Hello! Now that I’ve heard back from all of my schools, I’ve narrowed it down to UCLA and GT, but I’m not sure which one to choose. Both are out of state for me, but after receiving financial aid info, I found out that they will both be the same cost (so we can mostly disregard cost as a factor). I’m majoring in engineering, but I’m not quite sure which kind yet (I’m looking into industrial/civil/chemical). I live on the east coast but I’ve always wanted to be on the west coast. Berkeley was my dream school and I was looking forward to the whole college experience on the west coast, so UCLA is my only option on the west coast.
- I really want to know which of the two schools would be better for job opportunities/internships. I have family at GT, and they say that there are many job/internship opportunities, but I was wondering if UCLA would be the same too.
- I also really want to know how the engineering majors compare between the two schools. I’m not entirely sure which type I want to do, so I could definitely see myself changing majors at some point. How easy is it to change majors at each school? Which types of engineering is UCLA better at and vise-versa?
- I want to really branch out and have the full college experience in a new environment. Which school is more fun in your opinion? California is basically my dream state, but it’s pretty far away from where I live. Then again, I do want to branch out and experience something new and lively.
- I also think I’ll study abroad. Do both schools have good programs to study abroad?
As of now, I feel like I would really enjoy myself at UCLA over GT, but I feel like GT would give me a better education and more job opportunities. Overall, I just want to experience something different and fun. I’m nervous that I would regret my decision, so I’m really looking for some other perspectives on this stuff. Any advice is welcome! Thank you very much 
UCLA cost of attendance 64k OOS
GT cost of attendance 44k OOS
Industrial, civil, chemical engineering ranking
UCLA nr, nr, nr
GT 1, 2, 3
Return on investment ranking OOS
UCLA 173
GT 18
UCLA would be then fun school.
1 out of 4 students regret their school choice.
^^^^Immaterial information. The OP has already stated that the costs for both schools are basically equal.
UCLA is $2000 more per year after financial aid, which honestly isn’t that much of a difference so I’m ruling out cost as a major factor.
My son is also considering UCLA Engineering so I looked this up. Usually kids at UC engineering colleges don’t have the latitude to just look around at various majors – the details below which I pulled from the UCLA website confirm this. What is your major going in (ie, on your acceptance papers)? You only get to make one change and that is if it is approved.
This is not like other engineering programs where you get to look around and then settle in and do as you please. Both Michigan and Cornell, two others my son is considering, don’t limit you as early on as UC does. I have a daughter at Berkeley, not in engineering, but I can assure you that UC does whatever it sees fit when it comes to majors. They cap majors. They put strings around majors. From an administrative standpoint, it is generally an uphill four year battle. If it doesn’t go your way then you can be SOL. Of course, it is easy to get out of engineering and move to L&S, at least at UCLA (read this on the site too). But you should Google this topic before you commit and have a through understanding of this. Be sure you understand what they are saying below. You will be “considered.” You are petitioning. If anyone has anecdotal feedback, would love to hear it.
@Greymeer, where do those rankings come from?
I’ll tell you this: it was incredibly hard to break into this engineering school. There are thousands upon thousands of kids who would love to have you spot in the “nr” engineering majors at UCLA. Pretty sure you can find a job coming out of there so I would not get too worked up on the rankings.
I am very interested in the “fun factor” for my son and am wondering about that, school-to-school. There is a Facebook Live event this afternoon at 3:30 to answer questions for incoming UCLA students (not just engineering). You should find it and listen. We are flying down for the engineering open house on the 15th (HSSEAS Open House). I would be happy to share what I observe.
From UCLA Engineering Office Of Academic and Student Affairs:
Students within HSSEAS who are in good academic standing AND show that they can succeed in the preparatory and major-specific courses for the major they are applying to will be considered for a change of major.
Students will NOT be approved more than one change of major to a HSSEAS major. Students are encouraged to research the various engineering disciplines thoroughly before filing for change of major.
If you want Engineering, GT is the better choice. UCLA ranks higher in general undergrad ranking, I believe mostly helped by their Arts and Sciences. Engineering schools wise, GT is ranked way higher and has a better reputation in the industry (except in California, of course.)
That is a point in favor of GT, where you get one free change of major during frosh year:
http://admission.gatech.edu/change-major
If you are admitted to UCLA as engineering undeclared, you need to earn a 2.7 GPA to get free choice of major:
https://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/faqs-undergraduate-students/#major-requirements-options
Otherwise, changing major within engineering or from outside of engineering at UCLA is highly competitive:
https://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/change-of-major/
I would love to hear about how the Open House is if you’re able to share. @pvcamom