#UC Berkeley vs Vanderbilt for Philosophy/Linguistics

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

pliant moon
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Hey guys. As an international applicant, I am lucky enough to be accepted by these two schools:
Would like to break down the pros and cons and hear from you guys so I can make this lucky but difficult choice. FYI I am planning to eventually go to Law School for a JD.
Schools: Berkeley, Vanderbilt
Intended major: Linguistic/Philosophy/Psychology (Some sort of Pre-Law Humanities Major)
Similarities: Reputation

Vanderbilt
Pros:
-6k/ year merit scholarship
-Great Work/Life Balance in the T20 schools

  • Great Campus
    -Amazing Humanities Program

Cons:
-Potential Less Internship Oppurtunities at East Coast cities since its based on the south

Berkeley:
Pros:
-Slightly even more prestigious across the world
-Great Connections around the West Coast
-Would be eligible for Cali resident after my first year which means I will pay in-state tuition

Berkeley Cons:
-A lot of people since its a public school. I'm not sure I like it
-Large Class Size
-Oakland is kinda sus and dangerous

Tiebreaking considerations:
-Student culture
-Internship prospect as an international student for Law
-Quality of Classes
-Alumni Connections
-Social Life

Thanks for Watching!

modest pine
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vanderbilt may have the best alumni connections of any school outside the ivy leauge and arguably better than some in it. Tons of billionares send there kids there. If you want connections thats the place. Also Berkley is not it, its over crowded, the kids are weird, oakland sucks also, also vandy is cheaper. For me its easily vandy over berkley

umbral wave
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i think you're insulting berkeley in a very extreme way

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its over crowded
I've heard of this for like, CS, not any other major

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the kids are weird
um why is this a thing you're saying about berkeley, you can find weird people everywhere

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you can not be considered an in state student for berkeley, you can't just move to a state and then pay less money

image.png
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Both schools are great, I think I would choose a specific school if it's significantly cheaper, otherwise, I think it sounds like you like vanderbilt more anyways, and if so, you should choose vanderbilt

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because your pros aren't very convincing for berkeley

modest pine
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they have lines out to the street for dining halls

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also i realize not all kids are weird but a ton of kids there are not just weird they are very anti semetic, berkley is the most anti semetic college campuses in America by far and most of that is perpetuated by students

opal plaza
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id suggest getting sources other than fox news with regards to your perception of berkeley

modest pine
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bruh berkley.edu says 10 percent of there students report homelessness

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also I have tons of friends who go there

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5 of my cousins used to be professors there

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i know a ton about berkley, and I personally would never attend

opal plaza
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how is berkeley antisemitic? i mean yes there's antisemitic students and some actions recently by people have been antisemitic, but the broad public opinion of being for ceasefire is pretty common among all youth, not just those at UCB lol

modest pine
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Berkley doesn't do anything to protect its jewish students and while a high percent of the youth support a ceasefire many students at berkley take it further than just anti israel sentiment which is fair and instead harrass jewish students

opal plaza
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i cant rly say Oakland is safe, cause it's not, and while UC Berkeley isn't as dangerous as Oakland around 12th/16th is it's not the greatest and Berkeley classes do have large class sizes

modest pine
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to be clear berkley is a phenomnal school but against vanderbilt i dont think there is a ton of comp in this situation

opal plaza
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is Berkeley going to be significantly cheaper

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cause u mentioned getting in-state tuition after a year

modest pine
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nah he said vandy is like 6k a year

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which is absurdly cheap

opal plaza
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that's the value of the merit scholarship? or is it the cost? i think either of us could read it wrong

modest pine
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wait yeah now that I reread it i think ur right

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id still go vandy

opal plaza
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cause like pre-law means you're probs gonna have to pay for law school unless u get one of those rare law school scholarships? and if vandy is expensiver in the long run that might be a factor for consideration

modest pine
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yeah but also vandy has absurd connections in high places that I feel could help you

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I feel you pay more for the connections which is worth it in my mind

umbral wave
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6k a year is the scholarship i thought

umbral wave
modest pine
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Cuz I know people who went to vanderbilt and the people there helped them get insane 300k plus paying jobs straight out of school

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and they can write great recs for grad school

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also all those old money southern schools Vandy, SMU, Wash U etc. have insanely wealthy alumni that help you out

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thats part of the reason I almost picked SMU

umbral wave
opal plaza
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there's loopholes if your parents have US residency i think tho cause oomfie got in-state tuition at UCB in his 3rd/4th years but yeah u cant get it for no reason

pliant moon
pliant moon
pliant moon
opal plaza
solemn belfry
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imma chime in

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as the only student that’s attended either of these schools in this thread lol

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bc the way financebro is riding vandy is wild

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from a student lol

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it’s great here

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but i wouldn’t say berkeley wouldn’t be able to provide anything internship wise that vandy would with any effort in student initiative

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the main difference i would consider mainly is location and campus size

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since vanderbilt has around 7k undergrad

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so small enough to like recognize a fair amount of people on a walk to class

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but not small enough where it feels like a high school

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social life is great i can’t complain

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if you want to go greek there’s plenty of options that don’t fall into the “southern SEC frat” stereotypes

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but there’s plenty of that if you’re interested

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my classes are pretty small, and all the philosophy classes i’ve taken (3) have been awesome and while the department is small the professors are always super engaging

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and if it matters to you i would consider that TN is in the south, and while nashville is a blue city, that you’re going to see and hear things that just wouldn’t fly over in the bay

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tldr: we had a nazi march downtown last month, confederate flags are common ish to see, if you’re used to california the population of asian americans falls off a cliff (not on campus but in the city)

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and then also consider access to reproductive rights, although on campus resources are pretty well equipped. access to contraception and emergency contraception free of cost at the student health center

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and while this isn’t heavily publicized for reasons the women’s center will arrange transportation to legal states if a women chooses/needs to have an abortion

opal plaza
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bunk!

umbral wave
modest pine
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I yeah i am fully glazing tf out of it

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I didnt even apply which is the funny thing

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I just know people who went and who currently go and ive only heard great things and I know people who went to berkley and absolutey hated it

solemn belfry
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but you hopping up and down on it goddam

modest pine
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😭

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its mostly just cuz of my vile hate of uc berkley

solemn belfry
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i mean i have friends at cal who love it

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i personally think i would hate it

opal plaza
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me2 lol

solemn belfry
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lol

opal plaza
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my bestie goes there

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she hated it for first 2 years but she's happy there now

pliant moon
umbral wave