But linguistics plus CS is not the film or architecture program that you have been saying you want.
But I agree that CS would be very marketable, if you think you won’t regret it. But…Davidson has a CS degree and it would be a lot less money than UCLA.
Ok, just checked. Davidson has cs but not linguistics. But the linguistics part isn’t going to be the part that makes you marketable—it’s the cs part that will.
And yes, a cs degree from a Liberal arts college is very marketable.
This thread is going to close down very soon. Any chance that it can stay open a bit longer? @skieurope ?
One year of a four year degree is not at all marketable. You wouldn’t get past the intro courses.
A FREE computer science degree is way better than debt.
Edited to mean…it would cost you a lot less in tuition than UCLA.
Check this out and you might want to rethink contacting UCLA. CS is a very marketable degree so you do not need to attend UCLA to do well post grad. After a year or two of job experience, employers do not care where you attended for Undergrad.
Post #10
Called it!
Done!
You were blabbering on about wasting time not doing film. Yet you want to go to UCLA to not do film?
Your counselor is incompetent btw if the facts you’ve shared are accurate.
Yeah, I tried choosing Davidson because before, I thought it was the responsible choice. If I want to ever stop the constant anxiety and uncertainty about what I’m going to do with my life. I don’t think I should prolong deciding for another four years.
Can you explain why CS at UCLA is so much preferable to you than CS at Davidson?
The linguistics and CS program has a higher focus on linguistics elements with the marketable knowledge areas of CS. Majoring in only CS would be way too many math and CS classes and wouldn’t give me the unique and competitive angle for finding employment.
You don’t need a unique and competitive angle to find employment in CS.
This is distressing to read. It is beyond sad that adults are advising you to do this (assuming we have an accurate understanding of the financial situation). Are these people going to help you payoff that debt if you cannot?
A CS degree is highly marketable FROM ANY COLLEGE. Emphasis on a four year degree, not one year of courses. You cannot afford that at UCLA. You can at Davidson.
Additionally, setting the $ aside, the fact that you would consider CS now when only a few days ago you were adamant film or architecture were your only acceptable choices tells me a school that allows exploration of interests and allows easy major changes is where you need to be.
If you somehow are allowed to switch to UCLA, I sadly predict you will be back on CC in a year or two posting a cautionary tale. 
Also for UCLA, make sure you see the section on “preparation for the major” for the cs-linguistics combo. It looks like it has a lot of math, but I didn’t do a deep dive to see which math courses they are.
I don’t know how CS will work out, but I feel being able to explore my options is the very last thing I need. I can’t do it any longer because it’s giving me so much anxiety about the uncertainty. I should just pick a career and roll with it, and this is a way that I will be forced to pick a career, and then I can move back home for a few years to pay off the debts. Even with a low-balled salary of 70k in CS, I could put about 40k towards paying off my debts post-grad if I’m living at home, right?
What is it specifically that you think you can study/get at UCLA that is worth that much extra money? What is Davidson lacking that you are so certain you need? It feels to me that there are still so many unknowns from your perspective, it’s hard to see how you know that Davidson is not going to give you what you want but UCLA is. It didn’t feel like you were so much set on having the large, rah-rah public school experience that was attracting you to UCLA. If that were the case, I guess I could see it, but otherwise it seems you are so focused on what you think you will learn or not learn in undergrad that will lead you where you want to go (where is that?), and that’s just not how things usually play out. Get the best education you can get for the least amount of money. Davidson is a wonderful choice for that. UCLA would be good too, but it’s not affordable. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place. I have a kid there. But it’s just not objectively better than UCLA to help get you where you might want to go, and I’m not sure you know at this point where that is. Now I’m starting to think a gap year does make sense for you if you can swing it. Get a job interning in one of the fields you think you are interested in, maybe reapply to some different places?
Someone gave me the very good advice today that I shouldn’t give myself any more time to decide. It’s only going to make me never make a decision. I should just pick something and roll with it. CS makes a lot of money, so once my debts are paid off, I could move into another career, I’m sure.
OP, why not start at Davidson and see how it goes after a year or two? NOT going to Davidson, at least to start is something I can’t wrap my head around.
One can always transfer into Davidson but not to UCLA.