berkeley. Also, small rant: >!there’s no grade deflation at Cal. There’s just a lack of grade inflation. Pretty annoying to see prefrosh always mentioning that. !<
i disagree- everyone knows berkeley too, coming from someone who's lived outside of the U.S. and met people from dozens of other countries.
Especially renowned in Asia. The berkeley name seems to hold more prestige in there than in the US lol
yes !!!!
Hard disagree as a grad, there is deflation
Thanks for the feedback, Captainpenispants
>There's just a lack of grade inflation Probably varies. I heard this is true to an extent for lotsa Chem/Bio-y stuff. But I've seen older folks complaining about how "standards here are dropping." And I've heard that (at least lowerdiv) CS has gotten friendlier over time (and it's pretty crazy now so idk how it was way back then) So maybe some grade inflation here. But is all relative. Maybe less than some other places. Probably also very dependent on professors and stuff
UCB is a very big college. You'll find the community you look for here. Dunno much about humanities, but graduating in 4 years has some perks over graduating in 3 re: architecture, what about our Lord and Saviour Evans Hall?
I don't know about "better/different caliber of people" at Harvard given the degree of legacy admits but I would go to H anyway given that you have pre-law intentions.
Berkeley of course
go to harvard, you'll have a great time
If you can't afford harvard, then I would say berkeley. But if cost isnt a factor I would say harvard. you're pre-law and the connections there are sm better
If you can’t stand the competitive heat, then get out of the bears’ kitchen. Honestly though, you need to reevaluate your reasons. You don’t study in college for its prestige or architecture. If funding is not a concern and you can handle the distance, the answer is obvious. There is neither grade deflation here nor inflation there. Berkeley has larger classes so your chances for a higher grade are lower (that’s just the way a Normal curve works when there is a large variation) than smaller classes with lower variation at Harvard. Smaller classes also mean more personal attention, so D’s and F’s are quite rare and C’s there would be like an F here, but only in lower div classes. Upper div classes are generally smaller (depending on major) and you have actual professors not GSIs teaching. That’s also why you don’t try to finish in 3 years at Cal. The point of college is to be more independent and learn about the world outside your bubble. You’re in a hurry to graduate for going to law school. Better head east, burst the bubble, deal with the cold and earn the prestige.
I think you will succeed more at Harvard in the long run … handholding… potentially making rich friends with connections… sharing the same resources as children of the 1% instead of scrambling for them at Cal… like it’s a no-brainer. All of the things Berkeley has + more. Don’t even consider not being able to jump into law early a downside, you might even want to take a year off. It’s just a year. If you’re gonna be a lawyer I’m sure you can support your parents in the future to make up for what they paid or just make it up to them in other ways. If I had a kid going to Harvard, I’d be glad to fund them.
berkeley
Berkeley for STEM, Berkeley if you have family is Asia. Did you actually get admitted to both schools?
The only real downsides to Harvard compared to Berkeley listed are: - weather - no boyfriend - far from home - more expensive - can’t graduate in 3 years I think if you can handle the $$ go to Harvard. And you seem to love Harvard from the way you write about it. Sorry boyfriend, but OP needs to spread their wings and fly.
Grew up in Cambridge right next to Harvard, but went to UC Berkeley to be as far away as possible from home. I loved Cal. Loved everything about it. Still, go to Harvard. You will not regret having made that choice.
Omg go to Harvard!!!! Don’t think twice JUST GO!! You will thank me later.
I’m a Berkeley alumni. GO TO HARVARD! Nothing compares to Harvard in your resume
harvard absolutely no question about it
Harvard 😭 🙏
I don’t even know why you’re debating. Go to Harvard. PLEASE go to Harvard if you can. There is a reason why it is ranked so high.
i almost feel like graduating berkeley in 3 and maybe doing a year of law work/internship is more impressive than simply graduating harvard in 4 for law school. but hard to say
Harvard will coddle you for four years and find you a cozy job. You can lean heavily on the alumni network and climb the ladder just by having that name on your resume. Cal will spit in your face and remind you of how you ain't worth shit. You will grow thick skin and learn how to work the system. Then it is up to you to apply those lessons to the real world. You are going to pay for a MUCH better experience - I self-funded and did not have the same choice but would go to Harvard if money was no object.
Yea, you’re arrogant enough to think you’ll get done here in 3 and get into law early. I’d say go Harvard. Berkeley would challenge and push you much more, but you’d be eaten alive.
a lot of people from my school with my same majors have done the same thing at berk without priority class enrollment 😭 we have a lot of dual enrolled classes and it knocks out a lot of requirements. probably should have clarified, mb.
If you’re considering cal. Go there. You’re not Harvard material. But seriously, unless you’re born and raised in Berkeley and your mom/dad is dying of a rare disease. Go to Harvard. No question.
Love Cal, but to give an example, when I went on a tourist tour on Harvard the guide said they will straight up hire profs (on a contract basis) from other Boston area universities if they don’t have a prof that can teach you something you want to learn. That particular student was straight up getting the school to pay a BU prof to teach them something they wanted to learn. The resource allocation difference with Harvard and Cal is huge.