<p>Hi y'all!
Im in a bit of a dilemma, i have one week to make a decision for most schools and I dont know which one too choose; i feel like a have very good choices but I am confused on what I would like to take out of the whole college experience. I have considered the weather, location, transportation, campus aesthetics, and people's looks, but for some reason, they keep being equal! (I think they all practically gave me the same amount in loans, cornell would actually cost me the same amount as UCLA)</p>
<p>My choices: ucla, usc, uc berk, and cornell ILR. Which one would you choose?</p>
<p>In terms of weather, ucla would be the best choice. In terms of education, perhaps berkeley or cornell....? So what do i go by? education? or weather?!!</p>
<p>I would choose UCLA because it is the best fit for ME. I think you should choose the school you will attend next year because it is the college that best fits YOU and not what some dude on a forum says.</p>
<p>yeah, i understand, but i mainly opened this thread so people could tell me what they like or dont like about each school, and i could view it with an open mind (not biased this time) and hopefully, make a decision.</p>
<p>and unfortunately, i cant visit cornell cuz im on finals and im poor!!! <em>emphasis on poor</em></p>
<p>Mojo: I hit Cornell up on a visit a couple of years ago so I'll tell ya what I can. It's a perfect "college" town, but at the same time it's a god awful ways away from anything. That being said, if you dont mind living in a pure college town then it's a great place, just dont expect to have any big city type atmosphere or be able to leave the place w/o a significant drive. It's a beautiful campus but deff lacks on school spirit. The hockey team is pretty good and their games are fun, but other then that there isn't really anything that "brings the school together." As for ucla/berk I feel ucla, but that's just me.</p>
<p>hahah yeah i hear ya there, the end of school year is when all my money that ive saved from summer is about used up and i got NO MONEY lol. Well i'd personally pick UCLA due to its atmosphere. It has great academics is well recognized, in a great part of Los Angeles and from what I hear the people are for the most part smart and friendly, from what I've read time after time the people at UCB seem to be extremely liberal and just not the same type of crowd as UCLA. The weather at Cornell doesnt attract me whatsoever on top of that I don't think it has any more prestige than UCLA, especially on the west coast. USC vs UCLA is simply because UCLA is in a nicer area, both are great schools.</p>
<p>I don't know enough about ILR to help ya with that. If you are going to med school/professional then the difference in prestige between any of these schools will not make any difference.</p>
<p>well as you know i'm a big cal person. it's not true that people here are extremely liberal. berkeley as a city is liberal, but the students aren't so much... most of them come from other cities in CA and the US. it's true that the crowds at ucla and ucb are very different, though. i lived in la for most of my life and i personally find that i get along better with norcal people because they just... tend to be a little friendlier off the street. if you want the urban atmosphere of westwood then you can easily go to sf. there's less diversity in berkeley; it was surprising to me to see that the people working behind kitchens here are... actually white and middle class. :P food here is GOOD. i learned a lot about the workings of a city here... i la no one really talked about gentrification and things like that. really opened up my mind. a LOT of people i've met here turned down cornell for cal.</p>
<p>about the food: it really depends what kind of food you like. berkeley doesn't have as much ethnic food as la probably does, just because of la's sheer size and the diversity.. though i've never seen cambodian, ethiopian, or philipino food in LA i'd just assume they were there. but the quality i'd definitely say is better. most restaurants around berkeley (excluding junk food places) only use organic, fresh produce from the local area. in la, from working at a bunch of restaurants, i can say they get their stuff rom vons most of the time. there's a "gourmet ghetto" in berkeley that's amazing... alice waters (super famous restaurateur--check wikipedia) definitely spread her seed around berkeley. if you want the stuff you like in la (if they're chains like cpk, pf chang's, etc) then you can find them in the area also. in my opinion, overall i would say that food in berkeley is incomparable. i've lived in la for 13 years and have never found it to be so good. asian food is a different story though--def better in la.</p>
<p>oh and if you live on campus, the dining hall is great. they only use organic food. they've won a bunch of awards. caldining.berkeley.edu</p>
<p>Well that may be true but the reality is... no matter how superior the quality of the food is, people will always get tired if there are only limited choices of food... as for me, I'd rather have numerous variety of B-quality food than to have only limited choices of A-quality food.</p>
<p>i live in LA, so i think i get the best of both worlds. i go home when i need my fix of dim sum and am happy to come back here when i want something more interesting. it's true that berkeley's specialty is mostly in european cuisine. if you aren't an especially food-oriented person like me (you don't read up on food blogs, look at menus online for fun, cook a lot yourself), then this might not even matter. just my two cents--food in berkeley is good. </p>
<p>also, another thing for me is.. since i live in LA and i plan to work in LA for my career, i chose berkeley because.. i may never get to live outside of LA again. it was important to me to experience two different cities. if given the chance, i'd probably choose cornell over the ucs just because i'd want to live somewhere completely different for a change.</p>
<p>oh another thing: the having a lot of selection of b-quality food seems to be a very LA mindset. not that that's wrong-- it's why we all go to buffets, right? if you're this type of person then berkeley definitely won't be for you. the thinking here is the opposite.. if you go to nice restaurants here, it's going to be smaller portions because they think that little of a-quality food is more important, or enough. it's like a european mindset. as for the less-nice, more diverse food places here.. i'd still say they were very good. big portions, cheap prices. like any ethnic place. the ethnic food places here are generally cheaper than you find in LA. indian restaurants in la are expennnsive.</p>
<p>to answer dhl's question: I got 5,500 in loans (whch i think is pretty basic from what i have heard around the UC boards) and the rest is grants and 1,400 (i think) in work study.</p>
<p>for cornell: i got 33,000 in grants, 4,000 pell grant, 2,000 seog grant, 2,400 (i think) in work study, and 3,000 in loans.
It looks like cornell gave the best package but work study is a lot so its most likely that i would take about 2,000 more in loans. So it'll be the same as UCLA/UC berk in terms of cost.</p>
<p>The food doesnt really matter, im not that picky in terms of food, i could eat cereal if its bad lol...I care more about the atmosphere i think. Also, are there any gyms at these schools and do they charge extra if you use them?</p>
<p>alright, as I am transferring OUT of UCLA, ill give some input on UCLA.</p>
<ul>
<li>Most classes will be big (200+)</li>
<li>TA's lead discussions and will teach lectures when prof is not available.</li>
<li>LA isn't really accessible unless you have a car or use public transportation (which isnt too good compared to other big cities)</li>
<li>Greek scene is extremely exclusive.</li>
<li>most people leave on weekends.</li>
</ul>
<p>HOWEVER, none of it is too bad. I am leaving for more opportunities rather than escaping the flaws. You get used to the big classes. If you can stand the bus (which takes about 45 mins to an hour to go anywhere significant), then its not that bad. School spirit and games are awesome. I've had good professors and overall, a pretty positive experience. I am just looking for a smaller community, atmosphere, and new experience. After all, college is the best time to try something new... and in my case it'll be big city to rural town.</p>