<p>Hi,
I am concerning between two schools.
I want to major poli sci specifically international relations.
Im in California right now, but the location of University doesn't matter to me.
which school is better in academics for poli sci major?
I also want to go graduate school after BA degree....</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>If you are a resident of California, isn’t UCLA $20k cheaper than Michigan? If that is hte case, I would recommend UCLA. </p>
<p>Academically, the two schools are roughly equal, with Michigan having a slightly stronger Political Science department, but it is negligible.</p>
<p>If money is not an issue, I would recommend you visit Michigan and determine which environment suits you better.</p>
<p>The reason is Im international, so it really doesn’t matter.
I heard east coast (Michigan is mid east though) is comparably strong in poli sci.
I really want to have above BA degree and living my life with poli sci, so the only factor should be considered is academic strength of poli sci major.</p>
<p>However, you said both schools’ poli sci majors are roughly equal, so is there just a mere difference between two schools?</p>
<p>Yes, the difference in quality between Michigan and UCLA is negligible, both overall and for your chosen major. The main difference between the two is campus life and culture. </p>
<p>Many students say that they only care about academics. Should you intend to study 16 hours a day and not make any friends or leave the classroom/library, then it really does not matter. However, assuming you like making friends and exploring the campus and surounding areas, I recommend you take a close look at the differences between the two schools as they are quite pronounced.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot; I got your point, but…
I cannot assume the life of university; Im from one of Asian coutries which has ‘fever of studying’, so I am accustomed to study ‘16 hours a day’. And above all, I love reading, thinking and studying (someone may call me a nerd, but I think nerd’s life is not that bad; though I don’t have image of typical American teenage drama’s nerd that easy to pop up your mind)-- just question; in university like ucla or umaa for a good gpa, do the student have to stick to his study for ‘16 hours a day’? </p>
<p>Could you briefly explain main differences of campus life and culture between two schools.
I live near LA, so I pretty much well understand UCLA, I guess. What about UMAA?</p>
<p>It is difficult to explain the exact differences between Michigan and UCLA. One of the main differences is demographics. For example:</p>
<p>RESIDENCY:
Michigan: 60% are residents of Michigan
UCLA: 90% are residents of California</p>
<p>INTERNATIONAL STUDENT POPULATION:
Michigan: 6% (1,700 undergraduate students) are international
UCLA: 3% (900 undergraduate students) are international </p>
<p>SOCIOECONOMICS:
Michigan: Majority of students come from middle-upper income households
UCLA: Majority of students from from lower-middle income households</p>
<p>RACE:
Michigan: The student population reflects the national average (70% white, 12% Asian, 8% African American, 5% Hispanic american)
UCLA: The student population reflects California’s general population (40% Asian, 35% White, 15% Hispanic American and 7% African American)</p>
<p>The figures above alone pretty much guarantee a very different culture on campus.</p>
<p>Also, Ann Arbor is a college town with 120,000 residents. LA is a large city with 3,000,000 residents. The entire city of Ann Arbor revolves around the University. Ann Arbor is arguably the most highly educated city in the US, giving the entire city a highly intellectual vibe, but it is small. A city of 3,000,000, LA has a lot to offer in terms of entertainment, restaurants etc…, but it cannot duplicate Ann Arbor’s college town feel.</p>
<p>It boils down to personal preference. Campus visits to both schools will help clear up any doubts you may have.</p>
<p>Finally, one does not have to study 16 hours a day to do well in college. 3-5 hours of studying outside the classroom is sufficient to maintain a high (3.4-3.6) GPA. If one wants to maintain a really high GPA (3.7-3.9), 6 or 7 hours of studying outside of the classroom should be sufficient. That was my point above. College students easily have 5+ (10 hours on weekends) hours per day of time to relax. For this reason, one should seriously consider the college environment as well as academic quality.</p>
<p>Well… I don’t know if you want to go to UCLA for poly sci… I mean you might run into some Asians that talk on the phone in the library while you’re “deep into you’re studying, into your political science theories and arguments and stuff”…</p>
<p>And if you really don’t know the reference I’m making… [YouTube</a> - Re-Post: Asians in the Library - UCLA Girl going wild on Asians](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>ha ha</p>
<p>Hehe! Poor barbie! She complains about the "hords of Asian students admitted into UCLA but she can barely slap a sentence together. Sheesh, she should be grateful that she was admitted into UCLA in the first place! Clearly, she does not speak for all UCLA students. I have known many Bruins (white, Asian, black, Hispanic, international etc…) and they are all tolerant and fun-loving.</p>
<p>Personally, I much prefer this student’s rent…at least she spoke well and is way hot! ;)</p>
<p>Although UCLA and UM may be similar on paper, they couldn’t feel more different when you visit. My son was accepted to each from OOS, and we visited each in April. One additional factor to keep in mind is the tremendous financial stress on UC schools, which seems to have the greatest impact on freshman and sophomores.</p>
<p>current engineering student here
I had to decide between UCLA and Michigan few years ago and I’m proud to say that it was probably the best decision I made. UC system has quite a bit of budget problems(my friend at UCSD pays more tuition than me, who pays engineering tuition), so I was glad I didn’t go cuz money would then be a huge problem for me. </p>
<p>And I don’t think poli sci majors will require 16 hr/day of work constantly. There’s plenty of time to go socialize with people. The good thing about Michigan is that if you’re international, you can choose to hangout with mostly international students(which is usually the case btw), or you can go out your comfort zone to hangout with the white people.</p>
<p>I’m sure I would still have a good time at UCLA had I gone, but Michigan definitely didn’t disappoint me.</p>
<p>Thanks all. hmmm
first of all, I saw the white girl’s video; it is really ridiculous she was UCLA ‘political science’ major student. — Ching chang chong is not fun at all; Im Asian, but we dont use those sounds or even similar sounds like that.</p>
<p>All of thankful postings that you made tell me that there is only mere difference between two schools academically, but the campus environment is quite different.
I heard there is tendency that Michigan has somewhat more racism than California (I will ignore UCLA white girl’s video). Apparnetly there are much more Asian students and people around UCLA and at UCLA than UMAA. </p>
<p>How does the racial atmosphere at Michigan Ann arbor? </p>
<p>p.s currently Im in Califorinia and I have some Asian friends, but my close two friends are Mexican and White student. I more get along with these two friends.
I mean dont worry about racial preference; I am okay with all kinds of people generally.</p>
<p>Thanks for all postings !!</p>
<p>Michigan does not have a problem with racism. I am openly Arab and lived in Western Michigan (which is considerably more conservative than Eastern Michigan, where Ann Arbor and UM are located) post-September 11 and never had any trouble. </p>
<p>Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan tend to be very PC/liberal/tolerant. You will have your rotten apples everywhere of course, but by and large, racism is not a problem on or around campus. I do wish the Michigan student body were more well integrated. As it stands, it seems like there is self-imposed racial segregation, but I think that’s a common occurance at most universities.</p>
<p>There is no way you’re going to have the same racial balance at Michigan that you would find at UCLA in particular or California in general. The asian and latino populations in this part of the country are no where near the same level as on the west coast. However, Michigan does strive to be diverse and you will should have little roblem fitting in with all types of students, provided you make the attempt.</p>
<p>Which Asian country are you from?</p>
<p>Alex, when you say “hehe” is it pronounced “hee hee” or “heh heh”?</p>
<p>^ whoa, is there a difference in how it’s pronounced in different countries? I’m asian and i see it as “hee hee”…</p>
<p>U of M’s probably one of the most accepting schools EVER. It’s really hard to find your ‘niche.’</p>
<p>UCLA is very accepting too, but I think U of M would have more racial diversity, and the fact that there’s a smaller proportion of Asians at Michigan doesn’t mean there aren’t still thousands upon thousands of Asians running around (literally).</p>
<p>So I sincerely do not believe you should base your decision on racial issues at ALL, zip, nada, none whatsoever. For poli-sci, I have heard U of M has one of the best (top 5) departments in the country (one of my main reasons for attending), but
UCLA will probably give you ton more internship opportunities than Ann Arbor can- but I don’t think that necessarily makes UCLA a better choice.
For Michigan, there’s a Wolverine Scholar’s program which, if you get above a 3.8 at Michigan, you <em>can</em> automatically be admitted to their law school (#2 in the country, by Gourmet report, #1 was Harvard). Many poli-sci’s tend to pursue law, or just tighten their resume with it, so you never know what you end up pursuing.</p>
<p>"UCLA will probably give you ton more internship opportunities than Ann Arbor can- but I don’t think that necessarily makes UCLA a better choice.'</p>
<p>Huh?</p>
<p>Well if you want to go to grad school, research is a huge part of your app and Michigan’s research opportunities are phenomenal. You can pretty easily be involved in research all four years if you want, starting freshman year with UROP.</p>