UC Berkeley vs U Chicago
Hi everybody,
I am currently a high school senior who is about to start college apps soon. I live in California and am debating between choosing UCB and U of C. I know that U of C is a better school in terms of academics (econ), prestige, proximity to NY, and overall placement into IB. But is it really worth the extra 80 to 100k per year in college tuition? I am questioning the value add of the extra tuition.
How does UCB place overall?
Edit: Sorry, the question was not phrased right. I meant to say IF I get into both, what should I choose?
Thanks for the help.
No
Thanks for the response. Just confirming, do you mean "no" that it is not worth spending the extra tuition?
As a U of C student no it’s 99% not. Regardless as a prospective student working on apps might as well shoot your shot everywhere
These schools are really not comparable in my view. Just dramatically different student experiences. The cost to me comes down to what sacrifices need to be made and how you as a person can adjust.
Uchicago is a smaller school that has a bunch of weird academic nerds. If you like intellectual topics and are a little autistic, there couldn’t be a better place (aside from maybe mit). It’s way smaller and way less pre professional. You wouldn’t be able to get a business degree and would be getting a liberal arts education. The winters are terrible and the academics are really hard. If you don’t like studying or talking philosophy, you might have a hard time.
Cal berk is 4 times the size, cutthroat, very liberal, and pre-professional. You’d be getting a business degree. The weather is exceptional and the student body is going to be more normal. That said, the sharp elbow culture in the business school is common knowledge. If you are a more passive person, this school could destroy your confidence and you could get lost in the community of business hardos.
My personal view is if you are more preprofessional take Berkeley and don’t look back. Given you are posting on this website already and gunning for New York, it makes me think you would not like a liberal arts education or how “not serious” about business Chicago kids are. I think likely what will happen is you will end up taking a job in the Bay Area instead of NYC, which if you have family there, likely makes sense.
Go with Chicago if you are more of a timid person and asked the forum because you don’t have friends. Chicago is a great place for kids that are a little socially odd. It sounds like I’m putting the school down, but PhD types thrive there.
Lol. Thanks a million.
Just want to add some additional color here - I'm a very recent grad of UChicago (4 years out). I would say that the statements about UChicago are for the most part correct but are more accurate from an older time. A relatively recent phenomenon (around 2020/2021) since UChicago started playing the rankings game is that the new student bodies are starting to skew a little more pre-professional like your standard ivy/elite school. Of course we have our tradition of taking the core curriculum and getting a true liberal arts education, but you definitely get the sense that a much higher proportion of people are trying to game that aspect of the curriculum to maintain GPA for competitive jobs.
Having said that, we definitely skew more nerdy, even accounting for this recent shift. I think this perception can certainly work to our benefit, and my story is testament to this. I can tell you personally I was a math major who didn't give a shit about jobs until 3rd year, stumbled into some random AM internship, didn't get return, went to some quant job at a bank and then lateraled into a trading seat within the same bank after about 15-16 months. I just hit up a fellow alum on the desk I was trying to get on, and we just shot the shit about campus over coffee. Post that he said "I know you can do this, you're a math major", and that was that. I guess just having that tag of going through academic hellfire as a math major at UChicago was enough for him to bat hard for me (amongst other lucky factors like there actually being an opening, etc.).
I would say if money is not a barrier to you, meaning you have parental support to go pay full tuition and not even worry, take UChicago. I think that education is extremely meaningful in a world where people increasingly question the value of college. Otherwise I think the choice is obvious to go to UCB.
I also went to UChicago and I second this. The student body has gotten a lot more preprofessional and if you only care about business, there is a new Business Economics major which I consider a close equivalent of a business degree.
Let me be third UChicago grad to second this - yeah we are nerdy, but we know how to be social and talk to people
Man maybe we didn't grow out of the nerdy stereotype after all 3 of us in quick succession lurking on online forums lmfao
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Bruh get into a school first lmao
Get into either first💀
Haas is a 4-Year program now. I loved my time at Cal and went hiking, surfing, skiing all the time. Beautiful campus and amazing faculty, but you have to have a go-get attitude, things will not be handed to you, and you have to fight and claw your way up. Chicago kids are pampered in comparison. You have to decide whether the $300k+ in incremental tuition will be worth it, and it is a pretty big bet on yourself.
These personalities traits manifest in career choices pretty early. Berkeley kids generally don't want to do IB (except as a means to an end) and more people in my circle went to HF's, MMPE & GE shops than BB/EB's.
del
Why all the MS? It was a genuine question.
Anyway, thanks for all your answers. I really appreciate it.
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