Hello everyone, I have a few questions…Please help me out. Also, because this post is a little big, please do not quit reading. I have broken up the questions into parts so that it is easier to read. Also, I have seen a lot of people write big essays here in CC forums, if you could write one here…that would be great !
I am a community college student who is transferring this fall. I have maintained a 3.92 GPA. I am majoring in Computer Science (CS) and my ultimate goal is to go to a top graduate school - namely Stanford, Cal, Ivy League colleges, UIUC MIT etc. Currently, I have got acceptances from UCLA and UCSD. I am leaning towards UCSD because UCSD’s quiet and chilled
environment best fits me. The LA area is very hectic. I feel the cut-throat competition @ UCLA is going to hurt my academic confidence and GPA. UCSD, which is also competitive but not cut-throat, will probably serve me better for my goals. Since I am self-motivated, I am going to learn more or less the same thing at both Univs.
<li>The problem is, a lot of people are telling me that UCLA has a way better prestige than UCSD. Also getting into CS major @ UCLA is damn tough, let alone getting into UCLA. UCLA is know all over the world. UCSD is mostly known for it’s sciences, it’s engineering is highly ranked because of it’s Bio-Engineering program not for CS/CE. If I choose UCSD, will this hurt my chances at the top tier grad schools ? Will they think of me as a “UCLA reject”? Does a GPA of say 3.7 @ UCSD equal a 3.7 @ UCLA?</li>
<li>I have one more problem. Since I am not a US citizen/Perm Resident, I am not eligible for any type of fin aid till I get my green-card. Thus, I never applied to any privates and I had to choose the Comm College-to-UC route. I feel I made a mistake. In privates, the classes are much smaller and the professors can get to know you well. Unlike in the UCs where the teacher does not know you exist. In the two yrs that I have, how am I gonna get a good letter of recomendation? One more important question is, do a
few students from UCSD go to these top-tiers? Or do they tend to stay in
the UC graduate school ring? Say if i get 800s on GRE and maintain about 3.7 GPA @ UCSD…what do u think my chances are?</li>
<li>Last but not least, in the worst case, if I somehow screw up my GPA…which UC (UCLA or UCSD) will provide me a better
internship/job?</li>
I know thats quite a lot of questions…Sorry. Thank you very much for your time.
<p>if cost isn't the issue, you probably want to go to UCLA. In terms of graduate admissions, it will work better for you. On the other hand , I can't tell from your post if you are guaranteed to be a computer science major at UCLA if you attend. Were you told you have to apply to that specific program? Were you told your admission was to the school but not the major?</p>
<p>To be honest, initially I think your biggest obstacle if your goal is really getting into a top computer science program is the attitude you are taking. You say you are" leaning towards UCSD because UCSD's quiet and chilled
environment best fits me. The LA area is very hectic. I feel the cut-throat competition @ UCLA is going to hurt my academic confidence and GPA."</p>
<p>If you really want to go to a top computer science program for grad school (or any top grad program for that matter), you need to get over your self-esteem issue, be ready to compete, and not look for shortcuts). No, the same GPA at UCSD will not be as equivalent to the GPA earned in a more comptetetive undergraduate program. Furthermore, you should not count on aceing your GREs. If anything, your GRE score may be tied into the program you attend as an undergrad, since most grad CS programs will require you to take the GRE subject exam in Computer Science.</p>
<p>Grad schools most certainly do consider which undergrad school you went to, based on my conversations with professors. Almost all the grad students in my program at Stanford came from top 10-15 programs, and top 5 programs are heavily represented. Those from less reputable places were often the top 1 or 2 students there.</p>
<p>I agree with the poster above. If you feel you are qualified for a top program, you should not be afraid of competition, especially at a place like UCLA, which would not even be that impressive to the grad programs you mentioned. UCSD is even further down than that.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that for most grad school programs in more traditional fields (I don't know about comp sci) you need both a strong GPA in your major and recommendations from professors in that major. In my experience those recs carry a lot of weight, far more than for undergrad admissions. So whichever UC you choose you will need to get excellent grades in comp sci, which will need to be your major, and have good relationships with professors who can then help you get into grad programs. If you can't get in to the comp sci major at UCLA I don't think it will do you much good to be there because you may not be ableto get the recs you need.</p>
<p>This is a grad students' forum....more people ranked UCSD above UCLA for CS/CE. And UCSD has a 5yr B.S./M.S. program which seems attractive because if I maintain my GPA and qualify for this program, I do not need GRE etc. Not a bad deal. Athough, I have higher goals for a grad school.</p>
<p>And about the recs, I head that @ UC, most of the interaction is between the student and the TA. Is it really hard to get hold of a professor in UC?</p>
I think you are referring to the Exceptional Student Admission Program (<a href="http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/esap.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/esap.html</a>). Basically, UCLA offers graduate school admission to the cream-of-the-crop seniors in the HSSEAS who maintain a >3.5 GPA (>3.6 overall GPA, 3.65 major GPA for EE majors) to continue their study in the same department as their undergrad. Even though they're already accepted to grad school, they still have to fill out the grad school application, but don't have to take the GRE.</p>
<p>I think it would be ridiculous to go to UCLA even though you like UCSD better, just so you can supposedly increase your chances of getting into a "decent" graduate school. Whether you go to UCLA or UCSD is not going to be a deciding factor in your graduate school admissions. I don't know who is telling you that UCLA is more prestigious than UCSD, but just remember that prestige and quality are not the same thing, and your graduate school admissions decisions are going to be made by actual academics who really know the various institutions, rather than by random Joe Blows who get all their information from irrelevant rankings.</p>
<p>As for your preferred graduate schools, do you have any criteria other than that they be "top" schools? The way to go about this is to continue in your computer science major, decide what fields of computer science you are most interested in, and learn about programs where there are professors doing work in those areas. The "top" programs for your particular areas of interest may or not be top from the point of view of name recognition by the average person.</p>
<p>Yes, students from UCSD often go to every kind of graduate school under the sun. And some of them, if they do "stay in the UC graduate school ring", do so because that "ring" includes a large number of the best programs out there.</p>
<p>As for recommendations, it's good that you are thinking about this now. As you go through your UC years, keep that in mind and try to talk to your professors. It can be hard to do this in class, but you will have professors as lecturers, and you should go to their office hours to talk with them about the material, your future plans, etc. Seriously, do this and you will save yourself the embarrassment of having to ask for references from people who have no idea who you are.</p>
<p>Being a second-year CS major at UCLA, I would have to say that the sheer time-requirement for the projects here makes CS/CSE the hardest majors in the engineering school. Never have I worked so hard and long just for a C; I often spent four hours a day in my freshman year just for writing programs, program analyses, and studying the textbook, and just barely survived the harsh curve. There's always someone who sits in the front row of lecture, never asks questions in discussion (he/she usually doesn't speak English) and wrecks the curve silently for all of us. People don't really help one another out with their coding unless they are in the same clique/ethnicity, or are total silent prodigy-types. Generally, it is hard to do have a high GPA because As are reserved for the top 10%, Bs for the next 20%, and so on. It is very easy to fail in CS... The average grade on a midterm is about 60%. I already know two people who are brilliant in math/science who have had to retake some CS courses (CS33 and CS111, respectively) because they attempted to distribute equal amounts of time between their CS and non-CS coursework. I've only taken 4 CS courses so far, and am about to take upper-division courses next fall. Supposedly, the worst is yet to come.</p>
<p>I will admit that getting into a school like Stanford as a graduate student is competitive, but it is a whole different level than people here seem to be assuming. It is not even close to being as competitive as getting into HYPSM as an undergraduate. It is not even close to being as competitive as getting into veterinarian, medical or law school. </p>
<p>Often it is better to have a high gpa from a lesser school with a high class rank. Ask yourself. Would you want a graduate from Harvard who is in the top half of the class or a graduate from a state university who is in the top tenth of the class.</p>
<p>Most of the people on CC are high school students or high school counselors or parents of high school students. For the type of question that you are asking, ask people who have doctorates in your field. Ask your professors at your current school.</p>
<p>"I will admit that getting into a school like Stanford as a graduate student is competitive, but it is a whole different level than people here seem to be assuming. It is not even close to being as competitive as getting into HYPSM as an undergraduate."</p>
<p>"Often it is better to have a high gpa from a lesser school with a high class rank. Ask yourself. Would you want a graduate from Harvard who is in the top half of the class or a graduate from a state university who is in the top tenth of the class."</p>
<p>90% of the kids at Harvard had 4.0 uw GPA in HS. For someone to do bette than half of the vals, perfect SAT scorers, & other students is highly respected.</p>
<p>Top 10% at a state school, if we are talking about a cream of the crop state schoo like UCLA/Cal, than you make a fair argument. </p>
<p>Conclusion: If we are talking about a top of the line state school, than I would say the MAY be equal (leaning toward the Harvard kid...keep in mind the avg GPA @ Harvard is 3.4). If we are talking about any 2nd-tier state schools, it is not even close.</p>
<p>Doing research for a professor at the undergrad level is a real plus for grad school applications. Plus this will help you get in tight with at least one professor come recommendation time.</p>