<p>I’m planning on majoring in Comp Lit (possibly double in Comp Sci/Math/Language/Linguistics) at one of the UCs. Anybody know which would have the better English/Comp Lit/Languages programs (since I’ll have to frequent all those depts)?</p>
<p>Here’s other considerations…</p>
<p>UCLA/UCB/UCSD: No Money at all… can afford (technically), but would be stranded if money was a real issue at grad school (I really want to avoid loans as much as possible)
UCI: Regents’, supposedly they have a good English prgm? I know they’re respected for the Creative Writing MFA… Agghhh… so few languages…
UCSB: Regents’, I met the chair and she seemed really helpful, as did the Undergrad Specialist and an Associate Prof (plus, it’s bigger than Irvine, at least in what I want to do) More languages
UCD: Regents’, biggest school of the bunch, not well known for it’s humanities depts? Or am I misinformed? Most languages</p>
<p>Didn’t apply to UCSC, UCM, or UCR, all the rest accepted.</p>
<p>It basically boils down to whether I should go to Berkeley (since I got in there and UCLA/UCSD aren't as good for humanities) and have to worry about money or go to UCI, UCSB or UCD and have no problem with money. If I go to a mid-tier I can afford to do something besides work in the summer, if I go to Berk I have to work every summer and probably through every year. Any thoughts? I'm going to Cal Day to see Berk (I've already been to the other campuses, been to Berk to actually, but would like to see how their propaganda compares to UCI/UCSB/UCD). </p>
<p>besides merit scholarships, don't ucla, ucsd, and cal give need-based financial aid? </p>
<p>if you can work something out, definitely go to uc berkeley or ucla!</p>
<p>otherwise, go to where i'm going, ucsb. but seriously, if you got accepted into uc berkeley and ucla, see if you can work out anything with financial aid or with your parents etc....</p>
<p>If you get scholarship to UCI/UCSB/UCD, then I would probably choose those schools over Cal or UCLA. the valedictorian in my school got accepted to UCI, UCLA, UCB, UCSD and UPenn, and he chose UCI because he got full scholarship and got into CHP.</p>
<p>I think CHP is guaranteed with regents' (I know IRHS (is that the right acronym? the Davis invite-only one) is given to all regents), and I've heard it's quite good. Ya, I like my options, only problem is deciding on just one :P.</p>
<p>As for financial aid at UCB and UCLA, they offer it, but it's basically all loans, and my parents are severely against going into debt. Plus, by FAFSA standards, I have no financial aid, regardless of school. Realistically, it'll be a stretch to afford Berkeley (that's FAFSA for you...). Like I said, I either have the freedom to do what I want during the summer (paid or unpaid), or I go to the top tier schools and always have to work during the summer (which means I can't do internships with the CIA or CATO (two ideas that have been floating around in my head recently)).</p>
<p>Unfortunately also Comp Lit requires a whole slew of good depts. UCI has a good English dept, but is lacking language wise (though if I go there I'll probably just study German, French, and hopefully Russian), UCB has every language you can possibly conceive (except for the African languages that LA has :P), UCSB has better options (and a really nice dept) but has a rep that I'm not sure I want to carry.</p>
<p>Thanks again guys! Any more thoughts I can garner?</p>
<p>aaahhh berkeley would be so awesome if there's any way you can work something out.... :(</p>
<p>
[quote]
UCSB has better options (and a really nice dept) but has a rep that I'm not sure I want to carry.
[/quote]
get a good gpa and you'll be fine. i'm going to uc santa barbara. ya it is a "party school" but its academics are definitely on the rise. many programs are top rated and there are several nobel laureates. you learn a lot about time management and balancing your life, as well as garnering good social skills.</p>
<p>do you plan to study abroad? just wondering</p>
<p>p.s. what exactly IS comparitive literature... read works from all different countries in the original languages? basically like a normal lit class, just with diff languages...?</p>
<p>I plan to study abroad as often as I can (and I know the dept is housed at SB ;), they like to throw that fact around). Which leads to the problem of being at Berkeley again... I simply can't afford summer school and I have to be very careful to graduate in 4 years (which means Study Abroads become more difficult).</p>
<p>Comparative Lit... where to begin? Hmm... well @ the undegrad level you generally have two options. Either study Lit and one other area (interdisciplinary, not what I want to do for a few reasons, mostly because it's not the way to get into grad school, that end of the major is more of the way to get a double major in Lit) or study foreign languages (reading in two languages @ most colleges (so English & ______, or in my case, English and German and Russian and Hebrew (whew...)), Berkeley says start a third language if you plan on going into grad school.</p>
<p>Ack, such a hard decision! Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>Not that this will be a huge factor or anything, but UCI will start offering Arabic and Hebrew next fall through the dept. of Spanish and Portuguese actually. I don't think you could major in it or anything though. Anyways, I just heard about that so I thought I would mention it.</p>
<p>One of the reasons I took the scholarship money over the big name school was because of the study abroad options. The summer before and through the fall of my third year I plan to study abroad. Right now, Chile is sounding like a good option. That was just my personal decision though.</p>
<p>Tough question, ummm... mostly because of my interest in languages. Unfortunately the job prospects in Comp Lit are not plentiful, the most obvious is professorship, though the language skills gained hopefully allow for more options (translation, interpretation, foreign service...)</p>
<p>Personally, I'm going to attempt to do some internships (where I'll fit this all in I have no clue), hopefully in foreign service and politics (so probably CIA, Woodrow Wilson Institute (if they do internships for undergrads), CATO (Libertarian Thinktank (just something I might enjoy)), or one of the Republican Thinktanks (have to decide at some point whether I'm a conservative Libertarian or a Republican...)</p>
<p>Anywho, like I said, my draw is because of the languages, and also because I like to read :). If I go to Irvine there's a good chance I'll double, either in Informatics or International Relations (I think it's just an emphasis in Poli Sci @ Irvine), depending on whether I find my interest in Computer Science worth pursuing or my interest in international relations/foreign service worth pursuing.</p>
<p>If you really want to learn about Comparative Lit, I'd suggest talking to a professor, I talked to the Chair @ SB and she was very helpful. I'm probably going to talk to one of the professors or the chair @ Berkeley next week.</p>
<p>UCI also has a major in International Studies, but most people I know who have similar interests as yours would recommend doing the Poli Sci major with the IR module.</p>
<p>BacktoReality, you are making me want to switch majors. LoL From Biochem to Comp. Lit -- my parents will s*** a brick. We have that similarity, the inclination to picking up languages. But it still takes work, yes? :D Considering a minor in Latin or French... I'll see. </p>
<p>This is... some kind of freaky. LoL! Good luck with decision making! But if my two cents are worth anything, I'd go for UCSB.</p>
<p>I am currently a Polisci major (likely IR emphasis although it's still my first year so no upper-div classes yet) at UCI in the CHP. I don't know if you already figured that out from my other posts around here. Anyay, I am interested in languages too. Namely Spanish. I think I will minor in it and definitely want to study abroad and reach fluency in it. I'm not sure exactly what I'll end up doing career-wise, but I am very interested in law and might take my pusuits on to law school. Also, if I could fit it into my schedule, there are a lot of other languages I'd like to take too, like possibly Korean and/or Chinese.</p>
<p>j-project: Are you @ UCSB @ present? If yes (or no), is there a particular reason why you like SB more than Irvine? My reason for considering it at present has to do with the Comp Lit faculty and the languages they offer in the quantity they offer (sadly, Irvine's Russian program is small, though SB's is nothing to write home about). Plus, of course, happiest students! And honestly, who doesn't want to be happy?</p>
<p>yackityyak: Very interesting. I still honestly have no clue what I want to do after college (heck, I'm still trying to figure out where I'm going to college so I can have an "after college"). Hey, maybe I'll see you @ Irvine, I'll make sure to post my decision here or somewhere else on the boards. It looks like it's narrowed down to UCB, UCI, or UCSB (Davis and Brandeis are still options, but not as prevalent). Hey, did you do the CHP + the honors housing? If so, how'd that go? If not, do you know how anybody that did and what they thought about it?</p>
<p>BackToReality</p>
<p>PS Thanks again guys! Like I said before, you guys are awesome!</p>