<p>I’ll be an engineering student next fall and I chose UCLA over Cal because of the overall feel. Take any rankings with a grain of salt; they’re all arbitrary and are not as critical as people on this forum seem to feel. Sure, if I had chosen Berkeley, I’d be studying at a chemical engineering department that is ranked on some national ranking system to be only second to MIT, while UCLA is somewhere in the twenties.</p>
<p>Guess what – there are over two thousand (?) colleges in the nation. Whichever one you pick, you’ll be attending a top-notch university.</p>
<p>I admit that even I, at some point, fell into the trap of overanalyzing rankings; I feel like CC sort of fosters this mentality, or at least attracts the type of people who are prone to it.</p>
<p>Just go where you think you’ll be happiest. It’s not like you will be at a huge disadvantage in the job market or for grad school admissions if you choose a university that is a little bit less prestigious by some arbitrary, subjective list of schools with little numbers attached to each. Hell, it might even be a little easier to get into a good grad or professional school with a higher GPA at the university that is a little bit less prestigious/challenging (not that this should be a reason to turn down a more prestigious school).</p>
<p>I know I’m going to have a great time at UCLA because I love Westwood, I love the campus, I love the dorms, I love the food, I love the weather (I’m a SoCal kid; Baltimore or the Bay Area would be quite a change), I love athletics, I love the spirit, and I love the overall vibe. Sure, Cal has it’s positives, and hell, maybe the education/brand name are superior there. But don’t let that become a massive weight in your decision.</p>
<p>There’s no place that you “must go.” Relax, go with your gut, and have a good time learning in college.</p>
<p>beyphy is right about what he said, except that other schools like Columbia have a dream faculty too. Also, Harvard is top 10 in everything EXCEPT engineering.</p>
<p>lolfail- is there an equal proportion of UCLA rejects being accepted to berkeley? And is there also an equal proportion of Berkeley rejects being accepted to UCLA?</p>
<p>From my experience, yes, and UCLA does have the lower acceptance rate (but more applicants) , but it also seems to me that out of people who get into both, more go to Berkeley.</p>
<p>there are several people in my school who have gotten into berkeley but not UCLA. of course, there are also several the other way around. also, everyone who’s going to UCLA here also got into berkeley but chose UCLA instead.</p>
<p>The most compelling reason to pick UCLA over Berkeley is for Art and Film students.</p>
<p>I do agree that UCLA isn’t ranked as highly ranked as Berkeley for most majors; but, as Bephy said, I would strongly argue the differences in UC undergrad education are non-existent and imagined. The reality is that choosing Berkeley because it has better academics/prestige is just as superficial as picking UCLA for its better location. </p>
<p>The way the undergrad environments are run, all the UCs are roughly the same. Also, if you’ve been observant, many elite grad institutions do take 1 or 2 students from each CalState every year and that would be roughly equal to their share of qualified students.</p>
<p>I think a student can be successful anywhere and the university of origin has little or no influence upon future success. The only universities that I deem better than the others are universities such as Reed or CalTech offer some strange amenities and environments. Universities such as Harvard or Yale or Berkeley are all the same for undergrad. (Maybe at Harvard, you’ll find more professors to write your recs.) -.-</p>
<p>i was using ‘dream faculty’ in conjunction with the study. I should have said ‘global dreamteam’ faculty, which is what the study refers to them as.</p>
<p>and of the GDTF, Caltech and UCB tie once, UCB has one, and harvard gets the remaining three.</p>