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I was reading another thread saying something along the lines of why would you want to go to cal out of state, there's 23000 undergrads and the cost is high. Can any cal out of staters tell me if it's really worth it? I realize that it is a top notch school and I would be lucky as an out of stater to even get in. But I would like to know in terms of quality educational and overall college experience is it worth it? I've heard that a lot of kids get weeded out if they can't make it too, so I would also like to know about the difficulty of the english major. thanks a lot ;]

By Esun (Esun) on Sunday, August 01, 2004 - 08:52 pm: Edit

I've heard good things about the English major at Berkeley, but I don't know about its difficulty. However, I'm sure you can find rankings on that type of thing. Cost is another thing, though. Basically, for out of state, it adds something like $16,000 to the cost immediately (after registering to attend, you have to fill out a form which confirms your residence in CA otherwise it says you'll be charged the $16,000 out of state tuition fee).

It'd be as worthwhile as any equally costly private school, but if you can get into a great private school that has a better English department than Berkeley then it'd be obvious to go there due to the lack of a financial advantage. It really depends on where else you are accepted and what type of English department they have. If it's better, then go there. If not, then come to Berkeley. In a way this makes your decision easier, since there's no financial issues to consider (there's no significant advantage either way, unless you get some nice scholarhips which obviously you'll have to decide based upon).

Oh, and BTW, I'm in state and not actually at Cal yet (but in 3 weeks I will be), so that's why I can't comment on the difficulty or "overall college experience" just yet.

By Hdotchar (Hdotchar) on Sunday, August 01, 2004 - 09:22 pm: Edit

i was about to say yes until i noticed you weren't an engineering or business major.

By Pinkearmufs (Pinkearmufs) on Monday, August 02, 2004 - 12:02 pm: Edit

so no if i'm an english major?

By Esun (Esun) on Monday, August 02, 2004 - 07:34 pm: Edit

Find out how good Berkeley's English department is (I have no clue since I'm in the College of Engineering) and decide based on that.

By Celestia (Celestia) on Monday, August 02, 2004 - 11:58 pm: Edit

from what i've heard it's the best in the nation.

By Pinkearmufs (Pinkearmufs) on Tuesday, August 17, 2004 - 08:43 pm: Edit

? anybody else answer my original post

By Alexandre (Alexandre) on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 12:29 pm: Edit

Why you ought to be ashamed of yourselves...the lot of you! And you have the nerve to call yourselves Golden Bears?! Here you have young Pinkearmuffs, and all she wants to know is if you think your school is worth it to an out of stater. Is it that difficult to say yes?!

Pinkie, Cal-Berkeley is awesome in English (top 3 among research universities) and worth every penny. If you like the campus and the style, go for it. The Bay area is a great place to live.

By Esun (Esun) on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 07:06 pm: Edit

Being a "Golden Bear" doesn't mean we need to be biased in giving educational advice. I wouldn't want to lead someone into four years of regret and agony due to incorrect assumptions.

By Alexandre (Alexandre) on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 04:06 am: Edit

Well Esun, I appreciate your honnesty. I am not a Cal alum so I am not biased, but I admire that school a great deal. Like I mentioned above, from the academic side, Cal is worth recommending to out of state students. Cal is, simply put, one of the top 10 universities in the US and is ranked in the top 5 in every field of study. So if somebody asks you whether or not Cal is worth going to for out of staters, it usually is from the academic side of things. I did in fact stress that Pinkearmuffs should study the school in terms of social environment to determine whether or not she can fit in and be happy. But that's a personal issue which only the applicant can establish.

By Tkdgal (Tkdgal) on Thursday, August 19, 2004 - 02:22 pm: Edit

The rankings for English are only for grad school though, no?

Pinkearmuffs, there have been tons of discussions about the "best" English departments in the forum called "College Search and Selection," in case you are interested.