<p>Okay so I got accepted to UCI UCLA and Cal Poly (as well as davis and sb, but I wanna try being outside norcal)</p>
<p>These are my three top school choices for the following reasons/possible outcomes
and if it helps
Accepted materials engineer major
4.19 gpa
1990 sats
750 us history
800 math 2 (like every other engineering student at ucla)
-AP US 5 - AP World 5- AP English 3
-currently in AP: physics, human geo (too easy in my school), gov, and calc AB
the only class that is challenging and has a good teacher though is calc
-I can be a cutt through competitor, but I would rather not
-I had 3 B+'s because I didn’t care about school until my sophmore year of HS (I didn’t know what UCs or even CSUs were until then) and then I started picking up so I know I can handle a lot (I went from an average student to top 4%+ nerd and would’ve done more APs if I knew about them)</p>
<p>UCI
-3+2 program to get an MBA which I want to get eventually
-less competition
-less competition means I can maybe double major and/or do that 3+2 program
-materials engineer with a specialization in biomaterials available (ucla only has electrical specialization)
-less competition also means easier for me to keep a high gpa in case I decide to switch into premed
-basically there’s more possibilities for me to take advantage of ( and I wouldn’t mind graduating with 2 or 3 degrees)
-demographics aren’t bad (to me anyways cuz I’m from a heavily asian populated area)
BAD SIDE
-UCI DOESN’T REALLY HAVE AN ENGINEERING REPUTATION (compared to ucla and cal poly)</p>
<p>UCLA
-PRESTIGE
-THE DEMOGRAPHICS and the people I’ll probably love meeting (as in a lot of smart people, not saying other schools aren’t smart)
-the great everything else there is there like food, girls, the city, and so forth
NEGATIVES
-with these people however is the UBER competition
-If I decide to switch into premed my gpa may be shot and even in premed the competition may kill me
-no special programs to get another degree faster
-more self studying because of the competition which will take up my time</p>
<p>CAL POLY (slo of course)
-much easier competition compared to UCLA
-huge engineering reputation
-the “hands on” learning and the smaller classrooms are a huge positive for me
-with the small classrooms I think I will grasp the material taught better and learn better without as much self studying as I would need at UCs
-3+2 program for engineering and maybe there’s one for an MBA too (haven’t checked)
-If I decide to go premed I can switch into industrial engineering which is easier to hold a high gpa and I can have a business background later on (IE is kind of businessy)
-companies love cal poly kiddies
NEGATIVES
-may lack reputation because it’s not a UC (some people think I’m crazy for considering cal poly over ucla)
-The demographics (I’m asian and I don’t want to be racist, but usually I’m more comfortable around asians. I grew in a heavily asian population)
-more bad demographics cuz I highly doubt there are many asian girls (yes I’m and asian who likes asian girls even though they normally like white guys WHY!!!) because well cal poly is an engineering school (male dominated field) and you know college is when you make those great connections with people ^.-
-more bad demographics cuz I find the people I enjoy most are those who are naturally intelligent and very thoughtful (not to be mean of course but you know there’s always those kind of people) since Cal Poly is a csu and has lower standards of acceptance I doubt I’ll find many of those kinds of friends as I would if I went to UCLA or something.
-the problem with graduating in 4 years since Cal Poly has a solid class of 5th years (my sister said I can probably graduate in 4 years and a quarter) and they require more labs than UCs</p>
<p>So overall I’m majoring in engineering, but since I have never had any experience with engineering I don’t know if I’ll stay in it, but I find myself to be someone who becomes bored if I do the same thing over and over and having engineering projects and a career that varies in what I do would be nice. I also plan to get an MS and/or an MBA also. I want to keep that premed path open however (and be like one of the millions of asians who aspire to go to med school).</p>
<p>I’m considering everything not just prestige because I’m tired of just studying. I only have one life and I wanna enjoy college(which is suppose to be the best times of my life), but if it’s worth it I don’t mind studying a bit more. I’m someone who always does the harder things first saves the fun parts for later (I always ate my candies last when I use to eat lunchables)
So there’s my dilemma. Comments, Experiences, and opinions please.</p>
<p>here's just some quick thoughts and factors I'd consider as well, not sure if it'll help.
keep in mind I'm not in college yet either.
1) Which one will you do the best in? (Higher GPA, Class Rank, Internships, etc. I know some people picked UCI over UCLA because they knew they would get straight B's or even C's in UCLA while they would probably get straight A's in UCI)</p>
<p>2) <em>the one that's practically the most important, in my opinion</em> which one will get you a great JOB after you finish school, or get you into the better GRAD school?</p>
<p>Yeah from what I can tell, UCI and Cal Poly I can hold a 3.0+ gpa in engineering (just guessing)
and Cal Poly would give me a great job right away
UCs would prepare me for grad school, but I can just do the 3+2 program at cal poly for a masters</p>
<p>Would having a degree from a UC (especially UCLA) be beneficial in the long run?
(Like would the prestige make an employer give me THE BEST JOB EVER -exaggerated of course- over someone with a degree from Cal Poly? I woulnd't mind entering business with engineering so yeah)</p>
<p>UCSB isn't in norcal, it's south of Cal Poly, plus they have a great engineering reputation. </p>
<p>And for engineering, I wouldn't go to UCI. They don't have much of a program compared to your other options.</p>
<p>And I wouldn't be suprised if you picked Cal Poly over UCLA for engineering, it's a great engineering school. In fact, the salutatorian in our class just decided that he will be going to Cal Poly over UCLA for their engineering department. </p>
<p>Plus you're right, Cal Poly is a 5 year school now; but 5 years of Cal Poly would still be cheaper than 4 years of UCLA/UCI/UCSB</p>
<p>I personally would choose UCLA over the other two, just because UCI doesn't have a renowned Engineering department and Cal Poly (although harder to get into as each year passes) is still not in the ranks of UCLA. UCLA is well-balanced, the academics and the social life.</p>
<p>Does anyone know about the 3+2 program at cal poly? Like is it really 3+2? or does it take longer since it normally takes 5 years to graduate. Can I get a masters in 6 years easily or earlier?</p>
<p>can someone answer my previous question and would it be wise to just go to uci for undergraduate engineering rather than ucla? Since it'd be easier and that way I can get into graduate school for my MS.
And does it matter where you get an mba from? (since I can get one from irvine too)</p>
<p>You are considering not going to a school because there's not enough Asian girls? Have you told your parents that this is one of your college determinants (Curious on their reaction)?
"naturally intelligent and very thoughtful "... <em>eyebrows twitching</em></p>
<p>But alas, Cal Poly is indeed not know for it's cultural variety. The Asian food here taste horrible...... I don't know about asian girls in engineering. I am in the architecture major, and I would say it's not too bad.</p>
<p>However, many people choose to go Cal Poly over UCs, even though they were accepted. This is because they realize that school is not just about reputation in their community - particularly when it's from an Asian (Yes, I realize that I just insulted my own culture. But every culture have it's fault) one. To those people, I would call them
"naturally intelligent and very thoughtful ", because they look to the future, instead of their peers who are not in their job fields.</p>
<p>I am an Cal Poly architecture girl (Chinese native, but raised in San Francisco), and I would say that the people are intelligent and very thoughtful. However, they are culturally...... naive and egotistic at times. They are generally proud of picking a state over UC (reason state above). It one of the more conservative place among the liberal California, but I wouldn't say that they are more conservative than the Asian community. (Don't mean to insult for this one. We all have one of those uncles or aunties who still hold onto ancient believes...... at least I have)</p>
<p>As for your question about why Asian girl like white guys... I will tell you that I wouldn't want a guy that pick their girlfriend base on race. And I could tell - the guys that kiss up to the white girls, and the guys that quietly hides in their own cultural comfort zone expecting the females to warm up to them just because they are Asian. Now, place that next to a white guy who is opening to everyone and every new experience, who do you think most girl would pick? Who would appear to be the better man?</p>
<p>anyways....
Do people generally hold cal poly higher than UCI in engineering? (employer or not)</p>
<p>I'm still thinking on UCI because I can just go there for a BS (with less competition so I can enjoy my college years more) then go to a more reputable school for an MS.</p>
<p>FWIW, UCI doesn't have as much grade inflation as UCLA and UCB. (UCLA and UCB have more than Columbia and Princeton.) In 2008, the average GPA for UCI undergrads was 2.98 vs. 3.22 at UCLA and 3.27 at Berkeley. Also, the GPA differences between Humanities and Natural Sciences at UCI are negligible, and UCI has some very strong Humanities.</p>