<p>Hi I recently applied to UCSD and I might go there if I get accepted. However, I have no clue what it's like there. Could anyone tell me the pros and cons of this school? I also applied to UCI and I already know what it's like after following my sister to class and wandering around the pretty campus. How would you compare UCSD to UCI?(besides the fact that UCSD is a higher ranked university).</p>
<p>i don't go to ucsd, but i took a summer session polisci class there last year, and my brother graduated from there.</p>
<p>ucsd's right on the beach; it's a beautiful, modern looking campus. gorgeous architecture, lots of nice places to relax and study, price club bookstore is really nice and the food court around it is usually pretty busy. lots of cultural programs in the campus, if you're interested in that. it's fairly quiet (you may like this though - it's just a con for me), not too "fun-loving". it's in the middle of la jolla, which is the land of the obscenely rich people...there's a good mall nearby and lots of random art galleries, but not much else and no nightclubs or anything - that's all downtown. parking on campus is a bitch, but it is possible if you drive very aggressively :D dorms are decent, weather is lovely. six-college system is confusing and pointless, in my opinion. that's about all i can say...</p>
<p>personally, i don't like ucsd and i didn't apply there, but that's because i'm not a math/science person and i prefer a more lively, loud atmosphere. then again, you could be looking for the very opposite, in which case, i wish you luck :D</p>
<p>apsara pretty much hit the nail on the head. </p>
<p>I applyed too, maybe i'll see you there potentialUC :D. If you are not from San Diego, then you will just have to find the right places to go to find any kind of social life, cuz you aren't gonna find it on campus. However, it is still an excellent school in one of the nicest places to live in the world a la La Jolla. I have heared from many people that classes are very competative. </p>
<p>One more thing to know. I went to a baseball camp over the summer and the dorm food is pretty much crap. At least the food I ate was. I didn't eat at the food court place, but it is very beautiful with the fountains and grass and trees and what not.</p>
<p>Thanks apsara and jlaws30!!! Wow what a thourough description! I learned so much about UCSD thanks y'all. Yea I find the 6 colleges at UCSD rather unnecessary too. hahahha "obscenely rich people" that's funny. Hmm I guess that's a good thing because I think rich ppl r really cool for the most part. Oh no it's competitive? That means I'll have to work extra hard. I heard UCI's not very competitive and I'll probably end up going there since I live close to there.</p>
<p>the six college system is actually one of the best parts of ucsd. Having 6 seperate colleges makes the big university seem smaller. If youre lucky and get put into muir or marshall you barley have any requirements.</p>
<p>i go to ucsd. the cool thing about it is that its ranked so high in terms of academics.</p>
<p>UCSD has a bad reputation when it comes to students' looks. San Diego State is near by, though, which has a great reputation in that area.</p>
<p>I go to UCSD and let me tell you, the 6 college system is awesome.
You get to live with people who generally have similar interests, and who you may have common classes with (as each college has separate GEs). you REALLY get a sense of community, and actually recognize faces; something very rare in the UC system. oh and dont be decieved by one kind of "bad dorm room food". every college has 1 or 2 cafeterias, each one being just different enough from the last. and as you may find yourself anywhere on campus at any time, you get get to eat at multiple cafeterias.
As far as academics go, its pretty good. im in engineering, and i really consider myself to be in one of the best engineering schools in the country too.</p>
<p>UCSD is a very fine school, moving up, and getting much tougher to get into. I remember last year when someone with something like a 1540/3.9 was rejected there.
If you like the location and it has a major program that interests you, go for it.
In general, <em>I</em> would prefer UCSD by quite a bit over UCI. There's the selectivity isssue, as you note--and I'm a believer in the peer factor as part of the educational experience. Is it a huge difference? No. Significant, yes. Beyond that, UCI is heavily a commuter campus and it's located in the middle of nowhere from a social/entertainment sense...think of it being as a very large business park. Some of the nearest places, like Newport Beach, aren't exactly student friendly in terms of either attitude or cost. UCI empties out on the weekend as students seek fun in the rest of Orange County and all the way up to Westside of Los Angeles.</p>
<p>However, UCI has by far the best Dance program in the UC system if that's of any interest and the English department is supposed to be pretty good. Also computer sciences.</p>
<p>It's also about 60 percent Asian, something that some students--including Asians--find a little bit monotonous.</p>
<p>Oh...and I've heard quite a bit that a lot of people at UCSD <em>like</em> the six college system, with the different emphases giving something of a smaller-school feel in a large-school environment.</p>
<p>The idea that colleges select--or self-select--by how good-looking the students are, or that such a notion should form the smallest shred of decision-making, is one of the stupidest notions that has recurred on this board over the past three years.</p>
<p>Well, I don't go to UCSD (still a senior in HS), but I applied there and since I was bored today I drove down there (I live in Irvine). If you compare the campuses, UCI loses in size, but wins in appearance by far. </p>
<p>The student center area w/ the bookstore seems isolated from many parts of the campus while the UCI campus is a huge circle with a big park in the middle and everything seems to be connected. I got lost driving around UCSD, which might be a good sign for people who like huge campuses, but I'm turned off by it. At UCI, the Student Services building, the Administration building, the Student Center, the park, and the UCI Library are all within about a minute's walking distance.</p>
<p>I know I've been spoiled by the beauty of UCI's campus, but I find the UCSD campus incredibly drab and brown. There's plenty of places where they could plant grass but instead have dirt/mulch. It also is unkempt in a lot of places. I guess that's one of the disadvantages of a campus of that size. </p>
<p>Undoubtedly UCSD > UCI in terms of academics, which is why i'll probably go there anyways.</p>
<p>I go to UCSD, and I absolutely love it. My dorm has an ocean view, and is walking distance from some of the best beaches/surf breaks in California. I personally believe that the sunshine reduces stress; everyone has a good attitude. Besides the aesthetics, UCSD is amazing academically, especially in the sciences. At the beginning of the year, I was worried about the intensity of my classes and fellow students, but Ive just completed my first quarter, and its really not that bad. Sure, everyones used to getting As, but I think that being in a somewhat competitive atmosphere has motivated me to work that much harder. It was especially nice to enter this environment after the blah attitude in high school.</p>
<p>The six college system is pretty good; it does make the university seem smaller, and, generally, it's where you meet most of your friends. However, I'm finding the GE's to be a little annoying, partly because I didn't research the specific requirements of each college when I applied, and ranked them randomly on the application. (I really didn't think that I would be attending UCSD; actually hated it the first time I visited, but, obviously, that all changed)</p>
<p>Overall, I am extremely happy to have landed in academic paradise; there arent many universities that can offer great academics in combination with a significant portion of prime real estate in southern California.</p>
<p>Although UCSD may be more competitive than UCI, don't go to UCI thinking you're going to dominate. All of the UC campuses have very smart students, and you have to be on top of things if you want to do well. I remember when I got to UCI I thought I would be the only person there who took AP classes and got high SAT scores. I thought that I would be able to cruise, and boy was I wrong.</p>
<p>Both UCSD and UCI have pretty campuses in my opinion. SD is more spread out, definitely, and UCI has a big park in the middle, which is always nice to walk around. SD of course has the beach very close to campus, and at Irvine, you'd have to drive 5 miles to get to Newport Beach. Both UCSD and UCI are good for academics, I got into both and I go to UCI and although there were several factors, UCI turned out to be better for me. Both are great schools though. If you're picking between the two, you're in a great spot.</p>
<p>This thread has a lot of useful info :)
and
Which of the six colleges, toesover?</p>
<p>probably muir</p>
<p>I'm in ERC</p>