[URGENT!!] College help! :( :(

[Ergot]

Why would going to UC Berkeley for Computer Science be better than going to San Jose State University? Really, I need to come up with some evidence or my dad won't let me go or at least, won't pay for it :'(. Help please!!

[warz]

uh, put your life in your own hands. jesus. am i the only one that did what i wanted to do? i swear. i was offered a free car by my grandparents, but it wasnt the one i wanted, so i turned it down and paid for my own (im finally paying it off next month), and i also turned down them paying for me to live in these horrible apartments for free, so i could live where i wanted to to live. i pay for my own phone, gas and school (well, schools on loans, but ill be paying for it) - cant you make a decision for yourself? Damn, it's college - do what you want to do. Quit sucking your parents tit. But, I did just get a job at Nortel as a software engineer... so...

[topaz~]

Why would going to UC Berkeley for Computer Science be better than going to San Jose State University? Really, I need to come up with some evidence or my dad won't let me go or at least, won't pay for it :'(. Help please!!

Berkeley is a better school, is more renowned, and offers more ways to network with other people. If your dad won't pay for it, you should start looking into student loans or the financial aid program at Berkeley. Loans are tough, but once you graduate, you'll be able to make a modest salary and find well paying jobs using your connections.

The programs at Berkeley are 10x better than the ones at SJSU, and you'll be surrounded by people likely to be as smart or smarter than you.
If a prospective employer looks at the college you attended, they are more likely to recognize your accomplishment in being admitted to Berkeley and receiving a degree there than a no-name state university.
Going to Berkeley gives you the opportunity to meet more people who are likely to become more accomplished. This gives you an edge over other people, and having rich and clever people as friends or even acquaintances is useful. You are not likely to run into a similarly rich pool of talent and money while going to SJSU.

[CrAz3D]

San Jose is in the WAC, the WAC sucks ... go to Berkeley (as much as I hate hippies and the like)

[iago]

Do parents normally pay for university/college in the US? I don't know anybody here whose parents put them through school, everybody I know either paid for themselves or did loans..

[Sidoh]

Do parents normally pay for university/college in the US? I don't know anybody here whose parents put them through school, everybody I know either paid for themselves or did loans..

I guess it depends.  My parents pay for mine, but they expect me to keep my grades up.

I'm not sure I see a problem with it either.  Maybe you could argue that it helps you "grow up" because you're forced to deal with serious financial issues, but I sure as hell would rather not be burdened with that while I'm in school.

[CrAz3D]

New Mexico gives tuition for 4 years to anyone that graduates from a New Mexico high school, maintains a 2.5GPA, and attends a New Mexico university.  The money comes from a lottery tax (25% of every lottery dollar), our severance taxes, and property taxes (IIRC).  Education is 60% of NM's budget as I best recall.