Choosing SDSU over UCLA? Am I insane?

Hello, I know this is long but I’d appreciate any feedback as I am so lost. I’ve narrowed down my choice of schools to either SDSU School of Nursing or UCLA. I’ll first discuss my overall goals and then each school individually. Again, any opinions would be helpful!

Healthcare is the only field in which I can truly envision myself. My real goal is to become a clinician of some sort, such as a physician assistant or nurse anesthetist or other career requiring graduate school. I’m not set on a specific healthcare role yet, but I know I don’t want to go to medical school (physicians in my family turned me off from it). All of my potential options for graduate school require a high college gpa. I’m a California resident who has a Florida prepaid college plan which I’m hoping to maximize to pay for college. Due to specifics of the contract, I’d access about 1/3 more money toward college costs by attending a university which has a semester system rather than a quarter system. A secondary goal of mine is to learn Spanish in the coming years.

SDSU Nursing: Though this school isn’t renowned, its nursing program is far more selective than the general population (at Open House, data showed admits had 3.95 gpa and ~1900 sat). From what I understand, prestige of school isn’t very important in the nursing realm when compared to hands-on experience which SDSU definitely has. Though I know this is just one measure of ability, I think I would be ahead of many fellow nursing students given my stats (4.4 gpa, 2200 sat). Shallow as it may sound, this makes me question how well I would fit in and get along with other students. The sticker price of attendance is $25k/year, and it has the semester system which would further save me money. I haven’t received a financial aid package yet. The program itself consists of about 120 nursing students who live together in the dorms, a rigid 4-year course plan, and all classes are guaranteed to nursing students in order to progress on time. I already have 5 nursing major GE’s out of the way due to AP exams, and will have 2 more done after this summer. That’s about 20 units free in my schedule which I could use for a Spanish minor. I feel that many aspects of my life at SDSU would be structured, for better or for worse. I also wouldn’t have the freedom to change my major/career path because I don’t want anything but a nursing degree from SDSU due to its lower rankings. I’m very familiar with the campus, I LOVE San Diego, SDSU has many beautiful facilities, and I have many friends attending there next year. On the flip side, I don’t want to remain stagnant by choosing the easier option. If I choose SDSU, I think its structure combined with my academic competitiveness will allow me to achieve a high gpa, putting me on a clear path toward CRNA school (and a $145,000 salary).

UCLA: When I was accepted here, I literally fell to the ground. It’s every Californian student’s dream school and there’s something to be said for how one feels toward their college. In a social sense, I think I would be happier with my UCLA peers based on the fact that we all have to be a certain type of person to be accepted into UCLA in the first place (hardworking, academically curious). However this presents the problem of gpa – I will be competing against other top students. This concerns me for my potential in healthcare (ex: PA schools generally accept students with ~3.8 college gpa). I don’t have a clear path toward healthcare at UCLA, and I don’t even know what major I would be trying for. That really scares me as I may have to derail my dream by getting a job unrelated to healthcare after college. But I also don’t want to shy away from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because I’m insecure in my abilities compared to others. On another note, the school has quarter systems and a $34k/year sticker price. Based on my provisional aid letter, I would only be responsible for paying $12k/year. I could supplement this $48k/4years with the Florida prepaid money (about $20k total on a quarter system). So ultimately I would be responsible for about $28k for all 4 years. I still project this will be more expensive than if I attended SDSU. Also I have only seen pictures of the UCLA campus, don’t have a good idea of student life here, and Los Angeles isn’t a city that I really enjoy. I also don’t have a support system at UCLA like I would at SDSU. If I chose UCLA, I would be far more challenged in all aspects, be very proud to say I went there, have leeway to decide my exact career later in life, and probably have many more employment opportunities based solely on my alma mater. But I would be a less competitive student academically, and therefore probably wouldn’t end up in direct healthcare due to a lower gpa. I almost certainly would make less money than if I went to SDSU.

TL;DR: Should I choose SDSU (nursing and only nursing, comfort, cost-effective, sets me up for high paying jobs in healthcare) or UCLA (prestige, allows many avenues, exciting)? I’m going to college to get a good job afterward (which leans me toward SDSU) but I also want to grow as a person and I worry I will regret choosing the easier school out of fear of the challenge. Please give me your opinion!

Honestly, this is where it’s your heart vs. your brain.

Your heart really wants you to go to UCLA for the prestige and general happiness, while your brain knows that the more logical decision is to go to SDSU.

Money isnt an issue when you’ll have a potential starting salary of $150K, and I think you’ll do fine. Would you rather have a social life, or make the smart choice? You’ll have friends at SDSU definitely, but you’ll always be wondering, “What could have been?” Idk. I think you’d be dumb to not pick UCLA. I myself am OOS, but I’m still picking UCLA.

Irregardless, SDSU is a great school and you’d be happy with either. :slight_smile:

I’m impressed with your well thought out analysis. Given your passion for healthcare, I would choose SDSU School of Nursing. It will provide you with the connections and nursing job opportunities upon graduation. You will still have the option for graduate school. I’m sure you are well aware of the glut of college graduates that are finding it very difficult in the job market or working in jobs that do not require a 4 year degree. I would ask yourself “Is the so call “prestige” of UCLA worth giving up a pretty much guaranteed healthcare job upon graduation?”

P.S. I would NOT think you were dumb if you did NOT pick UCLA. Quite the opposite actually; a smart well thought decision.

You will grow as a person no matter where you go if that is your desire. The assumption that the “kind of people” at UCLA are definitely better than the “kind” you will be surrounded by at SDSU doesn’t make sense to me. Have you seen the craziness coming from some of the UC campuses in the past years? Have you see how crazy and unpredictable admissions decisions have been? There are as many, or more, nutcases accepted to UCLA as to any non-selective school in this country. --Just saying’!

I totally understand being drawn to prestige and the job contacts that may follow due to that, though. My comment here is written with a smile and a Congrats. Good luck with your decision! IT’s a great problem to have! Enjoy it!!

I am a mom of one SDSU student—and it’s a fabulous school and not easy to get into, esp Nursing! You must be a Superstar!

If I was you I would choose SDSU. The nursing program is extremely competitive there. They had about a 2% acceptance rate this year, so you should be extremely proud of yourself! That being said, the students in your classes and dorm will be like you, driven, hard working and intelligent! If you know that you have a passion for health care SDSU if the easiest way to achieve that. You could save money during the undergrad years and even go on to get a PhD if you wanted. If you don’t like LA you probably will not like UCLA. It is an incredible school, but it is not for everyone. You definitely have to fight for yourself more there are pul your own weigh which can be difficult. Follow your heart and try to enjoy this exciting time in your life!

If you don’t like LA then you most likely will not like UCLA. I think the choice is all up to you and where you’ll be happier. I also want to become a nurse and I got into UCLA’s School of Nursing where I will definetely be attending in the fall. It sounds like you will be happier at SDSU so then maybe go there. Whatever you choose good luck!

As s nurse myself and also with a daughter in the SDSU nursing program, it’s really important to be certain that nursing is what you want because of the huge time commitment and rigorous course work. If your ultimate goal is to be an independent practitioner like a PA, UCLA is a great choice. At SDSU, with good grades, you will more than likely be able to go on to become a ARNP or Nurse Anesthetist. From my perspective, the future of healthcare will depend largely on NP’s and PA’s meaning a good job market (I am not sure what the demand is for nurse anesthetists currently). Try and talk to as many advanced practice nurses and PA’s as you can to really decipher what the differences are and if you can see yourself doing that in the future. The BSN route will take you from the ground up learning all the basic essentials of patient and bedside care/nursing. If you go pre-PA school route, you’ll be heavy into the sciences then cross over to a more clinical based experience. Both graduate programs are like 2-3 years (NP or PA) and pay is relatively comparable I believe. I hope you are happy with your decision either way! Good luck!

It sounds like SDSU is the more sensible choice for you personally. When you compare the costs, hands on experience, and job prospects of the two schools, it seems like you’ll be more prepared to enter the workforce from SDSU. Prestige doesn’t mean much if you have much more experience and a higher GPA than your UCLA counterparts, and the lower price of SDSU will mean less debt and less worry. Unless your gut reaction is against it, I’d go with SDSU. You’ll have friends there, and I’m sure that at least some of the other nursing students will be just as driven and passionate as you are. Also, Alvarado Hospital is just a very short drive down 8 east (or a trolley ride) and you could volunteer there or try to land an internship. There will be great resources available to you, and San Diego definitely is a fantastic city (I live here!). It’s less sprawling than LA, and there are always things to do or places to go. SDSU’s location is right above Mission Valley, which is basically the shopping district of San Diego, but you’re also a short drive on 163 to downtown or 8 west to the beaches. And you can’t beat San Diego winters; average highs never drop below 60. Sorry if all that info was irrelevant to you since you already live here or something, I just like showing off my city! Good luck in making your decision, do what feels right to you!