<p>I'm scared. Everyone tells me that I should go to Berkeley. Everyone that I know is going to Berkeley. All my family friends' kids chose Berkeley over UCLA (academic opportunities, prestige, etc). No one that I know is going to UCLA except this handful of students that were shocked that UCLA accepted them. I am extremely nervous now. </p>
<p>I know the pros already:
Westwood
In LA
Supposedly better girls</p>
<p>But are there any academic reasons I should chose UCLA over Berkeley? Are the job opportunities similar? I plan on majoring in business or premed, but leaning towards business. Also a huge thing tugging at me right now is the UCLA Regents Scholarship, and to be honest, I would have chosen Berkeley had I not have gotten this scholarship. Financial need is not a problem at all, but is the alleged prestige of the UCLA scholarship worth it?</p>
<p>And I've never understood why people think the job opportunities would be any different. It's all just undergrad, and provided that you do well you'll have plenty of job opportunities wherever you go. Besides that, UCLA is a GOOD FREAKING SCHOOL. It really is. And it appears that your family and friends seem to believe that it's equitable to some random community college with no history or merit, which is kind of laughable. </p>
<p>I don't really get the Cal hype and I'm not terribly convinced that it's THAT different, academically. I think that its actually a pretty negligible difference and I definitely don't think its worth sacrificing everything else for. Prestige is stupid and you're better off succeeding where you want to be than flailing because life sucks at the prestigious school. So if thats what you're worrying about- don't. </p>
<p>Seriously though, I'll say it again. Go where you want to go. DO NOT allow the decisions of others or the influence of others make your decision for you because your chances of ending up unhappy are significantly greater. Go where you want, study what you want, and just live your damn life.</p>
<p>I'm in your situation as well. I got regents for UCLA, but not for Cal, and I am also "pre-med" (tentatively). I'm guessing from your name that you're looking to go into medicine as well. I think in this sense, UCLA may have the slight advantage since it has one of the best hospitals in the nation pretty much RIGHT THERE. Then again, I'm sure opportunities for research and such are just as available in Cal as they are in UCLA, as long as you're pro-active enough to find them.</p>
<p>Visit both and find out which one matches you as a person.
Quality of living > Prestige</p>
<p>Thanks allie, but the problem is not exactly my friends. I don't care so much what my friends think, but its what my parents and their friends from UCLA think. The problem is that my parents are UCLA alumni and many of their friends are UCLA alumni, but all their kids are at Berkeley, and thus I am more than just a bit scared.</p>
<p>WOW #2... EXACTLY how I feel... like word for word lol... That's why I am going to UCLA not Cal even though the majority of the people around me all thought that Cal was the obvious choice. They made it seem like UCLA isn't even a good school -_-</p>
<p>I am excited to go to UCLA, and I know it is where I want to be. The reason Cal was still on my shoulder was because of its name and everyone else telling me that I should go there. I was afraid UCLA wouldn't be good enough at first... but that is an insane thought! UCLA is going to be amazing :D! I know I wouldn't feel comfortable or enjoy being at Cal, so I know for sure that UCLA is right for me =].</p>
<p>i dont really understand why you'd be scared about that. at all. </p>
<p>to me, that says that those particular kids decided they wanted to go to Berkeley for whatever reason. that's all. and i don't think you should be worried that you don't have that particular desire. i can't really imagine that your parents or their friends (and btw, stop caring about the friends, they don't matter) would be terribly upset if you wound up being a regents scholar at UCLA. i just can't. and really, if your parents do have some beef with UCLA, oh well i guess? you aren't them and you're allowed to have your own experiences based on your own choices. you might find that you have a completely different opinion of the school, which wouldn't surprise me since the school has changed drastically since the time that i suspect your parents went here. </p>
<p>i dunno. i still say do what you feel like is right for YOU.</p>
<p>who cares what people think? it's about how happy YOU are and about YOUR future. Regents will put you at a significant advantage (there are so many perks) over your fellow freshman. Honestly, I don't understand why everyone thinks that Cal is "more highly regarded" or whatever.</p>
<p>I think that if you actually talk to people who know what's going on, UCLA is very well respected. FastMEd, I've put up tons of links to UCLA jobs fair showing the class of employers that are there every year. From Boeing to MerillLynch to the CIA to top law schools and everything in between, the world is yours on a platter at either school.</p>
<p>and with regents...
you will get the sweetest experience possible at ucla.
perks abound. and they're not pointless fluffy perks, either.
they will REALLLLLY help you if you take advantage of them!
seriously, turning down ucla regents just because of the supposed higher "prestige" of berkeley?
no... just don't do it! xD</p>
<p>btw, i live in the bay area. berkeley is a HUGE deal there, just because it seems that everyone there is obsessed with the stanford/cal rivalry, and ucla gets kind of overshadowed. but my high school nevertheless sent roughly equal numbers to cal as ucla. you will ALWAYS find cal alumni fiercely defensive of their school, and same with ucla alums. go where YOU are going to be happy.
i chose ucla over cal for many reasons. no, i didn't have regents at either, but i didn't give a hoot over "prestige" (honestly, i think they're even... one may excel in certain areas, and the other may be better in others).
cal is a GREAT school.
ucla is a GREAT school.
...this is YOUR decision not your family's friend's kids'. also, ucla regents > cal IMO!!! :D</p>
<p>smokin . . . i would have leaped at berkeley regents over UCLA normal, but whatever. UCLA Regents over Cal. How is the smog at UCLA, minor I hope?</p>
<p>dude...berkeley is not better than ucla...employers don't take out the daily news charts and check that berkeley is like one spot better than ucla....ucla is a much more renowned and endowed school than berkeley...in berkeley you have a whole bunch of liberals and hobos on campus......you will live in one of the richest neighborhoods in california..</p>
<p>dude...in china they have ucla gift stores...berkeley's campus can't beat that....plus, we are the best in sports.....all around the berkeley neighborhood also does not match up to ucla....that is just my view on that....</p>
<p>I'm not saying that the UCLA name isn't marketed, but what is the value of the name brand if it's not attached to the university itself? The Daily Bruin did an article on name brand marketing by UCLA, and found that many people abroad thought it was just a cool American brand name.</p>
<p>The value of the degree is not necessarily how many random people in China know the name, but whether employers and other ostensibly educated people know the quality of the university.</p>