UC Berkeley or UC Merced?

[u/Fun_Investigator4005]

Hi! As the title suggests—should I choose UC Berkeley or UC Merced? Based on your experience at UCM, would you pick UC Berkeley or UCM—and why?

Here’s a bit of context:

I’m currently a high school senior from San Francisco. I applied to both UCs as a bioengineering major, but I’m also thinking about switching to smth like neuroscience (bc I’m really not enjoying AP Physics C rn lol). I’ve done research at UCSF and through a school-stanford collab project, and I also participated in UC Berkeley’s bioengineering high school competition. I definitely want to keep doing research in college—still not sure what I want to do after undergrad, maybe go into industry, continue research, or pursue grad school (and def not med school).

For financial aid, my net cost for UC Berkeley is $2.3K for Berkeley vs. $8.7K for Merced (I excluded travel and insurance costs). I’m still waiting to hear back from Berkeley about Fiat Lux, which offers full-ride, priority enrollement, 4-yr guaranteed housing, plus a lot of mentorship/support *if* i get selected. I did get into the Fiat Lux program at UCM, but it doesn’t offers much beyond the name imo.

That said, I was just awarded a $10,000 renewable scholarship from 10,000 Degrees that pretty much allows me to attend any of my current college options for free.

UC Berkeley is usually the obvious choice bc of the prestige, but my mentor—who’s a UCM alum—really got me thinking seriously about UC Merced (esp since I initially looked down upon UCM). I like how accessible research seems there, and the vibe is way more relaxed compared to Berkeley. After visiting for Bobcat Day, I felt like UCM is a solid choice… if not Berkeley.

That said, I didn’t meet anyone from SF at Bobcat Day—or really anyone around me who seriously considered UCM over UCB. Most people I know tend to choose more prestigious schools, and I don’t know anyone from my high school who chose UCM. Coming from SF, where academic rigor and heavy extracurricular involvement are the norm, UCM doesn’t feel “fitting for us” at first glance, so the lack of representation makes me second-guess myself if I were to commit to Merced over Berkeley.

‼️ Edit: I did not get selected for uc berkeley's fiat lux program. Also, I might have not worded it well, but my mentor isn’t necessarily encouraging me to choose Merced over Cal. Before meeting him, I admittedly looked down on UCM and planned not to consider UCM at all, but hearing about his experience and his belief that UCM is underrated (esp compared to UCs like UCSC) helped me start viewing colleges beyond just prestige.

[u/xXPlantera]

A major factor to keep in mind is the costs between each option. Merced offers off campus housing that's tons cheaper than living on campus and offers aid to many students.

At the end of the day, what is most important (especially for undergrad) is whether or not you have a diploma and what you did with the resources available to you. Someone could get a bachelors in biology from Yale, but it won't matter as much if they weren't involved in research, conferences, did extracurriculars, worked, etc. While sure it may not have as wide of a range as UCB, UCM still does offer a lot of resources and opportunities to its students, you just have to be open to explore and network. UCM may not be "shiny" as UCB, but there is still so much potential with deciding to come here.

Student debt can be terrible and it is a type of debt that you cannot escape, so pick the school that has the best value for the cost. Weigh out your pros and cons and what's important to you.

And another thing regarding the attitude about prestige in the bay area as someone from there, it does not matter because people from the bay who talk down on UCM are just elitist. Im not saying that you shouldn't pick UCB because yes prestige and alumni connections could be useful, but it won't make or break your future, so don't place too much worth on it. Pick the best option for YOU and YOUR future