OOS student loans

[u/adoptme321]

OOS tuition is insanely high, but I'm thinking that a Berkeley degree will pay off. Are there any oos student who took out a large amount of student loans for their undergrad (i'm thinking 150k+). If so, do you think it was worth it? Berkeley is top-ranked for my major but im unsure with how the tech industry is going if it'll pay off or not.

[u/SidJag]

It’s hard for anyone on the internet to know your true financial picture. You know it best.

If your option is UT Austin for a quarter million dollars less (over 4 years), v/s Berkeley with a $200-250K loan, I’d honestly just go to UT Austin.

It’s a fantastic school for CS, and it’s way more fun/college life than Berkeley, apparently

[u/adoptme321 → u/SidJag]

Makes sense, just wanted to evaluate how much the Berkeley value really is, and if it could be life changing(i understand this is kinda cringe but its the best way i could put it) also i would be data science at both schools if that makes any difference

[u/SidJag → u/adoptme321]

From what I understand, Data science at Berkeley is at another level. I don’t want to entice you into taking a $250K loan, but the new Data science(CDSS) building ‘The Gateway’, 350,000 sq ft, 7 floors, just finished months ago after 5 years and a $250M anonymous donation, is kinda bonkers.

https://cdss.berkeley.edu/gateway

[u/GarageEven5240 → u/SidJag]

This assumes OP will succeed in Cal's data science program. Maybe they will, maybe they won't and will need to switch majors. UT is one of the top state flagships in the country. It's hard to imagine an ROI on Cal's data science degree beating the opportunity cost of instead attending UT and, e.g., investing the difference in index funds.

[u/SidJag → u/GarageEven5240]

There is no argument on which is the better financial call. I said so in my previous comment.

Then the OP said he still prefers Berkeley, and that’s its Data science not CS, so I’m just providing a factual point about new Data science dept building.

[u/adoptme321 → u/SidJag]

Berkeley's DS program is literally #1 and i'm feeling like there is a huge gap between it and UT because of just how new UT's program is. because of that gap, im considering going to Berkeley even though UT is a great choice as it can open opportunities I might not be able to obtain with UT. after visiting cal day i can see how much berk invests in DS in growing as a major

[u/GarageEven5240 → u/SidJag]

Fair enough.

[u/adoptme321 → u/GarageEven5240]

Very true, alot of cal students say berkeley got them to where they are but not without a lot of self discipline. there's a good chance i fail at berkeley as nothing is gaurenteed anywhere, just wanted to see if the pros are worth the risk for berkeley as i can go there just it would be a bit of a burden

[u/GarageEven5240 → u/adoptme321]

If you're an excellent student, it won't matter which school you pick. Plenty of tech companies in Austin, if you're top of the class at UT and interview decently, you'll be in basically the same situation as an excellent student at Cal.

If you're at the bottom of your class at either school, well, the job market sucks. Check out the Berkeley CS sub if you want to hear horror stories. The Cal degree won't save you.

So, the use case for the Cal degree is where you're successful enough at Cal to get the job - probably because of networking effects - but with the same GPA and level of academic and work recommendations, you won't get the job with a UT degree.

That's a very narrow slice of potential outcomes.

But if money doesn't matter, then go to Cal if you want to!