<p>Hey everyone! The deadline to submit the SIR is less than a month away, and I am completely torn over making this decision. So I was fortunate to have been accepted to UCLA, Cal, and UCSD, but there's a few problems in making the decision:</p>
<p>-UCLA & Berkeley will both cost ~30k/year because my family does not qualify for financial aid. We're one of the unlucky middle classers who aren't quite rich enough to afford 30k/year but aren't quite poor enough to qualify for financial aid :/</p>
<p>-I got into UCSD as a regents scholar and got a $2000/year merit scholarship, and I also live pretty close by, so UCSD would be the cheapest and would probably cost about half of what I'd pay for Berk or LA. </p>
<p>I know the most sensible decision sounds like it would be UCSD, but the only problem I have is the fact that I'd be a commuter. I have pretty strict Asian parents, and I feel like if I stay home during college, it'll just be a complete repeat of high school (which I hated), and I won't be able to learn independence or how to grow up and be on my own, pretty much the whole "college experience." Also, I've worked so hard the past four years to make it into my dream schools (LA & Cal), and since I've always detested staying local, UCSD has been the bane of my existence. </p>
<p>What do you all think? Should I just go with the money-saving decision and go to UCSD? Is it worth it to spend double the amount I'd pay for UCSD to go to a school like UCLA or Berkeley?</p>
<p>Any tips for getting involved as a commuter would also help tremendously!</p>
<p>My major is undecided but I'm leaning towards medicine or journalism, if that helps at all.</p>
<p>“since I’ve always detested staying local, UCSD has been the bane of my existence.”</p>
<p>What do you mean by that? And also, I think you should talk to your parents and see what they think about the financial issues and whether they’d let you stay on-campus or not if you go to UCSD.</p>
<p>What about Cal? Why can’t you go there?</p>
<p>@findmefazo: I live in the San Diego area and have always dreamed about leaving for college just because I’m one of those people who can’t stay in one place for too long. Thus, I’ve been trying to avoid going to UCSD my whole life because it would mean staying local. As for financial reasons, my parents don’t see the point in dorming if I could just say home, so any suggestions for reasons to dorm would be great!</p>
<p>@jemdykl: Cal is 30k/year and my parents don’t want to spend that kind of money if I can go to UCSD as a Regents scholar for half that price</p>
<p>I just posted in your other thread in the UCLA forum.</p>
<p>Reasons to dorm:
- Learn to be independent (your parents don’t want you to live with them forever, right?! This is the best time to learn how to live on your own so that you’ll be prepared once you’re out in the real world, without the safety of a college campus. Also, you’ll still be close to home so you can visit often or go back home if there’s an emergency.)
- You can meet others and make friends more easily
- You’ll be happier and therefore do better in school</p>
<p>You need to sit down with your parents. “They don’t want to” is not the same as saying “they will not” pay for Cal or UCLA.</p>
<p>You also need to reach a mutual agreement with your folks about conditions at home should you decide to attend UCSD.</p>
<p>My .02, attend Cal or UCLA to be “independent” for a while. Both locations are the correct distance from mom & dad… not too close, not too far.</p>
<p>Well if you feel like you’re leaning more toward medicine I would suggest SD since they have a top notch bio program and you may possibly have a better GPA for med school at SD.
But if you’re unsure or leaning more toward journalism, I think UCLA or UCB would give you better flexibility. I’m no expert since I’m an entering freshman (so correct me if I’m wrong), but I’ve never heard SD being praised so highly in areas outside bio. Meaning if you change your mind about med school, you wouldn’t even have a “fancier” UCLA/UCB degree to fall back on (that is, given your interest DOES change to something LA/B does not excel in). Not that “fancy” is the goal; I think LA/B is better equipped for many more areas because they’re much bigger, whereas SD excels in one or a couple. </p>
<p>Why don’t you try shadowing a doctor or talking to a med student? It’s a big decision, and I guess you do have more time to decide in college, but just a warning that if you’re going in “unsure” you’re gonna be overwhelmed by people whose lifelong dreams were to cauterize hemorrhages in someone’s large intestines at 2 in the morning.</p>
<p>I once thought I wanted to be a surgeon, but I realized there were so many people who wanted to do this so much more than I thought I did and I knew their motivation would win out over mine in the end. Now I’m more interested in research!</p>
<p>Actually now that I think about it, med students come from all kinds of different majors (is what I’ve been hearing around here). You don’t necessarily have to do bio I guess… But it would certainly give you a leg up <em>and</em> you may even get a GPA boost at SD:))</p>
<p>Haha I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve helped much, but hopefully I’ve given you a couple more pros and cons for each school!</p>
<p>PS- When you said “Cal” I thought you meant Cal Tech!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the tips you guys! You’ve made a lot of good points that I will take into consideration :)</p>
<p>if your parents can’t pay, you have to go according to their budget. You won’t be able to get much to cover your expenses at berkeley or LA. We’re in SD too, and my daughters both hated the campus. Their friends say how competitive and non-social UCSD is and I understand that environment. It doesn’t sound like you have a real choice unless you involve your parents.</p>