<p>My son is really torn between his final 2 choices. We are giving him as much support as we can like by discussing with him, helping him analyze majors/classes but we leave the decision up to him.</p>
<p>I have always appreciated the wisdom and different points of view of CC parents. So what do you think?</p>
<p>California in state, cost is not an issue
Undecided about major but thinking of business, economics, computer science
Went to overnight stay programs for both
Like both in different ways and therefore the dilemma
Worked out a 4 year class plan on various possible majors for both</p>
<p>UC Berkekley
Pros
The urban feel and how the campus is kind of mixed in with the city
Have the 3 majors in the same college, lots of flexibility to try various classes and still make progress toward degree, can declare a major second year or double major
Cons
LA seems to be a better fit
No priority class enrollment</p>
<p>Summary
Head says Berkeley because of better majors</p>
<p>UCLA
Pros
The feel of the campus
Regents Scholarships with $ and many perks such as priority class enrollment
Already made good friends with current and prospective regent scholars in Regents Scholars Society
Cons
No business major and a lot less flexibility. Econ is in College of Letters & Science. Computer science is in College of Engineering. More difficult to try different majors or double major cross college.</p>
<p>Summary
Heart says LA because of better fit</p>
<p>Your son should follow his heart, absolutely. Both are great schools, so there is no obvious advantage to either one. He can always get an MBA later on, which is a more valued business degree. No need for an undergrad business degree if the MBA is in the future. Good luck and congratulations to your son! You should be very proud, and he will LOVE UCLA. Having friends there at the outset is very important.</p>
<p>Both of my kids turned down Berkeley in favor of their respective colleges (UCLA and UCSD). I think the main reasons were the locations and the overall feeling they had from those campuses. It wasn’t anything very particular and I know they would have done fine at any of them (and they’ve done fine with challenges, opportunities, etc. with their choices). They’re both good choices and your S is in a good position.</p>
<p>I don’t see any issue with the CS major being in the college of engineering at UCLA so I don’t know why that would be considered a con or even an issue. The students take all kinds of classes, not just CS classes, and will attend all over campus including taking some classes with non-engineering majors. From what I hear there’s no problem transferring from the School of Engineering to the college of Letters and Sciences but the other direction can be more difficult. Understand that his classes won’t be limited to just those in the School of Engineering. </p>
<p>Regarding the double major - it’s one thing to double major in a couple of humanities but would be difficult if he chooses CS due to the large number of courses required for a CS degree. One one need to question the value of double majoring in CS plus something else in the first place. </p>
<p>Just my opinion - UCLA with Regents would be very difficult to turn down in favor of Berkeley w/o Regents (although I don’t know the money they’re currently giving for Regents). </p>
<p>At the end of the day he should decide which campus he prefers overall and then if the Regents money is a significant factor, that should be taken into account fwiw. If you happen to live in the bay area he could always take some summer courses for credit at UCB (after checking to make sure they’ll transfer) and do both - sort of!</p>
<p>My son agonized for over 3 weeks on whether to choose UCLA or Berkeley. Visiting the individual campuses helped him greatly. He said that the students at UCLA all seemed “happier”. He’s been very happy at UCLA, and is now a PhD candidate.</p>
<p>The UCLA Regent’s has some very nice perks and is prestigious - UCLA is a great school. He should go with his heart - where he is happier, he will be more successful.</p>
<p>Is he admitted to the School of Engineering at UCLA? If not, it might be hard to get into the upper division (and perhaps even some of the lower division) CS classes – at least, check on it. (I don’t know whether Berkeley limits enrollment in some departments to give priority to majors…but may also worth checking.)</p>
<p>I don’t want to derail the thread, but I’m curious about what R6L is thinking… I know you’re not alone but I just don’t get what makes people get mushy about Berkeley. Am I missing something? I thought it was a typo when his prospective college at UCB bragged that DS would ONLY have 200 kids in his core classes (and I guess a third of them leave after the first year). But I found out that the other classes can have 500 to 1000 students. It seems it can only get worse with the cuts. I don’t understand why anyone with a choice would choose that. I know that UCLA has large classes also, but with Regents especially Busy’s S should be able to get some attention.</p>
<p>He should follow his heart; particularly in this case where he has two glorious options. Congratulations and best of luck. He really can’t go wrong with UCLA Regents.</p>
<p>My d is currently a freshman at UCB and loves, loves, loves it. UCLA was another choice and had it not been in our back yard (and the triple dorms so darn small) she probably would have loved, loved, loved it as well. Sometimes, there is no “wrong” choice so he just has to wake up one morning and decide which button to push! Sometimes we overthink and overanalyze and it comes down to “gut feeling”. Good luck!</p>
<p>Another vote for going with the heart. And I say this as someone who loved undergrad at Cal. </p>
<p>I’d also suggest contacting the Regents program and asking about flexibility with majors cross-college. They may either confirm the work your S has done on figuring out a 4-year plan, or offer some option he’s not considered.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your comments, much appreciated. Where else can I go to find a nice smart group of people to overthink and overanalyze this with me. :)</p>
<p>My son also thought that the overnight stay would help. But he liked both of them in different ways.</p>
<p>Without going into too much details, UCB has CS major in College of Engineering with lots of required classes like UCLA but also has CS major in College of L&S without engineering GEs. As with most teenagers, he doesn’t know what he wants to do and wants flexibility.</p>
<p>Being a Regents Scholars at UCLA does mean lots more attention, he has gotten personal emails, letters, phone calls. And priority enrollment means no worry in getting classes. He also got the UCLA alumni scholarship.</p>
<p>I would have just as a hard time deciding if I was him.</p>
<p>CS at Berkeley is EECS, so if he’s not interested in electrical engineering he may not want to come here. I had to make the same decision. I’m from Southern California and I love Los Angeles. I went with my head and went to Berkeley without even visiting. I’m graduating in May and know I made the right decision (for me).</p>
<p>doughmom: But that statement is true of both schools, since both are UCs. It’s hard to know what the system, or any given campus, will look like next year, much less 4 years from now.</p>
<p>Agree with the others on all accounts. BUT. aside from the follow your gut (or heart) advice, the priority enrollment alone is worth the price of admission.</p>
<p>At Cal, if your son is neither an athelete nor a student with disabilities, the first couple of years at Cal can be a right pain getting classes you want.</p>
<p>Went through this scenario a few years back with my son. He chose Cal because it “felt right” to him. It made all the difference.</p>
<p>From the original post, it doesn’t come across how/why UCLA is a better fit other than 1) they waved the Regents Scholarship at him and 2) he met some people he connected with. </p>
<p>If you are undecided, then variety of majors, ease of taking entry level classes, and ease of declaring majors are things to look into. My sons and I all entered college undeclared. I went from film & literature to math & cs. S1 took a bit of everything and ended up as classics and applied math. S2 started out undeclared physics and ended up in civil & environmental engineering. S1 went to CAL and was able to take a variety and double major (in fairly unrelated majors)</p>
<p>I guess I’m another one with a bias for CAL (I just think they do better at the sciences). That said if HIS heart truly says UCLA, then that is where he should select to go</p>
<p>If your son is truly interested in pursuing computer science I would choose Berkeley. It is one of the best programs in the nation and proximity to Silicon Valley for job recruitment should not be overlooked. Berkeley has an EECS-only career fair every year.</p>
<p>As for environment, I preferred Berkeley. It has a college town feel. Is a lot more pedestrian oriented and has a lot of businesses nearby that cater to students. Football is actually played on campus (except for 2011 season when they’ll be renovating the stadium) which adds to the energy of the campus/city on fall Saturdays.</p>
<p>You can get around very easily without a car. BART trains provide access to campus, both area airports, Oakland Coliseum and downtown San Francisco for an occassional escape.</p>
<p>avoidingwork, UCBChemEGrad,
Those are my thoughts also although I try hard not to influence his decision. But I can let it out here with wonderful fellow parents.</p>
<p>At this point, H and I also think that he is overthinking and overagonizing it. He looked into both colleges in depth, talked to family, friends, teachers, counselors. We think he should decide one way or another this weekend. </p>
<p>It is interesting how our children this generation can be so different from us. We talked with him a couple days ago what his goals are for college. Here is his list kind of in priority order.
Happiness
Flexibility of majors/classes since he is undecided
Career opportunities
Friends</p>
<p>His #1 goal never crossed my mind when I went to college given that I am the first one in my low income family to go to college. I just want a degree and a job.</p>
<p>I cannot speak to the majors, but to me the two campuses are virtually equal in prestige, at least within CA and maybe within the US…my DD noticed a lot of international friends recognise Berkeley, but that is not a valid reason to choose it.</p>
<p>Your son has such great options, I would tell my kid to go with their gut- hippie or yuppie. Not that it is that stark, but there is a different feel to the two campuses and the nearby cities- Westwood v Berkeley. Both are fun, just a matter of feel & comfort.</p>
<p>Other than any Regent’s perks, I cannot believe class sizes, ability to get classes, etc are any big deal at one campus v the other. And do not even worry about housing at Cal, no one stays on campus after the first year because the dorms are nearly twice as expensive as local housing, including Greek housing!</p>
<p>BART was great and my Dd only had a car there at times in her last year. In SoCal, it is tough to imagine being happy without a car!</p>