Advice please! UCSD or UC Davis!

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>Hello, everyone. Congrats to everyone with college acceptances (Or for the ones who are applying next year, good luck!)</p>

<p>I have a dilemma. I tagged into UC Davis, and I got into their Communication program early last month. However I also got waitlisted for UCSD. I didn't think I had a chance to go to UCSD so I put in a form for waitlist, just to see how I do.</p>

<p>Pleasantly I received a letter today with my acceptance to UCSD as a communications major at Muir College.</p>

<p>The problem is what to do at this point.</p>

<p>UC Davis is offering me around 16k in grants and 5k in loans. </p>

<p>UC San Diego is offering me around 20k in grants and 5k in loans and work study. Which to me is around 4k more. (However I heard that La Jolla is more expensive in their apartments)</p>

<p>However, I already found roommates, found what I need to take for Davis and got all pumped up for it. At the same time, the money issue, family pressure (they want me to go to the best UC I can), and my own ambitions is what keeps me on the line between the two.</p>

<p>My goal is to get into a good law school, but I feel like UCSD might have more of a rigorous coursework than Davis, and I need to maximize my GPA.</p>

<p>My priorities are
1) Costs
2) Rankings
3) Easiness</p>

<p>So CC, What should I do?</p>

2

<p>Since you are prioritizing costs first, you need to know that the San Diego/La jolla area rents are very expensive. You could choose to commute and live in an area that is less expensive, but you would then need a car or use public transportation. We don’t have a good public transportation system in SD, that’s why everyone drives. Additionally, you can’t bike everywhere because it is a hilly campus. </p>

<p>You plan on going into Law? Have you checked stats for new lawyers in So. Ca? It’s a difficult field to find a job.
People seem to think that UCSD is more prestigious. I don’t think it’s any better than Davis. The difference is that Davis is actually a college town and “community” and is more social.<br>
According to my daughter’s friends who attend UCSD: it is very isolating. Go visit, you’ll see what they mean.</p>

3

<p>I just revoked my SIR to UCD and sent one in to UCSD </p>

<p>Although La Jolla is a very affluent neighborhood, if you move a little bit southbound toward the HillCrest area rent is actually a lot cheaper. If you can find roommates (via cragislist or commuter.ucsd.edu/hdh.ucsd.edu) the price should not be that bad. There’s also a shuttle/bus that takes you to campus for free.</p>

<p>My friend lived in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 4 apartmentmates apartment for $550/month and about ~$30 for utilities. This was in the UTC area (University Towne Center) which is pretty close to campus and has a free bus/shuttle to the school.</p>

<p>The Village is on Campus living and it is like 1,000/month for a double? Pretty Damn expensive.</p>

<p>Here’s the link to the shuttle schedule:
[Shuttle</a> Service](<a href=“Transportation Services”>Transportation Services)</p>

<p>In terms of easiness, overall I think UCSD is more competitive. It really doesn’t matter about “rankings” but the competitiveness could make things more difficult. So UCD should be a lot easier. But sometimes competition is good and keeps you on your toes, and it makes you work harder for what you want instead of slack off and get easy grades because the curves are set low. Ultimately, if your end goal is Law School, competition will be healthy. Because “aint nobody gonna work together to get into Law School.” It’s you vs. all of the other applicants. And if you can take them out by being a better applicant the better. This isn’t community college anymore hahaha.</p>

<p>I really liked Davis! One of my friends did communications at Davis with a 4.0gpa! She loved it there, sadly she is a Walmart Clerk and is still trying to study for her LSATS because her scores were not competitive enough. (There goes that word again hahaha)</p>

<p>Wherever you go you do it for you. Not for your family or anyone else because it’s your happiness that counts. You’re going to be the one going to Law school, and studying hard to get in and then passing to get that JD degree and license. If it’s a social environment you want it’s gonna be Davis. UCSD is a place where you have to be ACTIVE and into the scene, (which imo is a good thing not everything is gonna be handed to you on a silver platter). That’s probably why it’s ranked up there, because students actually take the initiative to be proactive! (Idk, I’m transferring this fall so i couldn’t give you first hand experience) All I know is that college is what you make it to be.</p>

<p>Wherever you go, you’ll be fine. Goodluck =)</p>

4

<p>According to your ranking,</p>

<p>1) UCSD might be cheaper if you live on campus.
2) UCSD is more highly ranked but I’m not sure if it’s a big enough of a difference for law school admissions.
3) You got into a very good college for transfers. Muir will give you a lot of freedom at SD. I don’t know how easy Davis is.</p>

<p>But I think when it comes down to it, there is no real right or wrong decision. They’re pretty close in all three categories. Why don’t you make the decision based on what’s a better fit for you?</p>

<p>I have a friend who chose UCD over UCSD. Personally, I chose UCSC over UCLA because I’m planning on grad school too and my research made it very clear that Santa Cruz would be better for my future.</p>

5

<ol>
<li><p>Do you know what your plans are for housing? Do you want to live by yourself? Near campus w/ roommates? Or on campus? Rent in La Jolla / University city is definitely going to be more than at Davis. On campus transfer housing at the Village (UCSD’s transfer housing) is pretty expensive because it’s only recently been built in the last 5 years. On campus housing is around $1100/mo with a meal plan included and that’s splitting a room with someone else in a double. Rent in La Jolla / University City (UTC), the area closest to UCSD, is probably comparable to living on campus, really more if you live by yourself like I do. Rent is upwards of $1000 plus maybe $100-200 for utilities and then you have to factor in food. Living with roommates is a lot cheaper and depending on the situation you can probably cut back to like $500-800 for rent and utilities which would be cheaper than on campus. Most off campus students choose to live in University City / UTC area so finding a roommate should be fairly easy. You can also look for housing in areas where students from other colleges live like Pacific Beach, Clairemont, Mira Mesa and try to commute. </p></li>
<li><p>I wouldn’t put much weight in the rankings. Really, I wouldn’t put any weight in the rankings. UCSD and UC Davis are close enough academically that the brand name on your diploma likely won’t hold any significance in your future. Also, if you’re looking at grad school rankings, grad school rankings aren’t necessarily reflective of undergraduate rankings because they have separate faculty and admission requirements. What’s going to matter is what you do on campus. So do some real research and look for specific opportunities and resources that differentiate the two programs/schools, don’t use the rankings. Just go take a look at the department websites and see if there’s anything that really appeals to you. Maybe there’s a study abroad program, masters degree program, law school prep program that you’d really be interested in, use those things to help you make your decision. </p></li>
<li><p>Easiness… that’s a hard one. No one can really tell you which UC is going to be easier unless they’ve attended classes at each. And even then the likelihood is if they’re a transfer they probably would’ve transferred having taken mostly lower division courses from one and then upper division courses at the other. It’s just my opinion, but personally I don’t think there’s much of a difference at any of the UC’s not named Berkeley / UCLA. Most of the departments are going to be comparable at UCSD, UC Davis, Santa Barbara and Irvine (that’s not so say all are, just most) and differences in difficultly are probably going to come down to individual professors and their testing methods. Also, just from my experience here at UCSD, peer competition usually isn’t something to worry about and the curves are never set up to hurt you, only help you. Granted, I’m a Biology major so it could be different for communications, but I’ve never worried about other students in terms of my grade. It really just depends on the professor. Some professors are going to heavily curve classes and others aren’t. Individual professors also vary on how many A’s / B’s they’re willing to give out. I’ve been in classes where 30-40% of the class received A’s and others where A’s where almost unheard of after grades were released.</p></li>
</ol>

6

<p>Wait Wordofteekz: Have you even lived here to be giving the advice to head all the way down to Hillcrest? You said you don’t have firsthand knowledge so you may want to limit your information about the housing areas if you’re not familiar with our town. Hillcrest is where the hospital is located, and that area is becoming quite pricey because of the nightlife but it is really NOT within a reasonable distance to the university. Yes there is a shuttle but most of the time it’s full of med students. Additionally, Read what dilapidated has to say ^^^ about the rents and the UTC area. They’ve built up the area with tons of apartments and condos so there shouldn’t be an issue with nearby rents.</p>

<p>UCSD is more competitive because the classes are so HUGE! The campus was built during different time periods so some areas have no quick or easy access. My husband went there and, at that time, it was a commuter campus because the campus lacked eating facilities. I was admitted there as well but didn’t feel comfortable with the aesthetics. My former students report that UCSD is extremely cut-throat and uber competitive. They don’t like the social atmosphere because it is non-existent and non supportive. </p>

<p>UCD is completely the opposite and has tutoring areas in each of the dorms which is why it may seem “easier” because the administration supports the student’s learning, and thus provides support. </p>

<p>People think UCD is “easier” because it seems to have a more “social” atmosphere. The classes are just as tough but those student’s help each other, unlike the cut-throat attitudes at UCSD.</p>

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<p>I have to agree with Aunt Bea, everything she says makes perfect sense!</p>

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<p>Just to expand on what aunt bea said. As a current student at UCSD, my experience is that UCSD probably isn’t as “cut throat” and fiercely competitive as her former students reported to her. I’m enrolled in the biggest department on campus and what should be one of the most competitive ones (second to maybe engineering) – Biological Sciences. If her formers students are reporting that, my guess here is that at least some of them came in as freshman and as such ended up in the typical overenrolled, large lower division and GE classes that transfers typically complete in community college. Granted, obviously my experience is going to be very specific and probably wouldn’t be the same for those that come in to majors like Computer Science and Engineering. Also, admittedly, I’m completely oblivious to what it’s like to be a social science/humanities student here as I’ve only taken upper division science courses and don’t participate in many extracurriculars to broaden by social circle. </p>

<p>In terms of the social atmosphere, I’d agree with the fact that UC Davis’ administration and student groups probably do more to foster the social experience there at UC Davis. UC Davis really has a strong reputation for having very involved student orgs and clubs and has a strong sorority/fraternity scene. So, if you want to have a flourishing social life, Davis is probably the better option in that regard. That being said, I really don’t believe UCSD students are socially cold and distant because of academics and discourage collaboration amongst themselves. I’ve been apart of many study groups and have found study partners with relative ease so that would be contradictory to my experience and I don’t even consider myself an outgoing person lol. Also, there is tutoring for certain courses and all of my upper division courses have had supplementary discussion/problem sessions in addition to lecture. Again, I mentioned before that, at least for upper division bio courses, the curve is typically set only to help students so I don’t think people here are that worried about peer competition in upper division courses. At least not in bio where you’d expect it with about 80% premeds.</p>

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<p>So much respect for @dilapidatedmind’s posts. They’re always so informative–this dude seriously has knowledge of these forums on numerous topics. – End Stalker Status Sermon</p>

<p>Although I’m not too familiar with the UCSD area from where I have been researching (websites listed on my previous post) the available rooms found are actually decently priced. I also have a sister living in Hillcrest and her rent is now bad actually. (1 Bedroom apartment ~$750, waay cheaper than the village)
I also mentioned the UTC prices in my previous post that a friend of mine is paying which is pretty decent.</p>

<p>Considering the shuttle, who cares if it’s with medical students? Busses and public transportation are always going to be crowded, that’s how BART, Muni, WestCat, and AC Transit are here in the Bay Area. There’s never an “empty” bus, and most of the time you will have to stand. It’s PUBLIC transportation! Unless you have a car, then the next thing you have to worry about is parking. I like convenience, so even if I went to Davis I would be driving and paying for parking.</p>

<p>Again, a little competition never hurt anybody. UCSD NEEDS people to bring more diversity and more social welfare to their campus. I’m from a really diverse community in Oakland, CA and went to an even more diverse community college. I chose UCSD because I feel that as an older URM transfer student I can bring such diversity and mentoring to the campus. </p>

<p>Don’t be intimidated by their rumors of social isolation. TIMES ARE CHANGING.
I visited the campus last weekend and ran into a WHOLE bunch of friendly people who gave me directions and answered a lot of questions I had to inquire about the campus! </p>

<p>-Remember if you’re gearing toward a professional degree It’s you vs. all of the other applicants. Which in the end is COMPETITION. You can’t avoid it, so why not get used to it and be on top of it if it exists? “And if you can take them out by being a better applicant the better. This isn’t community college anymore.” (from my previous post)</p>

<p>I’m just saying, don’t discredit UCSD. If you think UCSD is bad, you should hear about Cal. I attended Cal for 1 semester and was overwhelmed with the atmosphere. That place was for real “cut-throat and competitive.” I was younger, working full-time and was not prepared for that thus flunked out. But now as an older student, I understand why these universities are very prestigious. They are geared to hard working students, some may be gunners, and others are the ones that learn to be sociable and adapt to any environment. (IMO, the real “competition,” but in humble form) If you can adapt, give back, and help contribute to both your university and fellow students then you deserve to work in the real world and go farther places</p>

<p>Now in regards to rent, I am from the Bay Area where my rent is $1500 a month and I do know that Davis is so much cheaper and has a really good public transportation system. To me, Davis is still in the middle of nowhere. If “everything” is on campus then why do people still point out the Bay Area or Sacramento/Tahoe which is a farther commute to “visit.” San Diego has soo much to do OFF of campus, it’s ridiculous! So stretching out to live 15-20minutes from UCSD is not that bad. So far from calculating my time on a weekday last week from Hillcrest to La Jolla, it shouldn’t be too bad. On average it’s about a 15-minute drive. Pretttyy close. I don’t think traffic gets too bad. Although I wish I could give you a more confident answer (as I am not from San Diego, but maybe auntbea can elaborate).
On google maps it says you can just take the 5 to get there, and from what I remember in the morning the 5 was worse going northbound than southbound.
But I can’t remember if the northbound traffic gets back before or after Hillcrest…hmmm</p>

<p>Like I said before, I loved Davis and their fun atmosphere. One of my goals is to help underrepresented communities (not just economically underrepresented but socially also). IF UCSD needs diverse students that will break barriers and unify colleges than I will do that. But seriously, from my experience visiting their campus–I knew that it would be a place for me, even if it was just for 2 years. </p>

<p>I mean, I SERIOUSLY was going to go to UCD. I attended their transfer admittance day, was invited to a multicultural welcoming party, and even talked to other students from my major and made connections. I had SIR’ed and was on my way to attending UCD, up until my Half-Marathon run in SD last weekend where I finally was able to visit UCSD and talk to students and see first-hand the campus. There are SO MANY research, work, clinical opportunities for “socially outgoing” people! Again, times are changing–UCSD is changing and I say this not even being a student yet.</p>

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<p>Traffic gets pretty bad along the 5 in the mornings and afternoons lol. Remember, it’s southern California, any major freeway near a metropolitan area whether LA, Orange County, or San Diego is going to be congested from about 7-10AM and 4-7PM. Hillcrest to La Jolla is probably closer to 30-35 mins during peak hours plus you have to add on parking which is likely the worst part. That being said a lot of people commute from areas like Hillcrest and even further and seem to be just fine, just leave early or have classes in the afternoon. Personally, I wouldn’t want to do it which I why I chose to live about a mile from campus, but if you don’t mind a little traffic it’s fine. UCSD also has a direct shuttle to Hillcrest which should be a good option and should save the hassle of having to use public MTS buses which I’ve heard can be unreliable.</p>

<p>Edit:
Thanks for the shout out WordofTeekz, it’s nice to know my advice is appreciated. I was unfortunate enough to go through the transfer application process twice so I’ve had a lot of time to accumulate information about the process and waste… errr… devote to this forum lol.</p>

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<p>Thanks guys. I decided on UCSD just solely on cost. 4k$ extra is more than enough justification to go to SD.</p>

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<p>I am in the same situation, except I’m applying this fall for next year! may I ask, what is your gpa?</p>

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<p>Mine was only a 3.3~3.4. </p>

<p>Sent from my SCH-I605 using CC</p>

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<p>very helpful forum!</p>