<p>^Male thinking about Scripps enough to list it twice^</p>
<p>...lol</p>
<p>I live in NorCal and basically the BIG difference between schools on the east and west coasts is the weather. East coast winters are freezing, whereas west coast winters are mild. (Well they're "freezing to me, but that's just 'cause I've lived here all my life) The lowest it gets here in like 40 at night. During the day in the winter it is about 50-60. Oh yeah and the San Francisco/Bay Area is super super super liberal. Trust me I know. Now as for the schools:
Stanford - great academically, extremely prestigious and competitive, pretty near San Francisco, very expensive
UC Berkely - also great academically, cheap if in state, if not then also very expensive but Stanford is probably more expensive, very competitive, especially if out of state
UCLA - also a great school top 25 in US News rankings, on a side note excellent drama program, as with all UC schools cheap instate, expensive out of state, more competitve if out of state,
UCSD - known for good business school, not quite as well known as UCLA/UC Berkely, but still good school
UC Davis - known for good vet school, in top 50 schools according to US News, easier to get into than UCSD & UCLA & UC Berkely
UC Santa Barbra - great engineering program, big party school, somewhat easier to get into, but still good school
UC Santa Cruz - also big party school
UC Merced/UC Riverside - from what I've heard, they're the worst out of all the UCs, but I don't know much about them
UC Irvine - pretty good school, probably up there with UCSD and UC Davis, don't know much about it
Pomona - great liberal arts college, very competitive, highly regarded in CA or at least NorCal
Caltech - not that well know, but an AMAZING school, especially for science and math, many claim just as good as MIT
USC - beautiful campus, top 30 school according to US News, great film school, great football team ;), pretty presitigious and great academics
Yeah hope that helps. California is great!</p>
<p>caltech isn't just as good as MIT.</p>
<p>it's better</p>
<p>:p</p>
<p>UCSD - known for good business school, not quite as well known as UCLA/UC Berkely, but still good school</p>
<p>UCSD is known for BIO and SCIENCES
Doesnt even have a business school</p>
<p>texas> california hippies and fruits> east coast wannabe brits> oregon</p>
<p>hmmm i lived in plano and for a while thought the same...</p>
<p>nowwwwww
CA is better just b/c of the sheer amount of things to do. I remember there seemed to be a plethora of pretty girls at West tho ;) (well... renner, now i just assume)</p>
<p>
[quote]
p.s. i hope you were kidding about it being THE most diverse city in the world... i'm guessing you've never been to London, Paris or even New York
[/quote]
I'm guessing you've never been to LA (or if you have, only to a very limited section of it). I don't know the numbers on it, so I won't claim that Los Angeles is the most diverse city in the world, but it's approximately as diverse as the cities you list (depending, of course, on how you define diversity). I have been to all 4 of those cities, and my anecdotal experience is that LA is as diverse as anywhere, perhaps reflected most obviously in the massive numbers and variety of ethnic restaurants and communities. Incidentally, California as a whole is majority non-white, which is certainly not true of New York state. </p>
<p>edit: I just looked, LA's population is only 29.7% white, non-hispanic, while New York is 35%. 35.9% of NYC residents were born in foreign countries, compared to 40.9% in LA. By those two admittedly crude measures of diversity, LA beats New York. (<a href="http://www.city-data.com/city/New-York-New-York.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.city-data.com/city/New-York-New-York.html</a> and <a href="http://www.city-data.com/city/Los-Angeles-California.html)%5B/url%5D">http://www.city-data.com/city/Los-Angeles-California.html)</a>.</p>
<p>As a general principle, getting out of your comfort zone to another coast is a good thing. The continuing relative density of populace on the east coast, longer history, greater history in higher education, etc. give some the notion that the east coast is still more the center of the world than the west, but consider the fact that, for instance, a recent "world universities" ranking (research focused) put Stanford and Berkeley in the top 3 with Harvard as the other.</p>
<p>In other words, there is no shortage of excellence and opportunity in education on the west coast. People on the east coast tend to view it as the center of the universe more than people on the west coast view the west coast this way. The things that make the east coast attractive, though, are things cultural, IMO: people tend to grow up faster and have more edge on the east coast. People are less superficial and better friends on the east coast, in the sense that they generally take longer to get to know someone and be friends with them, but are less flaky when they finally count someone as a friend.</p>
<p>People on the east coast are more traditional and more conventional. This can be a good and a bad thing. There is a more laid back style, open to bucking convention on the west coast than on the east coast. East coasters can be more rigid in how they live. West coasters can be more creative in how they live, but they can also seem without a kind of groundedness too in some cases.</p>
<p>But these are just a few thoughts. You should tell us more what you are looking for and then we can better tailor the generalizations to your situation.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm guessing you've never been to LA
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I've been to LA plenty of times. Frankly speaking, downtown is a complete hole. The beach communities are nice, but you're not gonna find much "diversity" there. Further I don't really think that the %-age of "non-white" population really counts as "diversity". For instance, a large portion of LA's "non-white" demographic is Hispanic (which is no surprise given its proximity to Mexico) and while there is nothing "wrong" with that, it still accounts for a majority of that "diversity" with a strong Asian presence as well. That's really two groups that make up that "diversity". </p>
<p>Take a quick look at this ethnic neighborhood guide to NYC for example and tell me that this isn't more diverse:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.walkingaround.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.walkingaround.com/</a></p>
<p>"UCSD is known for BIO and SCIENCES
Doesnt even have a business school"</p>
<p>Actually, UCSD does have a B-School. </p>
<p><a href="http://management.ucsd.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://management.ucsd.edu/</a></p>
<p>It was just started a couple of years ago. There is no undergrad B-School, as i believe the only two UC's to have that are UC Riverside and UC Berkeley (UCI is currently adding one). But you are correct in that UCSD is primarily known for its Med-School, bio sciences, neurosciences and Engineering (esp. bio-eng.), which are all top notch. It also has top ten programs in other areas such as Poli Sci, Econ, Theatre and Dance....</p>
<p>I would argue southern california is an extremely diverse place. I would imagine more so than any other area in the United States.</p>
<p>^^ SoCal (where I'm from) isn't very diverse at all. Too many superficial kids trying to impress everyone with their looks, clothes, and cars because they can't keep a decent conversation going. Try NorCal if you want culture and interesting people to hang with =O</p>
<p>But anyway, obviously the East Coast has far more elite colleges than Cali (you ARE comparing over a dozen older states to one new one), but Cali has more than it's fair share of good universities:</p>
<p>Stanford - tough as hell to get in, but it's the kind of school you can't turn down. Amazing academics and prestige, accompanied by beautiful weather and a stellar campus, make this the school to go to (unless you like a lively college scene...and football =P).
UCB - well I'm biased, but I think Stanford's East Bay cousin is one of the best universities in the world. First class academics, tons of things to do, amazing research opportunities, Division 1 sports...sadly it's very difficult to get in OOS.
UCLA/USC - I put these in the same boat, because you'll have similar experiences with both. Along with strong academics, you get beautiful girls, amazing weather, and beaches galore. SoCal isn't a bad place to be.
UCSD - Good science department, but VERY boring area (La Jolla)
UCI/UCSB - pretty good academics, but can't say much else aside from UCSB's reputation as a party school is quite true.
UCSC, UCR, UCM, UCD - honestly don't know too much about these schools. Not known for the strongest academics or for their happening surroundings.
CalTech - arguably stronger than MIT, this tiny school is for those who LOVE the sciences.
Claremont Colleges (HMC, CMC, Pomona, Scripps, Pitzer) - very strong LAC's, especially the first three. Harvey Mudd is top notch for engineering, CMC holds its own in pretty much everything, and Pomona is a humanities powerhouse. Sadly I think the surrounding area is pretty terrible.
CSU's - Not so great academics, but they're not terrible either. If you can make any of the above schools, don't even consider these.</p>
<p>But then again, the East Coast has, just to name a few:
All of the Ivy League, MIT, Hopkins, Duke, NYU, UNC, UVA, GTech, VTech, UF, UMaryland, BU, BC, the arts schools (Juliard, Manhattan, Curtis, etc), just off the top of my head (these are all FAR stronger than any of the UC's "below" UCSD)</p>
<p>Pomona is also a social and life sciences powerhouse</p>
<p>for those of you who claim that southern california is just a plethora of showy, rich, white kids, you either have never stepped outside the borders of your suburban, middle/upper class neighborhood OR you are only basing your ideas of southern CA on movies and TV shows. The elite neighborhodds of Newport, Laguna Beach, and North Hollywood do NOT provide an accurate portrayal of southern CA. (or you're from norcal and are making this up cuz you get some twisted enjoyment out of dissing socal).</p>
<p>I live in a suburb of los angeles, and about 2 blocks from my house (in a middle class neighborhood which is predominately white) there is an All-American Diner, a Thai Restaurant, a Vietnamese Restaurant, a chinese restaurant, and a Japanese sushi bar, all next door to eachother, as a matter of fact. Now don't tell me this isn't diverse. </p>
<p>and the claim about "people from the east coast being better friends."</p>
<p>wow...what makes you think that?</p>
<p>
[quote]
I would argue southern california is an extremely diverse place. I would imagine more so than any other area in the United States.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't think anyone is arguing that SoCal is NOT a diverse place. It's just not the MOST diverse place in the world. That's a bit much.</p>
<p>West coast vs. East coast</p>
<p>Premier all-around school
Stanford vs. HYP</p>
<p>Tech
Caltech/Mudd vs. MIT/Olin</p>
<p>State school
Berkeley/UCLA/UCSD vs. UVA/?/?</p>
<p>LAC
Pomona/CMC vs. AWS</p>
<p>I think California holds its ground considering it's only one state.</p>
<p>I have lived in Florida, Texas, and NorCal. Each place has its charms. Things I like about NorCal: the weather, snow skiing, great wines, great fruit and produce, great ethnic food, wonderful hiking, backpacking, and camping, open-minded people, an educated populace (in general), decent public schools, great SF symphony and theater. Things I liked about Florida: water skiing, the beach, green lawns, cohesive neighborhoods, home entertaining (as opposed to restaurant entertaining), cheap housing, thunderstorms, great seafood. I didn't live in Texas long enough to build a reliable list, but some things I liked: great Tex-mex food, friendly people, country-western music, cheap housing. Are there things I don't like about NorCal? Yes: traffic, frantic work pace, too many first generation immigrants which are causing a rapid culture change in the public schools and workplaces (its hard to adjust to so much change so fast), droughts, lack of decent private liberal arts colleges. We only have two private schools worth attending: Stanford and Santa Clara, but I have to say, you won't be sorry if you come out to attend Stanford. Great academics, great sports, great weather, safe community, lots of job opportunities.</p>
<p>much thanks for all of the feedback - i've decided to apply to at least ONE california college, probably in the socal area, though i'm not 100% sure on which one yet.</p>
<p>I agree completely. I live in a suburb of LA County and most people from anywhere in SoCal will tell you that the movies/TV have it all wrong (big shocker). It's incredibly diverse. If you drive about 5 minutes from my house in any direction you can get just about any type of food you want, and there's people of just about every ethnicity in attendance at my HS. </p>
<p>SoCal isn't just a bunch of rich white kids. Don't listen to the movies/TV.</p>
<p>^Agreed wholeheartedly^</p>