Help! SIR deadline’s in a couple of days…and I am still very much undecided. Cal has it’s so-called perks, but is San Diego really worth it? I’m an Integrative Bio Major at Cal and Gen. Bio Major at UCSD. Grad. school will probably be in my future, and I’m considering things such as atmosphere, academics, quality for major, study abroad, and research opportunities.
<p>yeah, i gave up a regents' and chancellor's from ucb to attend ucsd. the reason: ucsd is a great place for premed students in terms of attention given to students, quality of the science dept, research opportunities, etc.</p>
<p>i think berkeley is the better choice. The social stmosphere at ucsd is nonexistent. Berkeley is like the center of the world. Go there!</p>
<p>For quality of major and research opportunities, UCSD has the clear upper hand here. The study abroad programs are more or less identical at all of the UCs. Both have top notch academics; Berkeley has more top ten ranked programs but UCSD beats it in bio.</p>
<p>In terms of atmosphere, I can't speak for Cal, but I've grown up in San Diego and have family working there, so I've been on campus quite a bit. It's really a very pretty campus, I personally like it better than UCSB's even. The library is a work of art. Student organizations are pretty active, and you'll see flyers all over the place. UCSD is pretty subdued socially, but it it's far from dead, that's simply a myth. You just have to be a bit more pro-active about it than you would be at other schools.</p>
<p>I really hope you've visited both places and talked to some current students, no matter what you do nothing can really take the place of seeing where you're going to be. If you haven't, I would call up the admissions offices really fast and ask if you can talk to some current students.</p>
<p>Since you're planning to go to graduate school, I would pick the place you like the best. You'll be more productive where you're happy, no matter what the program you're a part of is ranked.</p>