<p>Yay! I've finally decided to go to UCLA instead of Cal. Whew, what a relief. Anyone else already made their choice between the two? Anyone still struggling with the decision? Ask away, and those of us who have already decided will tell you how we came about our choice. Let's keep our responses as objective and practical as possible, eh?</p>
<p>I chose UCLA over Cal many ages ago. It was good times. I think that UCLA "fit" much better.</p>
<p>Welcome to the Bruin family, DeantheMachn!</p>
<p>I'm going to the Engineering Open House tomorrow, but I'm pretty much decided for LA over Cal... more things "fit" as UCLAri has said. The biggest reasons are location (ie: relatively close proximity to home), better financial aid, better weather, and for EE its still in the top 20 in the nation. Oh, and also, I think I might have a better and more well-rounded experience at UCLA for possibly a better chance at good grad schools... away from the much-heard-of "cutthroat competition" at Cal.</p>
<p>Isn't "Cutthroat competition" too much of a generalization? I'm sure it will be competitive at both schools. Is the difference really that great?</p>
<p>Berkeley isn't cutthroat for everything.</p>
<p>But what of the popular majors? (Business, premed)</p>
<p>Pre-med isn't a major, and UCLA doesn't have an undergraduate business major.</p>
<p>UCLA! :)</p>
<p>weather, area, people, quarter system, just felt right, and other reasons I don't remember.</p>
<p>I'm in the same exact position! so torn between Cal and LA, can anyone help?
As of right now, I'm leaning more towards LA, because it's closer to home and I just love LA and its college environment, however I kinda wanna go to Cal just cause the environment is different and it'll be a different, independent experience kinda thing.</p>
<p>Anyone else have good reasoning on why they chose LA over Cal or vice versa?!?!</p>
<p>I chose LA because it offered me the best environment, more money, and proximity to my significant other.</p>
<p>--- Time to preempt the career mongers...
Yes, I actually let another human being affect my decision on where to go to college. Yes, I'm actually willing to do something crazy like that. No, I don't regret it.</p>
<p>well unlike dean-ey old boy :) im leaning more towards berkeley and its not because of my major, because im trying premed and supposedly thats just hard everywhere, its because of the environment. its so different (me being from suburban bubble so-cal). and plus, they have that motto "study hard play hard" they definitely have parties, so don't worry about the no-life aspect. i think im leaning towards cal because its a great learning opportunity, far from home, the town is very college-concentrated, people are very characterized, very opinionated, and very interesting.</p>
<p>basically, i feel i'll learn alot more discipline at cal than ucla, not just for academics, but for life in general. i want to pop my suburban bubble!</p>
<p>tinaaaw, thats exactly how i feel about cal right now, since im from LA, yet at the same time, i love LA and its whole environment</p>
<p>so i guess it's just a matter of if i should go to somewhere i already love or somewhere thats different and exciting =T</p>
<p>also, im considering either bio, environmental science, econ or business majors, would cal or LA be better for these?</p>
<p>
I am so sick of hearing that cliche. Every university claims to be "study hard, play hard", even in China. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I actually had an extremely hard decision as well, but I ended up chosing UCSD over Cal and UCLA</p>
<p>flopsy, i was just trying to emphasize there are parties for people who are scared that cal is just study study study. there are parties!!</p>
<p>tinaaaw, I guess I'll see you at Cal for the same reasons. lol</p>
<p>
[quote]
flopsy, i was just trying to emphasize there are parties for people who are scared that cal is just study study study. there are parties!!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yes, there are parties at Cal, but assuming you will fall through your medical school plan, you will not be partying as much as you desire to.</p>
<p>Possibly your first year, but not past that.</p>
<p>well duh, thats why i added in the "study hard play hard" can aspect, but then flopsy complained about that, so i just emphasized YES there are parties, but you must party sparingly. but i guess thats everywhere, maybe just at berkeley you must study a bit more than you party. alot of people told me it balances out. so DONT WORRY about the social scene at berkeley if thats the reason why many of you are not considering berkeley for that aspect, there is one, and theres also the studious scene.</p>
<p>another reason, when i visited all the students told me its do-able to get a decent gpa, but its alot about time management and working hard, apparently its not impossible (i didnt ask any engineering students so i wouldnt know about that).</p>
<p>I'm completely torn between Cal and UCLA although I'm leaning towards Cal since it's only 40 minutes away from home. What scares me about Cal is it's competitiveness. Also, even though tinaaaw mentioned that there are a few parties at Cal, I'm pretty sure i'll have a much better time at UCLA. Do any of you guys have some advice for me?</p>
<p>personally, i don't think it's such a big deal. anyone can find their own niche in either school, both of which are incredibly big. most people will be happy in either place. even if most people at cal spend more time studying, that doesn't say anything about how you will behave. if you really want to be social, you will go out and find your social life. if you really don't want to be social, you'll stay in your room all day in either school. competition-wise, a lot of it depends on the person too. how well do you adapt to pressure? how much competition is considered a lot? are you the kind that gets excited when others push you, or do you prefer pushing yourself? academic-wise, if you're an awesome student, you'll do just fine in either school and vice versa. companies don't hire schools, they hire people. the college experience is what you make of it.</p>
<p>so in the end, financial aid and location may play the bigger part.</p>
<p>that's pretty much how i decided. la was closer, nicer weather (to me at least), gave a little bit more money, etc.</p>