<p>It seems to me that no one is impressed by UCSD. Everyone I talk to has either not heard of UCSD or think of it as some low level university. They seem to appreciate and recognize the prestige of UCLA and Berkeley but never SD. I tell them that SD is phenomenal in the sciences but they tend to refute such a statement by saying that Cal and La's are far superior. Some of those people who got into UCLA tend to feel that they are smarter than me despite the fact that they have lackluster GPA and SAT scores. This kind of makes me bummed out in a way. It seems that all my hard work over these 4 years have gone to waste and that I worked, perhaps, a bit too hard in HS for no real reason. All that extra effort is unrecognized while those who seemed to have relaxed a fair bit more tend to be recognized more for their sole achievement of getting in LA. I got into Cal, but it really isn't a fit for me so I turned it down by submitting the SIR for SD. As a result, people consider me as an idiot. What's prestige anyways? Isn't college more about the knowledge gained than the prestige?? Since people seem to look down on my decision of choosing SD over cal, I don't feel a great sense of pride that I should have for choosing UCSD. Personally, I love UCSD but I just don't understand why others don't. This in no means imply that I regret committing myself to SD. I would choose SD a million times over any other UC.
Did anybody else experience this kind of feeling as well?</p>
<p>I never knew other people's opinions carry so much weight into your personal decisions. Do you even care about these people?</p>
<p>I know how you feel. Sometimes I wonder if I should just go to UCLA over UCSD. The only problem that I have with UCSD is that it's too studious and quiet of a place.</p>
<p>chessdude2: They obviously haven't carried weight in my decisions since I acted independently to decide on UCSD. You're missing the point. I'm just asking if anyone felt that UCSD is being unrecognized.</p>
<p>and for the record I don't know Chessdude2. I don't know why he seems to say that he knows something about me. It's kinda creepy.</p>
<p>Whatever helps you sleep at night. For some people, it's not about the prestige. Other schools just might have programs that are a bit more attractive. Had I gotten into Cal, their strong History department would've made it pretty hard to turn down, especially since I know several teachers there who are amazing. As for choosing UCSD over any other UC, keep in mind you made "THE "Im going to make UCLA regret the fact it rejected me" Thread. Not a knock but just tone down the rhetoric and enjoy the next four years.</p>
<p>jasonlee:</p>
<p>No offense intended, but you're receiving feedback from people who seem to have no knowledge of the subject - </p>
<p>Take a look at -
UC</a> SAN DIEGO NEWS CENTER : ABOUT UCSD</p>
<p>The important point is whether potential employers have heard of UCSD and recoginize its caliber of programs. They have.</p>
<p>In the past few years, I read people turning down Yale for UCSD. Is your major going to be pre-med? If yes you did a good thing by turning down UCB. UCSD is very prestigous for science and engineering.</p>
<p>I think part of the prestige of UCLA and Cal is actually "allure." Both are very attractive places to attend in ways beyond pure academics. They both have a reportedly better social life than UCSD. Both have major sports teams and are thus more generally known by the public at large. There's more demand to go to those schools than UCSD because of that. You haven't wasted your high school years; you got into UCSD and a lot of other people didn't.</p>
<p>Jason, to be blunt: WHAT do you care what other people think?
(also the title of a great book by Richard Feynman, but that's getting off-track)</p>
<p>As long as UCSD is a good school for you, you enjoy it and thrive there, that's all that's necessary. People are known to build up complexes to make themselves feel better at the expense of others, but it's just a case of the weak preying on the weak. </p>
<p>I don't know if these "people" are your friends (who shouldn't be so insensitive as to make such comments), crazy relatives, or total strangers, but it is YOUR choice to be made. If you feel the need for a comeback, go look into all the great things UCSD has to offer (BE, beach, Nobel laureates, smog- and hippie-less surroundings) and shoot those facts back at them. Chances are they'll shut up when they don't have any concrete points to make.</p>
<p>I've never had to defend my choice in school. In my current graduate program, I'm enrolled alongside grads from state colleges to Ivies to Oxford. I only know these facts from the class directory; we respect each other as classmates and researchers, not clones of University X or Y.</p>
<p>Once I said to my kid, "If you don't get into Berkeley or UCLA, I don't want to see you ever again because all my friends' kids all got into Berkeley." I change my stubborn and silly thinking after reading more articles about UCSD. This year, UCSD freshmen are even stronger. My kid, SAT 2 Bio 800 and Math 2C 770, GPA 4.3, goes to UCSD with you. Why do you need to worry about UCSD?</p>
<p>If it's any consolation, UCSD has 9 Nobel Laureates! The most of all the UCs...and pretty comparable to many private schools too.</p>
<p>Yup, Cal only has 7 on their faculty. :)</p>
<p>yeah jasonlee i feel you!! I am most likely going to UCSD over UCLA, but I still haven't turned in my SIR yet. Every time I tell people that I like UCSD more, they just stare at me as if I'm nuts not to choose UCLA. I think it's only because UCSD hasn't been established for as long as UCLA so they don't get the name recognition. That's why everyone look down on it. But in the end, I guess all that you're missing out is prestige and perhaps the way people think of you, since people generally think very highly of those in prestigious schools. But oh well, I was quite a prestige whore a couple years ago, but since then I've learnt more as to what's really important on the INSIDE, rather than the name.. Prestige isn't on my list as no.1 priority anymore! and I'm proud of it. :)</p>
<p>Yea astrina put it perfectly. I should really stop caring about what my friends are saying. Thanks everyone for your comments. It's always nice to hear other people's thoughts.
deutsch: I feel the same way!</p>
<p>Dude, anyone who says Cal and UCLA are "far superior" to UCSD has no idea what they're talking about, and most of them probably don't matter. There seems to be tiers of prestige/quality among the UC schools, with Cal/UCLA being one and Davis/SB/Irvine being another. UCSD is considered to be somewhere in between those two tiers, although it's much closer to Cal/UCLA and is often considered to be in the same tier (at least around my area). The USNews rankings may lead you to think otherwise, but the reason UCSD isn't as high as it should be is likely because its departments outside of science-related majors usually aren't quite as strong. Otherwise, it's as good as Cal/UCLA. Besides, nobody should let those rankings affect their decisions too much.</p>
<p>I wholeheartedly agree with what ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad said, since it's mainly the opinions of grad schools and employers that matter, and pretty much all of them hold UCSD in high regard (especially if you're a science-related major). The only reason it isn't as well-known among the general public is because, as people have said, it doesn't have a football team. Its academics are very well-respected among people who actually know what they are talking about, although not so much among kids our age.</p>
<p>I have to say that I'm a little surprised about the reactions you're getting by kids in your school. It's totally different at my school. Whenever I tell someone that I'm going to UCSD, they're very impressed, and it's considered to be on the same level as Berkeley and UCLA. That's how it should be; whoever says UCSD is a low-level school obviously hasn't done their research. Besides, its reputation is rising very fast.</p>
<p>I doubt you'll regret your decision at all. I'm proud that I'm going to UCSD, and you definitely shouldn't be ashamed of it.</p>
<p>i feel like i'm in the same situations as you, jason. when my mom asked me what my gpa was for last quarter, she was dissappointed at the fact that i didn't have a 4.0. She thinks that UCSD is a school only for the party-minded, and that it should therefore be incredibly easy to attain a 4.0. She even bugs me every chance she gets by telling me that of one of her co-worker's daughters went to Cal. I remember that the most annoying part was when she later said, "See, they're doing better than you are." I didn't know what to say after that point...It definitely isn't true, but knowing that she would keep thinking that as long I was going to UCSD kept me quiet. I've even showed her the US News rankings, but she still hasn't seemed to change her perception of the university. I also remember a time when she thought that SF State was more prestigious than UCSD, telling me that my younger brother (who has A 2.8 GPA!!) should apply to UCSD. Now to think of it, my mom is simply ignorant, but I can't explain how annoying it is when other people assume I'm some bum because I don't go to Cal, UCLA, Stanford, etc.</p>
<p>Dk-blue_Falcon ,</p>
<p>You should tell your mom, "This year one kid can't get into top 3 UC school but accepted by Rice University, so your brother should apply to Rice because he has no chance to get into UCSD." :)</p>
<p>Random Question: DK-blue_Falcon, do you happen to be Asian? Your mom sounds like many naggy Asian mothers I know in the Bay Area. They need to brag about the children and their school. Most of them also think Cal >>>> Princeton so yeah. Mis-informed is right.</p>
<p>^hah, my mom would think Cal>Princeton.... Fortunately, i wouldnt consider my parents as the type of Asian parents you speak of...I wouldn't consider myself Asian</p>