<p>I'm accepted at MIchigan and I'm still waiting on the other two. But I just wanted to know what you guys thought. I'm an International and I've been fortunate to visit Ann Arbor but not UCLA or Cal. I want to do Engineering of some sort. I know Cal is by far better academically but I'm looking for the whole 'college experience' thing. I've heard Cal doesn't have a great social scene and that students are too competitive too make proper friends.</p>
<p>Cal is not "by far better academically". In terms of Engineering, Cal is generally considered one of the top 4 Engineering programs in the nation, Michigan one of the top 7 or 8 and UCLA one of the top 20. So there is practically no difference in quality between Cal and Michigan and although those two are slightly better than UCLA in Engineering, the difference is negligible. </p>
<p>In terms of overall quality, all three are considered among the top 4 or 5 state universities in the US, with Cal having a infinitisimal edge over Michigan and Michigan an equally insignificant edge over UCLA.</p>
<p>Will you have a chance to visit LA or Berkeley before deciding? Those are three very different settings.</p>
<p>For overall college experience, i would definetly say Michigan. Also, Cal is not by far the better school academically. Michigan and Cal have very comparable schools (and for engineering, Michigan is tied with Cal in the undergrad, Cal is only higher in graduate schools) and are both ranked in the top 10 in almost every department, making the difference pretty insignificant, if existant at all.</p>
<p>Overall, I would say go to which ever one is cheapest between Cal and Michigan, but if money really isnt a factor, go to UM for the social scene, sports, and Ann Arbor (GREAT town)</p>
<p>Maybe my wording wasn't great there. lol I don't think I'll have a chance to visit Cal or LA. </p>
<p>Cost wise, which would you say has the highest cost of living? I'm guessing AA would be the cheapest as it's a mainly student-orientated city.</p>
<p>Lol, Ann Arbor has one of the top-ten highest costs of living in the United States.</p>
<p>Then again, LA's is most likely higher, but I don't know about the city of Berkeley.</p>
<p>All three have high costs of living.</p>
<p>The rumor that social life at Cal is crappy is a misconception. With over 30,000 students, I don't think it'd be difficult to get involved. See the Berkeley forums and <a href="http://ucberkeley.livejournal.com%5B/url%5D">http://ucberkeley.livejournal.com</a> -- it's very lively.</p>
<p>This is one of those situations where you probably can't make a wrong choice--they're all three great places with neat opportunities.</p>
<p>Right now I'm heading towards Michigan just because I've visited the campus and AA and loved it.</p>