<p>I was accepted to both UCSD (Econ) and UCSB (BusEcon) for the fall. I'm pretty excited and although I know I can't go wrong with either schools, since both belong to the well known UC system, I do admit that I am having a tremendous amount of trouble deciding where I should pursue my college studies. From what I've read in numerous publications, UCSD generally has a better academic rep. Also, they are ranked higher than UCSB in USN&WR. However, I believe UCSD is better known for their med and bio programs. BusEcon is one of the more popular majors at UCSB and I believe they are known for their emphasis in accounting under that major. I live roughly in between those schools so distance is not a factor and I would be living near the campus I ultimately decide on. They both have excellent campuses in beautiful locations, so I can't go wrong either way. I've heard the numerous nicknames for UCSB and know it has the stigma of a "party school", but this does not concern me as I feel pretty confident I can balance academics with socializing. Does UCSD have a strong Economics dept? Does UCSB for the matter, or is the BusEcon major filled with those that couldn't hack it in the sciences? Any opinions on the matter would greatly be appreciated. Thanks and congrats to all who have been accepted to their respective colleges!</p>
<p>I was in the same situation as you! If rankings mean anything to you, UCSD has a pretty strong econ program (ranked #10 I think). I do not know what SB is ranked BUT the Econ professor recently won a Nobel Prize for his studies in Econ last year so SB's rating in Econ is bound to go up. I chose UCSB (even over LA!) just because of the great location, campus, academics, and atmosphere. UCSD is great for academics, but what else is there to do on that campus BUT study (I've personally seen it!)? Good luck with your decision</p>
<p>Just like you said, you can't go wrong either way. Both are good schools are are viewed similarly by employers.</p>
<p>What will make the difference in your future is not which of these 2 schools you choose, but what you do while you're a student. If you are involved in activities, study hard so you do well in class, get to know your profs so you have some strong recs, and most importantly get internships you will build for a strong future. </p>
<p>Academic ranking of a school plays a role in who recruits on-campus ,and I don't think i-banks recruit at either school (but I may be wrong in that). But employers who go to one of these pair likely go to the other, too. So the tipping factor will be what you do, not the name on the diploma.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great comments! I'm visiting SB tomorrow and then SD the next day!! Hoepfully that will give me some better insight. I wonder how I should prepare?</p>
<p>I went and visited around 10-11 places about a month back, so after that here's my take on campus visits:</p>
<p>Take a camera. Be discreet about taking pictures of course, but it really helped me to have some pictures to look at so I could compare what really stood out to me about each campus side by side. You may also want to bring a notebook or some sort of compact voice recording device so you're sure to remember your thoughts about specific things. Even a few days later everything starts to get just a bit fuzzy so it's nice to be able to whip out a minidisc or a sheet of paper and have it all come back to you fast.</p>
<p>Make a plan beforehand about what exactly you want to see. I tried the wander about randomly plan, it doesn't work :P</p>
<p>Some things I always found to check out:
* A few different dorm rooms.
* One or two dining halls.
* The library.</p>
<p>Generally make sure and have a look at the areas where you'll be spending a lot of your time. If you don't like them it would kind of stink having to be around them every day.</p>
<p>Talk to some professors. Find an academic advisor and try to feel out what the different attitudes on some of the things that you're interested in doing are. Ideally, it would be best to call up some of these people before you arrive so they can make time to meet with you. Going and visiting isn't much help really if you only look at things, and I personally have found that the people at these places are really accessible and friendly to prospective students.</p>
<p>Most importantly, find some students who are doing what you want to do and ask for dirt. They'll probably give you the most accurate picture of what life will be like for at their university. Ask for what they don't like along with what they do; if you ask frankly they tend to respond frankly. Be polite of course, but also keep the questions going as quickly as they can answer them. A friend of mine with whom I visited several colleges was absolutely insane at this and she was always able to extract absurd amounts of detailed information out of everyone that she talked to.</p>
<p>Neither school is a powerhouse for these fields. Both schools are on the rise in all fields of study. Go to UCSB. It is a really cool experience. No offense to UCSDers.</p>
<p>I went to visit both schools, both were very nice. SD's campus looked more like what a university "should" look like, IMHO. However, SB had a more personal feel and from what I gathered from the counselors I talked to at SB, they seemed like they really care about their students. There were about 50 transfer students at SB's transfer day, while at SD there were about 2000. I don't really know how to interpret that. I just want to maximize my time and money and I'm feeling a little bit desperate as to how I can somewhat gauge the value of a BusEcon degree from SB or an Econ degree from SD. The students who were a part of ACTA (?) at SD were really friendly and a couple of girls who were a part of ACTA even gave me their numbers and email addresses encouraging me to contact them if I needed any help whatsoever. I though my weekend trip to SB and SD would help me make a decision, it just made it that much harder!</p>
<p>On a sidenote, Anyone check out thedarksideofUCSB.com? Makes me lean towards SD, but then again, exactly who are the people running the website? I wonder about ulterior motives...but whatever.</p>
<p>For me, a BusEcon degree is worth more than an Econ degree @ UCSD. Yes, SD is great for econ BUT you will have a lot more competition to keep up your grades for grad school and the Business aspect of the SB course will suit you better to go into the "real" world when you decide to become an entrepreneur. SB is a great place with LOTS of things to do! I really loved the campus and personal feel to it. SD on the other hand feels secluded. The college system they have there makes it seem like you do not associate with other in the other 5 colleges. Also, I really did NOT like the campus as most of it just seems fake and not uniform in style. Interestingly enough, before I visited SD, I was enthusiastic about attending...after I left I was unsure. When I visited SB, I knew that is where I wanted to go!</p>
<p>About that website...I believe that the info is factual. I bet any college has that kind of stuff going on (maybe not sd ;) )</p>