BU ($, honors) vs UCLA

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So I've narrowed my choices to BC, USC, BU, or UCLA. My first choice is Boston College based on "fit," (medium campus, reputable finance department, Boston, alumni/job placement, school spirit, guidance counseling) but I won't be able to go assuming they do not increase my financial aid (was given $5000 in loans - currently appealing). In this case, therefore, it comes down to financial assistance rather than the fit of the school (nor will I be able to attend USC if I receive no financial aid). Based on other threads that are in the same situation, I've come to accept that it's not worth it to attend BC or USC, especially when I have UCLA. But between UCLA and BU, my feelings are not as concrete. On one hand, UCLA is a much better school rankings-wise, but it is also facing a budget crunch, overpacked class sizes, and I'm not in the major I want. Although I'm promised smaller class sizes at BU's honors program, it does not have a campus "feel" and is academically much weaker than UCLA (albeit having a business school).</p>

<p>BU
pros: university scholar (half tuition), honors college (seminars, networking, week-long international conference, study-abroad guarantee, community service requirement), Boston
cons: large student body, little academic "prestige", grade deflation, little alumni/job placement/internship reputation, business school not well-known, little school spirit</p>

<p>UCLA
pros: in-state tuition ($30,000), academic prestige
cons: large student body, unable to leave California, rising tuition, overfilled classes, little to no guidance, was put as a sociology major (not business econ like I requested - no business school).</p>

<p>Could anyone help me decide between BU and UCLA? Is a UCLA degree that much better (in terms of future job placements, etc) that I should forgo small-honors classes and a business degree (PS what can one do with a sociology major?)?</p>

2

<p>You can easily switch to pre-Business Econ major when you get to UCLA (assuming you’re a freshman).</p>

<p>NOTE: All students are put into “pre-Business Econ” and must fulfill certain GPA requirements before they can declare Business Econ as their major.</p>

3

<p>I was under the impression that Business econ and econ were nearly impossible to switch into because they were impacted. because of the “pre” status, does that mean I can just take pre-business econ courses instead of pre-sociology courses and then declare that as my major after 2 years?</p>

4

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<p>I’m not sure what you mean by the bold I. People graduate from UCLA and leave California all the time.</p>

<p>Wrt Bold II: How do you feel about going to grad school, an MBA program? A lot of this depends on what business sector you want to enter. If you want to go into sales/marketing/brokerage/agency/public relations, say, commercial real estate or residential real estate brokering, then soc (any major) is good enough. Soc is a social science under L&S, so your movement within L&S shouldn’t be too bad as sentiment stated. </p>

<p>If you want something more technical, consulting, etc., you’d probably want an advanced degree. Also, as a soc major, you could minor in bus at UCLA, and you could stock up on bus related classes during summer because otherwise they would be hard to come by during the regular terms, with bus econ majors getting priority enrollment. You can still major in soc and besides adding a bus minor, still take management, stats, calc courses. You just have to plan ahead. Also, look into Bruin Consulting, if you want something like this. Email them and ask their advice. </p>

<p>Also, how do you feel about majoring in something more science-like? I think more of a “tech” major might prepare someone for a bus=related career. Most soc majors tend to go into something like law.</p>

<p>Also “little or no guidance” is probably way overstated.</p>

<p>Also Sentiment:</p>

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<p>There are a select few that are admitted to the major, I’m certain. But OP would definitely have to go through pre-major.</p>

5

<p>Also, someone on the UCLA board who linked Bruin Consulting, who is recently employed in consulting, also recommended Econ, Math/Econ, Applied Math as majors for this career path besides Bus (Biz)Econ. (I don’t think you could enter Engineering.) The thread is still there. I believe he/she was Math/Econ.</p>