<p>Hello, I am trying to decide between UCLA and Cal.
I am in the engineering schools at both for EE/CS majors, but can't decide which one to go to.</p>
<p>I visited UCLA and their argument there was that they require all their professors to teach while the ones at Cal spend all their time on research and have grad students teach the classes instead.
How true is this?</p>
<p>Also, I heard Cal would be harder. I'm not against difficulty, but over the past four years, I had friends who went to very competitive high schools while I went to an easy one and in the end we got the same SAT scores/etc. What ended up happening is that for the same performance they simply got lower rank/GPA, and as a result they were unable to get into as many colleges. </p>
<p>I don't plan to fail either, but if I had slightly higher grades at UCLA would that make it easier to get into grad school later? </p>
<p>Would I end up with a worse education or just be more easily graded at UCLA while learning just as much?</p>
<p>Lastly, which offers the most flexible program? I am still not completely certain which engineering major I want, and would like a chance to try different classes to find out. At UCLA they said everyone takes general things like introduction to CS, and takes classes from other engineering majors to have a broader education and find their interests. Is it like that at UCB?</p>
<p>Edit: To avoid confusion... Cal as in UC Berkeley</p>
<p>I am happy with the SF Bay Area (as I currently live here), but as for L.A. I don’t know enough about it to tell if I like it more or less.</p>
<p>I think for me I would care more about the student body than location, because with good friends I could have fun anywhere. I actually have some friends going to both, and a few friends also deciding between the two.</p>
<p>One small concern for me is that I hear Berkeley is extremely liberal. I’m not exactly a conservative, but I think I am more towards the moderate side. Would that cause some kind of problem?</p>
<p>Is it easier to get into a better grad school if you go to Cal undergrad?</p>
<p>Just assume that most college campuses are liberal even though Cal may be more so than some others. But in engineering it shouldn’t be as in your face as it would be in the humanities courses (some of which you’ll take). </p>
<p>Don’t assume you’ll have higher grades at UCLA or end up with a higher GPA.</p>
<p>They’re both tops schools. You’ll likely meet new friends at either. Close to home is convenient but further from home gives you an experience in a different area. Cal is convenient to the Silicon Valley for internships but LA has them also plus you can always get an summer internship in the bay area even if you go to UCLA. Upon graduation you can go wherever you want assuming you get offers and plenty of offers are coming to UCLA from the bay area.</p>
<p>I don’t think the decision’s a slam dunk and it becomes a personal one. You’ll just need to keep working on deciding where you want to spend the next 4 years and at which campus you think you’d feel most comfortable but as you say, you’d likely be comfortable at either.</p>
<p>If you haven’t done it already, post on the UCB and UCLA forums on CC but rather than randomly asking which is ‘better’ or which one you should go to (which no one will know), ask more specific questions about the campuses, surrounding area, what the resHalls are like, what it’s like to live nearby after you move off-campus, availability of on-campus jobs in your major or in general, and any other attribute you can think of. If possible, visit the campuses and surroinding areas again a time or two.</p>