Based on rankings and other forums alone, SD seems to beat SB by quite a margin. That’s not to mention the two schools’ reputations. But Santa Barbara has offered to admit me as a Regents scholar. That includes some benefits like admittance to their Honors program, special “Regents floor” residency, and extended borrowing periods at their library.
Oh, and a $6000/year scholarship.
I plan on getting my Master’s degree from a (hopefully) higher end institution. I consider myself disciplined and academically focused.
About SB:
How beneficial is being a Regents scholar at Santa Barbara? Is it really a better experience than being a regular student? Does the Regents badge look better when applying for graduate studies?
About SD:
Is San Diego that much better than Santa Barbara in terms of educational value? Is it an extremely high stress environment? Does the “brand name” really outshine SB when it comes to graduate admissions/employment? Would it be worth spending the extra money here?
If I plan on getting my Master’s somewhere else, does it even matter where I get my Bachelor’s degree? Will going to one or the other affect my chances at getting into a good graduate program or being hired?
Thanks in advance,
sauprankul
If you’re gullible enough to believe this, then go to UCSD and don’t look back. What magic do they have at UCSD? Do they have special ways of teaching algorithms or computer architecture? Are they a pipeline to the pros, Google and Facebook promise to higher every grad? It must be something to put SD up “by quite a margin”. What units is that “margin” measured in, BTW?
Another poor plan. The savvy student goes for a 5-year MS which both these schools offer. Sure, you won’t be able to wave around a diploma that has MIT or Stanford on it. But avoiding an extra year of college with a 5-year plan will mean an extra $75K or more in lifetime income. Assuming you actually plan on working in the software field, nobody will care (within reason) where your degree came from when you are interviewing, and after 2-3 years it will be meaningless; what you’ve actually done is what they care about.
Since this is an advice forum, here is my advice. You haven’t bothered to dig deep enough to understand what employers look for when they hire (hint: its not brand name, but what you can actually do in return for the money they pay you), what “rankings” measure and how reliable they are, nor the difference in what these 2 schools teach. You’re sweating over imaginary differences, so put your mind and ease and pick the one that is better “by quite a margin” and your future success will be assured. Or at least you won’t have any regrets that you made the wrong choice.
They are basically the same when it comes down to educational value- and neither really invoke the “brand name” benefit. Neither is going to give you a huge advantage over the other when applying to grad school, your GPA will be the most important.
It really comes down to saving 6k a year vs how you feel when people ask you what college you go to.
I agree with everything mentioned above. Also, check out CCS at UCSB for Computer Science, if you aren’t confident about grad school placement there.
@mikemac I feel that your response was more critical than necessary. The entire point of this post was to question those “imaginary differences,” because I am skeptical of them. Anyway, I still appreciate your advice. I feel more confident about going to Santa Barbara now.
Does the 5 year plan at these schools give me the same research opportunities that a graduate program at say, UCLA or MIT would? I can understand that employers may not care where I went, but would I personally still be able to accomplish the same regardless of where I go?
CS at SB is excellent and will yield the same professional outcomes as UCSD as long as you do your part (get involved, go to office hours, get good grades, etc). And YES, having Regents makes a big difference - first, in cost, second, in quality of experience. Finally, UCSB has College of Creative Studies https://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/
In short, go to UCSB and don’t look back.
If you want significant research opportunities then you want a PhD.
If you’re not going for a PhD then 5 years at one school gives you more time to get to know some profs and take part in research than 1 or 2 years at a 2nd school earning a MS. The exception is that you might be interested in some area of computing that is not an interest of any faculty where you do the 5 year BS/MS in which case 2 schools might be better , but I don’t see how anyone can make a blanket statement true about all research at UCLA/MIT vs UCSB or UCSD. Furthermore many MS students take a comprehensive exam instead of doing a thesis, but 5 year programs offer a thesis (and its research) if that’s your preference.
addendum: I don’t know if its even possible after your BS to get a MS at a 2nd school with a thesis in 1 year; those might be 2 year programs. So you may be facing the cost of attending plus $75K+ in lost income if you decide on spending 6 years on your education instead of 5. Look online or contact some schools to ask if it can be done in 1 year.
Probably would also be a good idea to ask the 5-year programs if you can do a thesis MS in those 5 years.