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University of Surrey vs UC Berkeley

Hey guys,

I have already firmed the University of Surrey, and put Swansea as my insurance choice, both for Aerospace Engineering. I love the UK system, and studying Aerospace is my goal.

But yesterday I received an email of my acceptance to UC Berkeley, for Civil Engineering (they don't have aerospace)! Berkeley has an amazing reputation, and their civil engineering course has been #1 in the world for many years, so it would definitely be a good option for me. They told me that I can study Civil Engineering but take Mechanical Engineering courses (or transfer to mechanical), so I can then take my master's in Aerospace. But Berkeley is ridiculously expensive...

My UK acceptances require that I do well on my IB exams so it's possible that I'll do badly and won't meet the conditional acceptance requirements... So I will end up without a good university when I could have gone to Berkeley :biggrin:

Guys, please help me out. I only have a few days to make this decision. Is it worth it to possibly abandon my goal of Aerospace Engineering so I can get a degree at Berkeley? Or should I go to the UK and hope that I'll go to a great university for a Master's degree?
If you can afford Berkeley DEFINITELY go..

It's hands down one of the best public universities in the US, not comparable to Surrey in any way, shape or form.

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Reply 2
Original post by windowtosky
Guys, please help me out. I only have a few days to make this decision. Is it worth it to possibly abandon my goal of Aerospace Engineering so I can get a degree at Berkeley? Or should I go to the UK and hope that I'll go to a great university for a Master's degree?


Original post by Princepieman
If you can afford Berkeley DEFINITELY go..

It's hands down one of the best public universities in the US, not comparable to Surrey in any way, shape or form.

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Wot he said!

There's not a huge difference between mech and aero. There are many mechs working in aerospace.


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(edited 7 years ago)
My end goal has been, for several years, to become an aerospace engineer. Like you, I had aero offers in the UK but I chose to go to a school in the US where aero is not offered, so I will be majoring in mechanical engineering.

Coming from my dad, who has a master's in aerospace and a bachelor's in mechanical, an UG degree in mech engineering (can't really speak for civil) is virtually the same as one in aero (in terms of opportunities afterwards and classes taken). So if it were me I would go to Berkeley and if you like apply afterwards for a master's in aerospace.

Choosing Berkeley is definitely not going to abandon your goal of becoming an Aero engineer
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 4
Original post by Student403
My end goal has been, for several years, to become an aerospace engineer. Like you, I had aero offers in the UK but I chose to go to a school in the US where aero is not offered, so I will be majoring in mechanical engineering.


Thank you so much for this, you helped take a lot of the major-related stress off my back :smile: I think I will make a chart with all the pros and cons of the UK unis vs Berkeley in order to see which one I prefer.
Original post by windowtosky
Thank you so much for this, you helped take a lot of the major-related stress off my back :smile: I think I will make a chart with all the pros and cons of the UK unis vs Berkeley in order to see which one I prefer.


Great idea. I made a similar chart here when I was debating between one of my UK unis and one of my US unis. Have a look incase you'd like some ideas of what to evaluate. One thing I didn't consider as much in my table (which you might like to in yours) is the student life (I know the Berkeley has some crazy parties haha but it's also in a wicked location)
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by windowtosky

Guys, please help me out. I only have a few days to make this decision. Is it worth it to possibly abandon my goal of Aerospace Engineering so I can get a degree at Berkeley? Or should I go to the UK and hope that I'll go to a great university for a Master's degree?


Hey!

Just to tag on what has already been said - UC Berkeley is an incredible university and it's such an amazing opportunity. In terms of academics, you really couldn't go to a better place. Also think about the places, too. I've been to the campus and it's beautiful, and it only takes about 30 minutes to get to San Francisco, which is quite the city. I'm a sucker for California, I studied abroad there, and I would encourage anybody to go there.

As for the degree itself, doing Mechanical for your Bachelor's and then a Master's in Aerospace is a great way to go. From what I've seen in the US, it's also one of the more common approaches, too. Whilst citizenship is a huge issue, California and the US have an outstanding Aerospace industry, both in the private sector and with research.

Hope this helps! :smile:

Scott
Undergraduate Rep
School of Engineering
Reply 7
Berkeley, if you can afford it!

Also, it should be easy enough to switch majors, I wouldn't worry about that!

How come you got your acceptance this late? Were you waitlisted?
Reply 8
Original post by Summit
Berkeley, if you can afford it!

Also, it should be easy enough to switch majors, I wouldn't worry about that!

How come you got your acceptance this late? Were you waitlisted?


yeah I was :biggrin: It's a miracle that I got in considering my SATs were very low
Reply 9
Do any of you know if I can accept Berkeley while still having accepted the UK unis, until I get my IB grades and then see where I could go? Is this legal? (In terms of ethics/morals I think it's find because I'm not holding up wait-list spots for anyone since I was from the wait-list)
Original post by windowtosky
Do any of you know if I can accept Berkeley while still having accepted the UK unis, until I get my IB grades and then see where I could go? Is this legal? (In terms of ethics/morals I think it's find because I'm not holding up wait-list spots for anyone since I was from the wait-list)


Yeah they're completely unrelated application systems - you know, because they're in different countries..

Do what you want, ethics/morals don't factor in here you're not doing someone else a favour by holding on to a uni choice

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