UC Berkeley MRED vs Columbia MSRED?

Any thoughts on choosing between the two programs? I got a really substantial scholarship from Berkeley (more than half of $85k tuition) and received no aid from Columbia ($100k tuition), but I like how I can curate Columbia’s curriculum more to my interests and the fact that a lot of their core classes are planning/zoning-focused in the first semester. I’ve heard some folks assess Berkeley to be a bit too design-focused for the RE realities, but I can take Berkeley Haas classes to fortify the finance focus of Berkeley’s program. I like Columbia’s curriculum slightly better, but I don’t want to take on that much debt considering I have limited experience in RE and come from a community development background. I’m really interested in getting into impact-driven development firms, and I’m more interested in the development side of things, which Berkeley seems to have a stronger focus on. I also appreciate the smaller class sizes of Berkeley (35 students) for a more seminar-style way of learning as opposed to Columbia’s cohort (130 students). Any thoughts on which might be a better program for me?

 

I worked with someone who did the Berkeley program not too long ago, and they said they were surprised that it wasn’t very academically challenging. They also mentioned that a lot of the peers in their class weren’t as sharp as they thought they’d be. Take the above how you’d like, but I feel like it can speak in some way to the quality of the program and the potential disconnect between the reputation of the school overall. For what it’s worth, I was considering the program until I heard their experience (and, like I said, it was pretty recent). They recommended I consider other programs as well. Again, I’m merely repeating someone’s first-hand experience; I’m not trying to dissuade you. It all has to do with what you are trying to get out of the program.

 
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