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Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:52 am
by Atmosphere
Long story short, I'd be leaving Boalt debt-free, and attending CLS at sticker.

Does Columbia bring anything tangible to the table that Berkeley doesnt?

I'd like to stay on the west coast but have the option to go back east as well.

Gracias.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:56 am
by goldenflash19
Atmosphere wrote:Long story short, I'd be leaving Boalt debt-free, and attending CLS at aticker.

Does Columbia bring anything tangible to the table that Berkeley doesnt?

I'd like to stay on the west coast but have the option to go back east as well.

Gracias.
Nothing worth the $300 K difference. Easy choice.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:04 am
by Atmosphere
goldenflash19 wrote:
Atmosphere wrote:Long story short, I'd be leaving Boalt debt-free, and attending CLS at aticker.

Does Columbia bring anything tangible to the table that Berkeley doesnt?

I'd like to stay on the west coast but have the option to go back east as well.

Gracias.
Nothing worth the $300 K difference. Easy choice.
I haven't heard back from H/S, but am still holding out hope, does that answer stay the same in regards to these schools as well?

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:06 am
by Dog
goldenflash19 wrote:
Atmosphere wrote:Long story short, I'd be leaving Boalt debt-free, and attending CLS at aticker.

Does Columbia bring anything tangible to the table that Berkeley doesnt?

I'd like to stay on the west coast but have the option to go back east as well.

Gracias.
Nothing worth the $300 K difference. Easy choice.
Read the first sentence and immediately voted for Berkeley. Read the rest of the post and it became even more lopsided.

Columbia has little advantage over Berkeley for the west coast, and you'll have an extra $3,000+ in your pocket each month for ten years.

Edit: H/S make it more of a discussion. Still, without significant need aid or unicorn job goals, it's really tough to beat a debt free t14 in the market you want to practice in.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:08 am
by Ron Don Volante
Atmosphere wrote:Long story short, I'd be leaving Boalt debt-free, and attending CLS at aticker.

Does Columbia bring anything tangible to the table that Berkeley doesnt?

I'd like to stay on the west coast but have the option to go back east as well.

Gracias.
Wut. There is absolutely no question here. If your primary goal is to stay in California, the answer is probably Berk even if the costs were the same.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:09 am
by Big Dog
Columbia has little advantage over Berkeley for the west coast..
Let me fix that for you: Columbia has NO advantage over Berkeley for the west coast

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:14 am
by Dog
Big Dog wrote:
Columbia has little advantage over Berkeley for the west coast..
Let me fix that for you: Columbia has NO advantage over Berkeley for the west coast

I was trying to stay conservative in case Columbia lovers showed up in this thread to debate me on something haha.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:18 am
by banjo
Easy. Berkeley over H/S/C at sticker.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 12:23 pm
by jbagelboy
banjo wrote:Easy. Berkeley over H/S/C at sticker.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 12:26 pm
by jbagelboy
It's not that Columbia (or Harvard or Chicago) doesn't bring anything to the table that Berkeley doesn't. These schools place better into large firms and elite firms specifically. But these schools are worth maybe $75k more at most, and far less than that for California.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 12:42 pm
by BigZuck
This is the no brainer to end all no brainers. Enjoy Cal.

If you get into Harvard, don't act like a Harvard student and take Harvard at sticker over Berkeley. That would be tragic, and TLS will be madsad at you. Don't make TLS madsad.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:12 pm
by Mack.Hambleton
how are you graduating debt free

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:38 pm
by FloridaCoastalorbust
don't go anywhere but berke.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:46 pm
by sesto elemento
BoalTTT is the right choice here.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:55 pm
by Atmosphere
Mack.Hambleton wrote:how are you graduating debt free
I don't want to get into specifics, but my tuition is handled at Berk, and my family has agreed to help me with rent and CoL.


Also, thanks to everyone in this thread, sometimes it's easy to slip on the preftige-blinders

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 4:18 pm
by WhiskeynCoke
Atmosphere wrote:
Mack.Hambleton wrote:how are you graduating debt free
I don't want to get into specifics, but my tuition is handled at Berk, and my family has agreed to help me with rent and CoL.


Also, thanks to everyone in this thread, sometimes it's easy to slip on the preftige-blinders
WTF? How did you manage to get a full ride from those cheap SOBs? Answer here is Boalt by a mile.

Columbia has NO advantage over B on the west coast. If anything, the reverse is true.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:38 pm
by SLS_AMG
WhiskeynCoke wrote:
Atmosphere wrote:
Mack.Hambleton wrote:how are you graduating debt free
I don't want to get into specifics, but my tuition is handled at Berk, and my family has agreed to help me with rent and CoL.


Also, thanks to everyone in this thread, sometimes it's easy to slip on the preftige-blinders
WTF? How did you manage to get a full ride from those cheap SOBs? Answer here is Boalt by a mile.

Columbia has NO advantage over B on the west coast. If anything, the reverse is true.
This. And while I understand that Columbia is probably slightly more prestigious than Berkeley, it's not like you're choosing between Columbia and some random second- or third-tier school. You're choosing between two top-10 schools.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:20 pm
by rpupkin
Atmosphere wrote:
I haven't heard back from H/S, but am still holding out hope, does that answer stay the same in regards to these schools as well?
Yes, unless H/S offers you significant need-based aid.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:14 pm
by sheishkabob
Atmosphere wrote:
Mack.Hambleton wrote:how are you graduating debt free
I don't want to get into specifics, but my tuition is handled at Berk, and my family has agreed to help me with rent and CoL.


Also, thanks to everyone in this thread, sometimes it's easy to slip on the preftige-blinders
Wait, what? I thought that Berkeley hasn't given any scholarships, matching or otherwise (correct me if I'm wrong??). Did a financial aid officer accidentally murder a member of your family or something?

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:31 pm
by Atmosphere
sheishkabob wrote:
Atmosphere wrote:
Mack.Hambleton wrote:how are you graduating debt free
I don't want to get into specifics, but my tuition is handled at Berk, and my family has agreed to help me with rent and CoL.


Also, thanks to everyone in this thread, sometimes it's easy to slip on the preftige-blinders
Wait, what? I thought that Berkeley hasn't given any scholarships, matching or otherwise (correct me if I'm wrong??). Did a financial aid officer accidentally murder a member of your family or something?
you're not wrong, and no, not that I know of haha

Edit: I'm sorry to be so cryptic, but I can't out myself.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:34 pm
by robertrulez
cal vet tuition waiver?

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 11:57 pm
by Shaggier1
Seriously who voted for Columbia? Who would let the (seriously marginal) prestige at play here compel them to make such a wildly irresponsible financial decision. Do you know how quickly the juice runs on $275,000?

For the love of God, go to Berkeley. Even if you decide halfway through 1L that you want to work in New York, it is the right call. I had offers are three V10 firms in New York after placing in top 25% at Berkeley my 1L year. I had never lived or worked in New york prior to OCI.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:17 am
by transferror
Shaggier1 wrote:For the love of God, go to Berkeley.
This is TCR, even if you get HYS + aid. Berkeley with no debt = the tits.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:21 am
by drumstickies
Easily Berkeley. There are people here who have turned down Columbia, even with aid, because they want to target the west coast.

Re: Berkeley($$$) vs. Columbia

Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:23 am
by UnicornHunter
jbagelboy wrote:
banjo wrote:Easy. Berkeley over H/S/C at sticker.