I got offers from UCSD’s cognitive science and UCSB’s CS major. I am interested in both of them, but those schools’ pros and cons make me feel hard to decide. I just don’t know what to do…
UCSD
pros:
cognitive science is an excellent major, and I like to learn something involves a wide range of knowledge.
This major in UCSD ranks very high. (Asian family…)
I like to stay in the city.
Since the major is very good, I hope to get some good research experiences in school.
Good food
cons:
The tuition is higher.
I might need a car.
I know “social dead” is probably exaggerated, but I am afraid that the courses in UCSD are too busy to let me develop something that I am really interested in.
I am afraid that UCSD’s class size would be too big for me since I heard that’s what happened in some cs related class.
UCSB
pros:
Friendly and more connected student community.
My best friend is going to enroll there. (Dormmate solved!)
UCSB’s ccs is very good but I don’t know if its computing department is as good as others. (Also don’t know if I can get in).
Beautiful environment.
I heard the cs department is not that big, maybe a better connection with the professors?
I like the activities there.
cons:
I am kind of worried about being influenced by a relaxed studying atmosphere.
CS does not rank very high, so I don’t know how good this major is.
And read about Mathew Turk’s research at Santa Barbara here- He is a strong CS faculty, and leads the Santa Barbara CS curriculum choices. http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/people/faculty/turk
Job opportunities are a PRO for a computer science major from any good program in U of California!
I agree also that Santa Barbara’s size is much better for most undergrads compared to San Diego.
There are no jobs in neurosciences for a bachelors degree, so you will need higher education.
Think a lot about whether you want to work in a neuroscience lab. Its a combination of psychology, brain science and biology, and a very specialized field.
Computer science can lead to many jobs or graduate opportunities, and is probably a better foundational degree
for many fields like law, business, or engineering.
Science degrees like neuroscience are good for students who like to be in a lab, and/or want to go to graduate school or medical school.
@Coloradomama Cognitive Science majors will generally study some neuroscience, but that’s only one component - it’s not the same thing as a neuroscience degree. Especially at UCSD, CogSci is very computation-heavy, and many graduates end up working in UX, HCI, and other human-factors aspects of high tech. It sounds like it may be a good match for OP’s interests. (There is also a Cognitive & Behavioral Neuroscience BS at UCSD, but that’s within the Psychology department, and not what OP is proposing to do.)
I wouldn’t worry about the quality of UCSB’s CS department. It’s just not going to be as interdisciplinary a program as UCSD CogSci. (UCSD has CS too, of course, and it’s hard to get into, so there are a lot of CogSci majors who are only in it as a second choice because they couldn’t get into CS. This could have some positive effects from OP’s point of view (tilting the department’s focus even more toward CS) but some negatives (a lot of people who aren’t in the program because they truly wanted to be, and a low-key “second class citizen” effect relative to CS, even though CogSci is a phenomenal program in its own right for those who truly want what it has to offer).
I would lay out the curricula and look at them side by side, to see which you truly prefer academically.
Socially speaking… that’s entirely a matter of preference. Congrats on two excellent choices!