#UT Austin (CS Honors+Math Honors) vs UC Berkeley EECS

74 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

stiff trellis
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I narrowed my choices down to just these two (from these + USC, Georgia Tech, UCLA, UCSD, A&M full ride, Duke, and Cornell).

Schools: UT Austin and UC Berkeley
Intended major: CS and Math at UT Austin, EECS at UC Berkeley
Similarities: overall school size (large public), proximity to FAANG/big tech jobs

UT Austin
School 1 Pros:
Price - 28k/year
Honors programs (Turing and Deans honors for math and cs), smaller class sizes (≤50 students in honors classes), easier to talk to profs + get research because of honors
Seems like a more well-rounded college experience than berk (more fun things to do, slightly less study-oriented)
Close(ish) to home in case I want to meet up with old friends or visit my family

School 1 Cons:
Weather (way too hot)
Less well-known for computer science than Berkeley, Bay Area has more opportunities than Austin

UC Berkeley
School 2 Pros:
EECS is very well known, probably helps with hiring
Very strong research
May have better job/internship opportunities
Professors??? (need more input on quality of education and classes at both)
Weather

School 2 Cons:
Cost - 70k/year
Underfunding/overenrollment issue for cs department at Berkeley
Don't know anyone going there this year (not super important)

Tiebreaking considerations:
Need to find out more about the quality of classes and preparedness for jobs from both schools
Unsure about whether I want to go to grad school or not/which specialization I'd do if i did go to grad school. That would heavily influence my decision.

arctic oxide
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70k is alot

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but it's eecs

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and the bay

daring narwhal
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Not worth 42k/yr extra

stiff trellis
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thats what im thinking

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but lowkey i cant tell

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bc i could probably make that money back in a couple years after i graduate anyways

arctic oxide
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idk if it's a financial burden ooon ur family

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that's a thing u need to talk with ur parents and family

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if u can afford it yeah

stiff trellis
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my parents dont tell me shit about our finances lol

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im paying for half though

radiant depot
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@stiff trellis the quality of education at berkeley is going to be top notch

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i think they have 12 nobel laureates

stiff trellis
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thats true

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idk if its worth the extra money though

radiant depot
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But yeah I've heard not so great things about the CS department though

radiant depot
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keep in mind you'll be near silicon valley with lots of opportunity in terms of employment

arctic oxide
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^

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u can prob make the debt up in 3-4 years max

radiant depot
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I wouldnt count on that but yeah it wouldnt take long to make up the debt given you get a good job in silicon valley

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which wouldnt be that hard if you graduated from berkeley

arctic oxide
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yea don’t count on that

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210k is a lot of money bro plus like interest

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Unless your family makes 6 figures each year

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you’re not safe if you take that route

arctic oxide
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and it’s gonna weigh you down emotionally

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my family has been through a lot of debt and it was an emotional toll to them

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A

stiff trellis
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thats true ig

stiff trellis
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so it should be doable

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but like its still a lot of money

daring narwhal
still spade
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I would really want to see you at Berkeley < 3, but I think UT Austin is the clear choice in this circumstance. A lot of people change their mind about major too, so I would say taking 70k a year is too much

arctic oxide
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^

stiff trellis
stiff trellis
daring narwhal
stiff trellis
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i mean if u do enough TAing you get a discount that gets u to in state tuition i think

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which i can do every year after freshman year

daring narwhal
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It's not guaranteed

stiff trellis
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true

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i just feel like im@gonna miss out if i give that up

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like what was the point of grinding if i’m going to UT anyways lol

radiant depot
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this is a tough decision

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and im not even making it lel

stiff trellis
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not expecting much aid

arctic oxide
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I mean you have honors

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so

stiff trellis
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wdym

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UT is like not giving me aid lol my EFC is way higher than how much UT costs

radiant depot
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but if they say no then go with UT Austin

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You could always move to Silicon Valley after you graduate and still get a really good job

acoustic holly
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What I want to know is how much does the minute quality changes in education impact your decisions

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Personally, I am someone who would rather pay more to get that tiny bump in education. Plus, in my opinion, you cant really put a price on experience, and from what my alumni friends at Berkeley say, they really found the environment accepting and a place you can truly feel like yourself.

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I turned down a full ride at NEU with some amazing research offers to go pay full price at UMich LOL so

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Now, for my major, UMich and NEU just cant compare so thats a factor. But honestly, if I was in your position, Id go berkeley

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just for the experience, location, and it being EECS (oh baby)

arctic oxide
stiff trellis
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thats what im thinking

arctic oxide
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and i really wouldn’t put too much weight into the “known” factor; austin has plenttyyyyy of jobs for cs. ik sooooo many ppl who’ve moved here for it

stiff trellis
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yeah

arctic oxide
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esp in tech

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idt it’s a drastic diff whatsoever and honestly i really think in the next few years austin’s going to be a huge tech hub equivalent to the bay so i think i would just go for ut esp since u have so many honors lined up too

acoustic holly
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thats a very valid point too

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the qwuestion is do you want 280k debt by the end of 4 years and experience the bay area, or go 100k in debt and get roughly the same level of education and opportunities\