Is Berkeley or USC better?

Question

I am looking to major in engineering and I'm wondering which school to go to for undergraduate. I know that Berkeley has a very highly ranked engineering program (3rd???), but I also have word from people directly involved at Berkeley that it is very impersonal and that classes with 500 or 600 or more are normal. Also I'm told it is very difficult to get research because professors don't care about undergraduates. USC doesn't have as highly ranked a program (9th???) but it doesn't look like there are classes with much more than 300 in them and several of the low level engineering classes have 100 or fewer people in them. Well, what is your people's advice?

Oh, one more thing, my dad told me that these rankings only really pertain to graduate school, but I included them anyway since I'm sure they have professors at both universities that teach both undergraduates and graduates.

Answer 1

I am an engineer at Berkeley and I am very happy with my choice. It is true that some of the undergraduate classes may be a bit impersonal but they seem to be taught very well. I would expect that you would find lower division undergraduate science or engineering courses at any university somewhat impersonal. After all, a 90 person class is going to be about as impersonal as a 500 person class. The classes will be smaller and more personal once you get into upper division courses.

In terms of research opportunities, I am sure that both schools have tremendous opportunities. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is right next to campus in addition to all the research labs on campus. I don't think you'll have too much trouble finding research opportunities here, but you may have to wait until you are an upperclassman.

If you want to look at rankings, US News and World report ranks Berkeley's undergraduate engineering program as tied for second. So it's not just our graduate program that is ranked highly.

Of course, the prestige of the program shouldn't be your only reason for choosing a school. Look at the location and atmosphere as well. I think that Berkeley is the best school for me. But make sure to visit both campuses before you choose.

USC is an excellent school as well. However, (even though I may be biased) I would choose Berkeley again without hesitation. Berkeley is especially a good choice if you can pay in-state tuition.

Answer 2

Yes -- both schools are highly ranked -- but Berkeley is the better school. This is especially true in math and engineering -- well, really every discipline except film. The only schools that I would recommend ahead of Berkeley for engineering are MIT and Cal Tech.

Yes -- you will have some large classes, but your more advanced classes will be smaller.

If you are a California resident, there is also a huge savings going to Berkeley.

Answer 3

Go to Berkeley. Both have huge classes. There are also classes that don't have quite that many kids. Neither school has class sizes that you would consider intimate (that's typically in the 20 or below range).

If you're a CA resident, the Berkeley tuition is worth it.

Answer 4

It depends on what your learning style is, would you rather have an intimate class size? or get into a highly ranked program? the way i see it is even if you enter the lower ranked program, you'll still get a job when you graduate(and a well paying one might i add) .Engineers are engineers, you know.

Answer 5

Well...to me i think that it depends if you want
to be cared about pesonaly in learning engineering because berkeley is more on teaching groups than USC but i think Berkeley is better

Answer 6

Which is more important to you - student/professor ratio, or academic ranking? Decide that, and it will tell you which campus to attend.