Hey everyone,
So I’m currently deciding between two schools (UCSD and Tulane) and the decision is very, very close. I’m planning on majoring in Biology, and I’m accepted at Marshall.
The main reason I would want to go to UCSD over Tulane is the atmosphere & vibes; I much prefer SD’s beach life to the New Orleans lifestyle at Tulane. I also used to live in Cali so I just have a preference to go back in general. I love the beach and the SD weather and surfing and swimming and all that. There are other factors as well, but this is the main one.
The catch is that I’m accepted at Tulane with a Bio major, while at UCSD I would have to switch into Bio (which could get complicated since it’s capped). Furthermore, Tulane offers me a scholarship which makes it almost $20,000 cheaper per year compared to UCSD.
So with all this in mind, do you think going to UCSD is worth it for me?
Thanks!
This will be a hard question for other people to answer because they don’t know the particulars of your situation. One big factor is: who is paying for your education and how big of a sacrifice would it be for them to pay as much as $80,000 extra for your college education? If, for example, your parents are financially well off and they are saying, “Honey, just choose whichever school makes you happiest!” then that likely makes your decision to attend the more expensive school much easier. But what if your parents are committed to paying your education, but sending you to a more expensive school means that they have to borrow from their retirement savings or take a second mortgage on the house? Or what if you will be taking on a sizeable financial burden by borrowing $22,000 or even $40,000 in student loans? Then choosing which university involves harder questions that you and your parents would have to wrestle with.
If you would be paying some of the financial cost difference, it could be helpful to run the calculations for how much the loan payments would be. Then you could ask yourself, “Am I willing to pay this many hundreds of dollars a month in loan payments for 10 to 25 years in order to attend UCSD instead of Tulane?”
Be cautious not to over-idealize what life will be like as a student at any particular university. UCSD is about two miles away from a beach – that’s a short bus ride or a 40 minute walk. Do a lot of students take advantage of this close proximity to go to the beach on their weekends – to swim, to surf or just to relax on the beach? I don’t know. When we visited our son after he’d been a UCSD student for six months, we asked him if we could get to the beach by taking the road that was near his dorms. He replied that he didn’t know and that the only time that he’d been to the beach was during welcome week when UCSD bused thousands of students to a “Meet the Beach” event where students could do kayaking, surfing, play volleyball, play soccer on the beach, etc. That was a fun day, but he hadn’t been to the beach even once since then. (Caveat: he’s not the biggest “beach person” and would be more likely to go to the gym or play his favorite indoor sport unless someone invited him to go to the beach with them). You could ask on the forums whether students end up going to the beach much…or are they too busy studying or doing other social/recreational things that are right there on campus?
Here’s a thought: if the extra $80,000 cost of a degree from UCSD would be a financial strain to your family, you could instead choose to attend Tulane and then take an amazing vacation each year to a place with wonderful beaches. You could spend $5,000 on your beach vacation every year and still save a grand total of $60,000 attending Tulane instead of UCSD.
No one but you, though, can ultimately answer the question of how much the vibe and the everyday atmosphere of one university is worth to you compared to another university. So, this is really only a question that you can answer. Good luck with your decision!
@SunnyByTheBay thank you so much for your response, it’s definitely going to help make my decision. I agree, I may be over-idealizing life at UCSD… so let’s see what I end up choosing.
Any other responses are also welcome!
I’m going to be attending UCSD in the Fall 2016. I can’t really say which is best for you, since you likely know whats best for you. I can just tell you why I’m going.
Well the beach aspect doesn’t appeal to me as much as the entire SoCal (Southern California) access.
Also, its a pretty large city (UCSD) and I feel as if I won’t get bored in that area.
Since I was accepted into the General Biology major, I’m looking forward to the research opportunities.