Right. I’m Going to Berkeley!
Poll is closed. Thanks for voting!
Where should Ern Sheong go for an undergrad education, Berkeley or Cornell?
- Berkeley (58%, 36 Votes)
- Cornell (42%, 26 Votes)
Total Voters: 62
Loading …I want to thank all of you for voting between Berkeley and Cornell on where I should continue my studies. The poll is now closed. Of course, I did not choose based on your votes, but rather because of my own preferences. But your votes did give some support to me in my decision. XD
I despise scholarships because of their bonds (5-8 years), hence I intend to go to Berkeley and graduate within 3 years instead of 4 due to budget constraints (Saves me a total of RM160000 based on the current exchange rate). After discussing long and hard with my parents, they agreed to sponsor 3 years of study– 4 years would be over the budget. Hence unless I get a grant or bond-free scholarship, I’ll finish in three years, something I think should be quite achievable. Hopefully, I can obtain additional funding support there in Berkeley as well during my years there. With additional funding, I can allocate more funds to graduate study instead.
CONs: I have to spend more thriftily as I do not get special allowances or monthly pocket money to lavish on myself in the States. There will not be any settling-in allowance, transportation or computer allowances. Have to be more financially prudent in that sense. I’ll have to work on campus to earn some luxury. Also I can kiss my intention to buy my Macbook Pro or acoustic guitar bye bye. My aging but faithful Dell Inspiron 630m laptop would have to suffice for at least another 1-2 years (hence I’m gonna upgrade the RAM of my Dell to the max now! 2GB!)
PROs: It is my parents money anyway, and perhaps that would be motivation enough to excel there and do well. They didn’t pay for nothing, so I’ll have to make their money’s worth. The biggest advantage would be that I am not bound in any way to a scholarship provider and I am able to do pursue wherever I am being led to after graduation. That, I think, is PRICELESS.
That said, Berkeley Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) is a notoriously difficult course. The EECS in Berkeley is in the league of the same course in MIT and Stanford– tough, demanding and pressurizing. Go to Berkeley and mention that you are EECS and you are bound to be thought as some geek.
Also, it might be tough to secure great GPAs given the grade deflation going on. According to a EECS major there who corresponded with me through e-mail, “The department GPA target (at Berkeley) is 2.7 (meaning that each class instructor adjusts so that the mean GPA is around 2.7), which is much lower than comparable courses in MIT and Stanford, as far as I know. The implication is that one has to be very much above average to get a satisfying grade.” (4.0 is the ‘perfect’ GPA at Berkeley and most institutions)
He goes on to mention that “There are 43% Asians, including Indians, a large percentage of whom are in COE. This spells terrible news for grade competition, especially in classes which are “curved”, i.e. relative rather than absolute grading.”
Oh my God, why am I going to such a place! I am not a genius or super smart student. NJC wasn’t a breeze for me, and now here comes Berkeley. It would be a challenge, but I think I’ll survive, given many late nights and hard work. =(
Alright. I am going to submit my Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) to Berkeley and pay the USD 100 registration fee now. All the best to me =)
P.S. I would like to take this opportunity to tell the pro-Cornell people that I am not against Cornell, just that I have to make a decision eventually and thus I am choosing Berkeley due to a number of reasons. (Sorry Chen Chow! I know this will disappoint you! Hope you understand!)
Congrats on choosing Berkeley!
3 years is do-able. If you go for a PhD graduate study, you will get funds/scholarships anyway.
Best of luck at Berkeley! I wonder who the EECS person was…
never to late to change
!
lol make me XD
ahaha..FRAUD !!! i voted 5 times !!!
LOL
One comment (for you and everyone else) - don’t let the “ranking” confuse you. Yes, Berkeley EECS is highly rated, but at the undergrad level, where your education is going to be broad based, most of the top 10 to 20 schools are going to feel just as difficult, the curriculum (if you choose similar courses) is going to overlap a large deal (always try another school’s website for the answer for your homework), and the competition is going to be just as stiff.
So if you’re worried about cost of living (since you plan to take FaMa scholarship) it’s important to compare the “total” cost: Berkeley is a state school (University to California) but the tuition is not that far away from private schools (like Cornell). However, the cost of living in the Bay Area is certainly going to be a lot higher than staying in the cold mountain town of Ithaca. I don’t have numbers though, I’m just saying this coz I’ve had friends who had to suspend school coz something happen to their source of funding (father business went down hill, didn’t have buffer when exchange rates went not in favour) and it’s not pretty. So do be very careful in budgeting and _stick to it_.
But I’m sure you will right?
See ya tmr
@jiinjoo: hey thanks for reminding! I’ll keep that in mind and try my best la… yeah i guess i’ll have to watch that wallet more closely aha…
and of course even if i choose cornell it would be very challenging there as well no doubt… there is no escape!!! ahaha
Ern Sheong, all the best to your pursue at Berkeley! Both are pretty good schools, and main thing is how one makes full use of it! So, definitely hope that you would make full use of the opportunities!
Graduating 3 years is definitely possible. Do go for those scholarships available. MACEE-AMCHAM is one of those bondless scholarships.
Another possible way is to take a JPA loan, and after that you can pay for it, instead of your parents paying for it.
Yeah, another thing to take note is on exchange rate. Right now, it is 3.15 . Guess you might want to lock in some rates now, or if you think it will get better, then do wait for later. That could swing quite a bit!
@chen chow: thanks for the tip chen chow =) and thanks for all the sharing with me the other day XD