Hi all,
Last week, I was accepted to both UC Berkeley and UCLA ( the 8th and 9th schools I have been accepted to). I have been very shocked/excited by the news but I don’t know if either of these schools would fit my goals and budget… I want to work in the Silicon Valley as either a systems analyst or test engineer initially then maybe delve into UX/UI design. I’m interested in innovation and using technology to improve lives. I’ve been interning for the past year in software testing and data analysis and will be interning in UI/UX design this summer as well.
I am considering Cognitive Science at Cal due to its focus on computational modeling and the human mind, which I hope would land me a job as a SA or UX/UI designer in the Bay Area. For UCLA, I was accepted as a Linguistics and Computer Science major and at UCI, as Informatics, which interests me the most out of all the majors. I have completed all of the lower division course work for business administration and was accepted as an MIS (management information systems major) at SJSU. SJSU would be the cheapest and easiest school for me to attend and I wouldn’t have to go into debt to attend it… but I don’t know if I can give up going to Cal or UCLA for SJSU… I don’t really like SJSU or the area and I am only considering it for the opportunities in the area. With a month to decide, I really don’t know which school to choose and which would be the best for my goals… My apprehension stems from the fact that I could probably get the same job for much cheaper at SJSU. I’m also planning on getting an MBA so I would prefer not to go into debt for my undergrad degree…
I appreciate any feedback or advice!
PS: Also wanted to mention I have dreamed of attending Cal for almost 10 years now… so giving it up for SJSU is extremely difficult for me even if it is the better choice
Based solely on major, UCI might bring the biggest return job-wise. But then Cal has the School of Information and you can take their graduate courses as an undergrad – mix it in with Cog Sci. Additionally, Cal has a superb interdisciplinary program and you can create your own Cog Sci/Infomatics major or any variation. You can switch to that major easily by reaching out to Patrick.
http://isf.ugis.berkeley.edu
Student bios:
http://isf.ugis.berkeley.edu/bio
Cal is the best , and it is very nearby Silicon Valley. UCLA L&C is far from your interesting.
@Ohm888 I didn’t know that! I definitely would love to take some grad courses from their School of Information. Thank you for the information!
@kkus2013 That’s true, thanks for the input!
bump? Still extremely conflicted and worried but I’ve thrown out SJSU at this point…
Your education is worth investing in. Cal might be a bit more expensive, but if you’re in-state, the difference in tuition isn’t huge.
Seems like you have your heart set on Cal and you should probably eliminate UCI as well. However, if you can visit UCLA before deciding on Cal do it. I had a classmate at my time at UCLA who was from Big Sur and was leaning towards Cal when she got accepted to both UCLA and Berkeley. Yet, she said when she visited both campuses, UCLA won her over because UCLA and Los Angeles was much closer to her personality than Berkeley was. It is always good to feel a university out before deciding. Does it connect with you? Some people know right away when they step foot on a campus it just clicks.
When people say UCLA is cutthroat, I do not believe it is. During midterms and finals, if you ever walk into YRL(Young Research Library) you would always see groups studying together. Everybody I met at my time at UCLA was friendly and we guided each other to better grades. We spent hours feeding off each other on ideas for papers and studying for exams. I never felt isolated or betrayed by my peers.
At the end of the day, follow what YOU want to do. My advice would be just check out both campuses.
Best of luck, and please, let us know what school you decided on.