US Universities?

Berkley is the last bastian of communism in the states. Yale is Ivy League. Georgetown is religious.

Any other questions, I'll be happy to answer.

All three are excellent Universities. Though, in my opinion, Berkeley and Yale have a more prestigious reputation and recognition than Georgetown. Berkeley seems to have the creme de la creme of the intelligentsia. It was also the home of the hippie movement in the sixties.

Location is another consideration. Georgetown is in Washington DC, Berkeley is in the Bay Area which includes San Francisco, and Yale is in New Haven, Connecticut. Your experience living in these areas will be vastly different.

Perhaps a wiki search on those three universities will aid you in your decision.

Congratulations.

Congrats! I gotta say that Berkeley is where you would have the most fun. I don't mean college drinking/doing stupid things fun, I mean exploring a cool place and meeting neat people fun. Like ferret says, Berkeley is an extremely liberal town and university. If you dislike hippies, it won't be the place for you. if you love social activism, you will be thrilled to death. It's also just a train hop away from San Francisco, the most awesome city ever. It's also near Lake Tahoe, the Redwoods, the beach, giant sequoias, and similar inspiring landscapes. (secretly i don't like Cal because they are the local rivals of my alma mater, but it is a really great place to study and live)

Yale is an Ivy League uni with more history and tradition. It's also much more conservative. It's in Connecticut, where there's not that much cool stuff to do, but you are close to NYC and Boston and other such thrilling places. Summer weather at Yale will be more yucky than at Berkeley.

I dunno much about Georgetown so I can't help ya there. Like ferret said, it's a Jesuit university. Academically all three places are very strong, so i think you can't go wrong with any of them.

Shadow_Ferret said:

Berkley is the last bastian of communism in the states. Yale is Ivy League. Georgetown is religious.

Any other questions, I'll be happy to answer.

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DamaNegra said:

How religious?

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Not very religious, since I've never heard them referred to as such.

Ferret, can you perhaps show a little bias in your reply? Damanegra is trying to make an informed decision.

Dama, if you go strictly on overall reputation, Yale noses out Cal Berkeley by well, a nose. Georgetown is a step down, but it's a small step. In other words, you have offers from three outstanding institutions. For the next level of sorting, your specific field of study is important. Every university has its strengths and weaknesses, even the heavyweights. If you look at your area, you can pull up departments and professors on the internet to judge their relative strengths. If your area of study is stronger at the second or third-ranked university, you should take that as a major determinant since overall reputation can only go so far, while instruction and connections in your specific field will probably take you a lot farther.

Excellent news, by the way. I'll agree that area of the U.S. is worth considering, but not as important as strength of the schools in your area of study.

WHOA!

Before you decide based on universities, you should really look at the strength of the particular program you'd be in, and speak to some of the faculty in those programs.

FOR EXAMPLE, when I was searching out colleges, I knew I wanted to study criminal justice and psychology. So I wasn't as concerned about what the general reputation of the school was, I wanted to know what the reputation was for the field I would be spending my hard-earned money to study...One school I looked at was very vague when my mother asked some routine questions during a visit, and I immediately wrote them off. It wasn't that they had a bad program, or a bad reputation, but I immediately thought that if they couldn't answer routine questions without getting snotty, then they wouldn't be very helpful if I went there as a student and had questions about the material. I know overseas phone calls aren't cheap, but it might be worth it to call (GET THE TIME CHANGE RIGHT...no reason to tick off a potential professor) and see if you can communicate with a professor, and if you might be a good fit for the program.

Location is important. If you wouldn't be happy in California, then Berkely would not be a good fit. Likewise in New England with Yale, or in DC with Georgetown. But the biggest concern in picking a school is the program of study first. The second question should be your living/climate/social likes and dislikes for where to live.

I know someone currently getting his PhD at Yale and he's quite happy there. In terms of political persuasion he's pretty moderate, probably a little leftward leaning.

My best friend from high school, very very very heavily left wing, went to Berkeley. She loved the social situation because, well, Berkeley is about as leftist as you get, but she admitted after she graduated that she wished she had picked somewhere else to study. She said for an undergrad education, all Berkeley really offers over any community college is the reputation. She spent her entire undergrad career in huge classes, study groups with grad students leading them, and never developed a relationship with a single professor. It was mediocre at best. She said you don't really get "into" things until you're at the grad level. So that was pretty disappointing for her, because she was very academically focused.

That's all I got. Hope it helps.

I dunno, she's not going to college. She's spending a summer studying abroad. Those of you who have studied abroad: did the reputation of the school and the quality of the department you were interested in matter that much? Or were you over the moon to share and learn in a new place and a new culture, visiting historical spots and taking in beautiful sites? I don't think she's going to get sub-par instruction at any of these places, so shouldn't she pick the school with the campus culture and location that she will get the most out of? that's my two cents. and that's been the experience of myself and my friends who did year/semester abroad.

You've had great advice here. I'll add that I'd jump at the chance to live that close to San Fran with someone else footing the bill!

Kitty Pryde said:

I dunno, she's not going to college. She's spending a summer studying abroad. Those of you who have studied abroad: did the reputation of the school and the quality of the department you were interested in matter that much? Or were you over the moon to share and learn in a new place and a new culture, visiting historical spots and taking in beautiful sites? I don't think she's going to get sub-par instruction at any of these places, so shouldn't she pick the school with the campus culture and location that she will get the most out of? that's my two cents. and that's been the experience of myself and my friends who did year/semester abroad.

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Ohhh, sorry, I didn't catch that.

Yes, pick your spot based on where you want to go. Location, not school.

Personally I would pick Georgetown but that's probably because I grew up in the greater Bay Area and I'm over it.

Beach Bunny said:

Not very religious, since I've never heard them referred to as such.

Ferret, can you perhaps show a little bias in your reply? Damanegra is trying to make an informed decision.

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Sure, I could. But what's the fun in that?

If it was me and I had to choose, I think Berkeley would be really cool.

As far as Georgetown, it says right on their website they're a Christian Jesuit school. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. We have Marquette here which is Jesuit and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it if someone asked.

DamaNegra said:

I've been offered the opportunity to study in the US during the summer. I've a choice of Berkley, Yale or Georgetown to study, but I know absolutely nothing about any of these three universities. What can you tell me about reputations, facilities, alumni or other things that may aid me in making a decision?

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Both Yale and Berkeley are Ivy League top schools. Don't know much about Georgetown. Yale is more conservative -- Berkeley is, well, Berkeley, and it's in the Bay area. And congrats.

My friend graduated from Berkeley before going to Wharton. He loved it there. If I were you I'd go to Berkeley.

maestrowork said:

Both Yale and Berkeley are Ivy League top schools.

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Berkeley's not Ivy League! Be-flipflopped California college students shun the Ivy League!

Kitty Pryde said:

Berkeley's not Ivy League! Be-flipflopped California college students shun the Ivy League!

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I believe he has it confused with the AAU (Association of American Universities)

¡Me muero de la pinche envidia!

translation: Congratulations, my dear!

Me quedo atrapado en Venezuela mientras te coleas con los de las grandes universidades gringas.

translation: I stay here in Venezuela waiting the best for you from the greatest US universities.

Hundiendome, pero bueno... ya me llegará mi turno.

translation: praying for you and your well being... hope you show us pictures.

No te enojes conmigo que esto es una broma, querida amiga.

Translation: Don't think everything is swell, I have a bit of envy.



Esperando lo mejor de tí, tu amigo Maxmordón.

Translation: Bring me US dollars to be your dimwit friend.

DamaNegra said:

How religious?

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It's Catholic.
They are all fantastic schools.

DamaNegra said:

Well, I've only lived in Philadelphia when I was 2 years old. Other than that, I'm a complete n00b to US culture.

I'm thinking that I'd identify a little bit more with Berkeley, even though I'm not left leaning, but I like to consider myself a liberal. And, also, I feel more comfortable in more relaxed environments. I'm afraid that if I pick Yale I'll stumble across a lot of elitism, indifference and stiffness. That'd be my undoing. Oh, choices, choices.

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Yale isn't stuffy, at least in the summer program. It isn't peopled with matriculated students. A lot of people from all over go to these programs. Just remember: it does not give you a better chance at admission to that particular college. With that said, you'd have the New Haven Summer Jazz Festival, good restaurants nearby, and the beach a mile away. You'd be less than an hour from New York City.

C.bronco said:

It's Catholic.
They are all fantastic schools.

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There's nothing wrong with Catholic schools. I went to Catholic/Christian schools for years. Look how well I turn up....

OK, maybe not the best example...

maxmordon said:

¡Me muero de la pinche envidia!

translation: Congratulations, my dear!

Me quedo atrapado en Venezuela mientras te coleas con los de las grandes universidades gringas.

translation: I stay here in Venezuela waiting the best for you from the greatest US universities.

Hundiendome, pero bueno... ya me llegará mi turno.

translation: praying for you and your well being... hope you show us pictures.

No te enojes conmigo que esto es una broma, querida amiga.

Translation: Don't think everything is swell, I have a bit of envy.



Esperando lo mejor de tí, tu amigo Maxmordón.

Translation: Bring me US dollars to be your dimwit friend.

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Your translation wasn't very good, Max

I think you cannot go wrong at any of the colleges.

Since you said Literature, my first inclination would be Berkley. I think thier liberal arts program is probably among the best in the world. In this fashion, they are probably better than Yale (again my opinion, never went to either).

In terms of partying, Berkley wins hands down.
In terms of getting some BIG MONEY connections, I think i'd give it to Yale
In terms of getting Political/religious connections, Georgetown wins.
In terms of getting 'artistic' connections, Berkley wins hands down.

Also depends on you. If you are more liberal, you will definitely feel right at home in Berkley. If you are conservative, then Berkley will annoy the hell out of you. If you are nuetral, then I think you can survive Berkley without being too annoyed. Berkley is about as Liberal is they come. In fact, I don't think I can picture a more liberal school/environment.

Not to say it is bad. But if it ain't your thing, then Berkley isn't for you.

Yale is conservative but not overly so.

Anyways, my two cents

Mel...