@Norcal1972 My comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek in the sense that your S’s decision won’t hinge on traffic. But, having said that, taking the Michigan Flyer to and from the airport has always been about a 35-minute pleasant ride. I haven’t encountered much if any traffic at any hour between the airport and the campus.
My younger kid is looking at the big CA publics up and down the coast on this trip. Small private schools aren’t on the list, at least right now. OOS remains a possibility, which is a change from my older kid.
My two cents from someone in a similar position. I grew up in SoCal, went to UCLA undergrad and UM for grad school. S20 admitted to UM EA and is applying in state to the UCs.
I loved UM. Ann Arbor is an awesome college town. Weather was a shock but bearable knowing I didn’t have to stay forever. School spirit at UM was much higher than UCLA, which is true to this day. When I wear UCLA gear nobody ever says anything. Almost always get a “Go Blue” from a stranger when I wear UM stuff.
That all said, if S20 gets into UCLA, it would be hard to then pay OOS for a comparable education from UM. Besides the cost difference, UCLA has all the other obvious things going for it. I would never tell my kid where he must go but, as others have said, I would strongly recommend staying in state and saving the money for grad school (who knows, maybe even UM). IMO, if he’s going to pay private school prices for undergrad then he should go to a private school.
It’s pretty easy to get an Uber/Lyft from LAX to UCLA, though. LAX recently moved all of the ride-shares to a separate lot near Terminal 1, and it makes the process much easier. My boyfriend and I took an Uber from LAX to Westwood on Friday, and it wasn’t bad at all even with all of the holiday traffic at the airport.
Students mostly venture out of Westwood on the weekend, and there’s relatively little traffic on Sundays, when Wilshire is virtually dead. Saturdays are more of a mixed bag, though still generally much better than weekdays, especially in the morning.
Going east-west in LA on public transit is easier than going north-south, especially now that the expo line runs from Santa Monica to downtown. They’re currently working on expanding the subway to Westwood in time for the LA Olympics, but it’s doubtful it will be completed by the time your son graduates.
Current ucla student and campus tour guide here! Hard to be objective because ucla was my dream school and I was pretty set of being in Southern California. But for pretty much equal lvls of academics, UM is not worth the extra cost. That money, even if affordable, could be a nice investable fund you can gift your son after a stellar education at ucla. People were wearing shorts finals week this quarter right before Christmas. I think that says enough lol. The dining halls and res life are fantastic too and even though our football and basketball teams haven’t been great it’s still an awesome time. Feel free to ask me any other questions.
^
I took the 6 a few times to/from LAX since I used to live in Sawtelle, and I’ve also taken it for jury duty at the airport courthouse. The nicest thing one can say about it is that it’s cheap. Taking the bus is doable (albeit cramped) if you only have a carry-on, but it’s a long ride even if you catch the Rapid 6 – at least an hour, maybe more depending on traffic.
Much better to split a ride with other students, IMO.
I didn’t see any reference your son wanting to live off campus for the final three years, so I thought I would mention that UCLA has guaranteed housing for three years and is working on the fourth from current dorm construction. . .Under Construction Like (As) Always. Since there’s a lot of hill walking from dorms to classes: University of Calves Legs And bottoms; ask @10s4life about that one.
For undeclared students the E majors and CS would be tough to enter without pre-declaring as ucbalumnus mentioned. But UCLA has a bunch of excellent minors and specializations: Program in Computing Specialization, Digital Humanities, Geographic Information Systems and Technology (GIS&T); Biomedical Research; Stats; Accounting, Entrepreneurship, etc, for those who are in, say, the Social Sciences. I’m sure UM has the same and prob a little better movement interdepartmentally.
So, my kid lives with 3 other kids about 2 short blocks from Central Campus in A2 for about 1/2 the cost of the dorms. There are several UMich housing options post-freshman year (Stockwell, North Quad, etc.), although not guaranteed, I haven’t heard of any availability problems, since most choose to live “off campus” after freshman year. There’s also lots of “off campus” housing stock available, especially now with all the new dorm-style apartments coming online.
Regarding departments and majors, at UMich, everyone enters as undeclared until Winter (2nd) semester Sophomore year, when students are required to declare.
This is an old thread but really relevant to my daughter who is struggling to choose between UCLA and Michigan. She has about a week to go! We are in NYC so she’s East Coast focused and that points to Michigan. She’s interested in humanities and likely law school as next step. Likes school spirit. Her reluctance for UCLA is that there are less East Coast people (I said that might be a good thing😜) and she won’t have as many immediate friends. Again I said not a bad thing to see new range of people etc. She also seems to think UCLA is a bit better academically or reputationally. What do people think could help her decide?
Hi @Drozenzweig8 - welcome to CC! In the future, I recommend making your own thread, since that will probably help highlight your unique situation, and gives an opportunity for people to respond to your questions/concerns specifically.
As for your question: UCLA and Michigan are perfect peers for undergraduate education. This is really a matter of fit, as I think you know. Here are the big differences, in no particular order (in my view - take this with a grain of salt, since I am biased as a Michigan alumnus):
SoCal Weather vs. Midwestern Weather
Michigan school spirit is greater and the alumni network is a lot more engaged.
Michigan is a Football school (although basketball has been getting a crazed again following with recent great season). UCLA seems to match/slightly edge out Michigan with basketball spirit. There is nothing there that matches Football spirit.
SoCal culture vs. Midwestern/East Coast culture
Ann Arbor (top college town) vs. Los Angeles (top city)
You’re definitely going to find more OOS students at Michigan. Michigan has about 45% from OOS (not including international students) versus UCLA has 25% from OOS.
So your D may find that as either an advantage or disadvantage depending on her outlook.
Well it’s true that UCLA has been moving up the last few years, it’s no longer the case that those admitted to both UCB and UCLA break clearly in favor of Berkeley. And there are a lot more students turned down by UCLA who attend Michigan than vice versa.
But I agree fit is a key issue, weather influences mood and means no Seasonal Affective Disorder in LA: students are generally very happy and it’s a very outdoor lifestyle all year round. And of course being a city rather than a college town means that staying after college is very realistic and in fact is the rationale for many OOS students to attend.
Mental health issues obviously aren’t limited to just a singular disorder, SAD. UCLA isn’t exempt from students needing to use mental health services. Students are generally happy at Michigan too.
Michigan has better sports (#2 in the Directors Cup Standings vs. #40 for UCLA), no class registration issues, WAY bigger (more than 2x) endowment and you can graduate early, like my D.
Thanks for the replies. All helpful. Interesting thing is she feels like Michigan is better fit but that the “right” decision is UCLA based on chatter from friends.
