Are you wondering whether you should go to Berkeley or UCLA? You can't go wrong with either. If you got a full ride to UCLA, you should go to UCLA. If you have to pay full tuition for both, then you should lean towards Berkeley.
Both schools are perennially in the Top 20 best ranked schools in the country. Although UC Berkeley is generally ranked about 5 spots higher.
You can’t beat a full ride and saving yourself $200,000+ in college expenses over four years AND graduating debt free.
The fact of the matter is, college is no longer your golden ticket. It takes too long and costs too much for the return. 25 years ago, we had to spend hours in the library doing research for a paper. Now we can gather research and produce work at least 3X faster. Therefore, college should also be shortened as well, but it’s not.
The Cost To Go To College Is Going Up
Below is the total private school tuition cost if you go to the most well known schools. If you do, you are literally foregoing over $1,000,000 by getting an education that is comparable to a public school education. Wouldn't you rather graduate from college and be handed a million bucks instead?
Work on a major in high demand, your communication skills, and your network instead. Nobody cares where you went to college just a couple years out. UCLA is a fantastic school. So is Berkeley. But so are a lot of the UCs.
The internet and technology has democratized access to knowledge and education. Therefore, it is only logically that the value of college degree has also declined. Berkeley or UCLA is a great decision to have. You can't go wrong.
It's What You Do After College That Matters
By the way, I'm giving you this advice as a person who went to The College of William & Mary, a great public school, and UC Berkeley for his MBA in 2006. Nobody cares about my college degrees. What they care about is whether I produce good work on Financial Samurai and whether I have good character.
I joined Goldman Sachs right out of college, even though I didn't have an elite private school pedigree. I then joined Credit Suisse two years later as an Associate, got promoted to Vice President at age 27, and to Director at age 30. Get a good enough college degree, and let your work and communication skills lift you up!
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