<p>OK... so I'm down to the decision (almost, still have three colleges to hear from, though only one really has the possibility of being affordable). Anybody care to help? I'm probably going to major in Comparative Literature, or possibly International Relations (I'm a languages type guy, I'm thinking about doubling one of those with Comp Sci too). Now... with that in mind, here are the choices (and a little extra to see the "big picture")</p>
<p>UCLA/UCB
I stick these two together because while their not the same school they seem to have the same advantages and disadvantages...</p>
<p>Advantage: Huge name recognition
Lots of classes
Incredible faculty
Research possibilities</p>
<p>Disadvantages: No financial aid (... at all...)
No Regents' benefits, though possibly priority enrollment through honors (at least at LA)</p>
<p>UCSD?
Same boat as UCLA and UCB, though the name recognition is not as good (plus I'm not a pre-med... any reason to consider SD?)</p>
<p>UCI/UC Davis/UCSB</p>
<p>These are all close too...</p>
<p>Advantages: Regents' (huge advantage)
Cost cut down significantly, a good thing especially since I'm not in an especially employable major (no debt going into grad school)</p>
<p>UCI: Well respected English program, carry into Comp Lit?
UC Davis: Comp Sci?
UCSB: Great location, more language study opportunities than UCI it seems like</p>
<p>Disadvantages: Simply lacking the name recognition and prestige of UCLA and UCB...</p>
<p>Brandeis:
This one's all by itself. I was awarded the Justice Brandeis scholarship (this = full tuition for four years).</p>
<p>Advantages:
Private school, name recognition?
Excellent Hebrew program
If I choose International Relations, they're supposed to be strong in the social sciences, possibly a perk?</p>
<p>Disadvantages:
Massachusetts is very cold and very far away (California kid myself...)
A little liberal for my tastes (though, I'm considering Berkeley, so I suppose that's not too great a leap)</p>
<p>OK... anybody have any ideas? The choices again are, UCLA, UCB (technically still waiting on admit), UCI, UCD, UCSB, UCSD, Brandeis.</p>
<p>PS: Technically USC's a choice too, but even though I have a substantial scholarship, the prize leaves it far out of reach (so unless they are really nice and increase the scholarship substantially... I can't go)</p>
<p>BackToReality</p>