Help! CMU or UCLA?

<p>Got admitted to CMU for economics and UCLA for pre business economics major, not really sure which one to go</p>

<p>Hmm… IMO you should go to UCLA. It has a great school environment, great weather and you can be in one of the best towns!</p>

<p>What criteria? It kind of helps to have something to base a decision on…</p>

<p>mainly academics, I know that UCLA has better weather and city.</p>

<p>UCLA, if ur a city person !</p>

<p>I would say UCLA…the campus is awesome and for most housing and dining is great. Also academically UCLA is strong over the board but CMU is only recognized with computer science. You will love it at UCLA it has a great learning environment!</p>

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<p>Not true. CMU is well-known for several areas other than CS: architecture, drama, design, music, statistics, applied math, business, public policy, engineering, cognitive psychology
and robotics, just to name a few. </p>

<p>CMU’s economics program is also awesome. I don’t know how it would compare though to UCLA’s “pre business economics major”. I’d assume UCLA economics is probably better ranked, at least at the graduate level, but I don’t think the difference is that big for undergraduate studies.</p>

<p>Cerebrate:
Have you visited CMU and UCLA? They are TOTALLY different campuses in every way. Basically: (1) undergrad population of 25K versus 5.3K, (2) faculty:student ratio of 18:1 to 10:1, (3) a large city versus a medium sized one, and (4) a largely native CA student body. These are some of the factors you should also consider. What is right for one person is not necessarily a fit for another.</p>

<p>H & I attended undergrad at UCLA. D1 graduated from Haverford College outside of Philly. She is currently a grad student at BC. D2 is finishing her first yr at CMU/CIT. Although the weather is cold and sporadic, she is having the time of her life. Good luck to you!</p>

<p>Just curious, did your daughter(s) not get into UCLA or did they have no desire to attend?</p>

<p>It was the latter. I worked on campus for many yrs and just recently retired. D1 only applied to UCSD (admitted) and D2 did not apply to any CA schools. Both of them wanted a smaller more intimate college experience near a city and with a geographically diverse student population.</p>

<p>If I’m not mistaken, UCLA is a pretty diverse school as well right? Doesn’t UCLA have students from all 50 states and over 80 countries?</p>

<p>But yeah, I agree that a smaller school will give a more intimate experience. I also heard that a large school is not particular bad because it forces students to be more outgoing a quality that will be handy in life.</p>

<p>There is a real size difference not only in campus size but also who you will know. The smaller the school you will find that you will know more people. The larger the school, the fewer friends. Odd isn’t it. Cities where people don’t know their neighbors vs villages where everyone knows each other. </p>

<p>The diversity statistics is not meaningful. 50 states, 80 countries could mean 1 student of each state and country; 130 of 25,000 undergrads.</p>

<p>See if you can find a statistic on the number of UCLA economic majors. I will try to find one for CMU for you. 190 of ~5700 undergrads in Economics.
<a href=“http://www.cmu.edu/ira/factbook/pdf/facts2009/2_fact-book_2008_09_studentenrollment_webversion.pdf[/url]”>http://www.cmu.edu/ira/factbook/pdf/facts2009/2_fact-book_2008_09_studentenrollment_webversion.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Well statistically speaking, UCLA has a pretty ethnically diverse campus according to US News and World Report: [Best</a> Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/national-campus-ethnic-diversity]Best”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/national-campus-ethnic-diversity)</p>

<p>I agree that at a small school one is statistically more likely to have more friends since one will see the same people more often but its also what you make out of your experience. If you are social you will most likely make more friends at a large public university than at a small public university. However, if you are not very social you won’t have many friends no matter what college you go to. </p>

<p>Like I said before, a large public university like UCLA will require a certain type of person or it will make a certain person out of you. You will probably learn a lot more socially at a school like UCLA than at a private university where they have to encourage there students to get to know each other. At UCLA you will learn to take initiative of your own life and your experience at UCLA is whatever you make of it.</p>

<p>To bring Carnegie Mellon into the picture, I have visited the campus and the students there really don’t seem that outgoing. I have talked to a few students and they generally don’t seem too enthusiastic about there school. I definitely agree that CMU is a great school academically but its missing the community aspect and school spirit that evolves from sporting event. At UCLA almost everyone is a proud Bruin. </p>

<p>Also, by no way am I bashing CMU, I actually highly respect the school (that why I applied and luckily I was accepted but after visiting, I just didnt get that good vibe).</p>

<p>By geographically diverse, I was referring to the number of in-state versus out-of-state students. I believe at least 80% of UCLA students are from CA. We have another child who will looking at colleges shortly. But, her sisters wanted to experience living in another part of the country.</p>

<p>Just as CMU is not for all, neither is UCLA. Yes, there is name recognition and Bruin basketball, however, some students go with the name, only to find that it is a REALLY Big U and have difficulty adjusting. But, it can be perfect for someone who is eager, self-motivated, and takes initiative. Hopefully, with the current state budget crisis, UCLA will be able to fund its current level of faculty in order to maintain its level of course offerings. And, will funding also impact other areas such as workstudy and internships? I guess only time will tell.</p>

<p>Informational only.
UCLA Undergrad Economics enrollment 2007-2008
689 of ~25500 undergrad FTE.
<a href=“http://www.aim.ucla.edu/enrollment/enrolldup.asp[/url]”>http://www.aim.ucla.edu/enrollment/enrolldup.asp&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://www.aim.ucla.edu/enrollment/enrolldup3q.asp[/url]”>http://www.aim.ucla.edu/enrollment/enrolldup3q.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Its good that you got better vibes at UCLA.
Best wishes.</p>

<p>FYI…Fall of 2007: 94% students from CA</p>

<p>thanks for the responses</p>

<p>of the 90% in-state students, do they typically have bad academic drive?</p>

<p>A website you can get some information on these schools from current students is: students review. Put those last 2 words together and add .com (they won’t let me publish the exact address on this website! Competition, perhaps? You don’t need to join, just put the name of the school in and look at the comments. Though you have to realize that some people on it complain about everything, and others are lying (probably did not get accepted to the school and are angry). But if you can filter through that, you can find some decent information. People on CC seem to be more honest, but not too many current students read the threads.</p>

<p>Archermom, just out of curiosity, did you enjoy your time at UCLA? Did you find the university and its size to be overwhelming? Finally would you recommend others to attend UCLA?</p>

<p>I still haven’t decided which school to attend yet, but I’m heavily leaning on UCLA. Since you went there, can you tell me how your experience there was and how well I would probably fit in (given what I have said on this thread). Thanks a lot.</p>

<p>And to the original poster, I’m so sorry for stealing your thread. I hope some of my comments have helped you to some extent on your choice between CMU and UCLA. They are both great schools yet very different. Visit both schools and see which you like better.</p>

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<p>I think this really depends on the people you talk to at CMU. Even my friends that were kinda lukewarm about CMU while they were attending there look back on that time now and realize how much better the education we got there was than what we’re currently getting at our graduate schools (many of them considered more prestigious).</p>

<p>Also, proud Tartan here.</p>