<p>I am facing a great dilemma and I do not know how to solve it. I have been admitted to Stanford and UCI for their undergraduate programs. I will have to make my choice between them in a couple of days. Here are the reasons why my decision is hard:</p>
<li>My parents did not apply for Financial Aid and so my first yr at Stanford will be expensive and I am not sure how much aid we will receive in the coming years. (Money is an issue but if Stanford is worth it I can justify the expense)</li>
<li>I plan to do Materials Science and Engineering (or some form of engineering) and Economics at either places. Both schools have programs in both of these fields.</li>
<li>UCI is my neighborhood school. Going there would save me a lot of money.</li>
<li>I have been accepted into the UCI Honors Program, which supposedly gives me an edge.</li>
<li>I am not sure where I go plays a big factor into where I am admitted for Grad School (I plan to do a JD/MBA).</li>
<li>If I do well in either school, won’t I have the same chances?</li>
</ol>
<p>I want to feel that I have made the right decision. If someone could point out to me why I should go to Stanford or go to UCI, I would be much obliged.</p>
<p>Both good options. Obviously Stanford has more "prestige" as a whole but the CHP and UCI as a whole has a lot to offer as well. I think if you dominate at either school you shouldn't have to worry about grad school. There's some thread around here where alicantekid listed all of his friends that went on to the best schools in the country for grad school after going to UCI/CHP. In fact right now he's in the UCLA MBA program.</p>
<p>Personally, I turned down Cal for UCI and am not looking back on that decision. It was right for me. Also, if you do decide to go to UCI, try to live on campus if you can even though you're from close by. It'll be a great experience.</p>
<p>Hey, I saw that yackityack reference me, so I thought I'd chime in.</p>
<p>I did not apply to Stanford out of high school, but I did turn down an Ivy (Brown) and a highly-ranked private school (Notre Dame) to attend UCI. I also got in to Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, and USC. I was admitted to the CHP at UC Irvine and got significant financial aid. </p>
<p>I won't lie to you...it's tough to turn down a school like Stanford, and I don't know if I could if I was faced with the same decision. If you were going in to a field like computer science, I'd say go to Stanford in a heartbeat. But I don't know how good they are at Materials Science Engineering, so you'll have to find that out for yourself.</p>
<p>My first piece of advice is DON'T LISTEN TO YOUR FRIENDS. They'll all tell you that you're crazy for not going to Stanford, and that Stanford is better in this and in that. But remember this - your friends in high school know as much as (or less than) you do when it comes to choosing a college. Make the choice that is right for you. If you think that you'll regret turning down Stanford for the rest of your life, then maybe you shouldn't turn it down.</p>
<p>But if you're convinced that UCI is the best school for you and your future, then UCI is the place for you. The fact that you're even CONSIDERING turning down Stanford for Irvine must mean that you feel very strongly about Irvine. The CHP is really a very special program. It was what made my undergraduate years great, and I would do it all over again if I could.</p>
<p>There are a number of students in my class in b-school that went to Stanford, and they are really no smarter than anyone else. </p>
<p>If you do things right at Irvine, you'll still have the opportunity to attend a school like Stanford for your postgraduate degrees. As an employer, I would be much more impressed with the Stanford JD/MBA than the Stanford bachelor's degree. Save your money and go to Irvine, then blow your money in grad school. It's the last degree that matters most.</p>
<p>I know of a UCI/CHP freshmen right now who turned down Stanford (mostly for financial reasons) for Computer Engineering. As a freshmen he securred an internship at Apple this summer and will get a housing stipend to live in Cupertino and $20/hour full-time all to do something he's really interested in. Not to mention that most people who got the internship were much older. All this after FRESHMEN year. This was mostly because of the things he had accomplished not the school he was attending (although computer engineering at UCI with CHP and Regents probably doesn't look too terrible). Like Alicantekid said, it's probably not going to be easy to turn down Stanford but is it all worth it? No one can answer that for you. Tough call man, you're just gunna have to make it.</p>
<p>What kind of things did he do out side of school to get an internship at Apple? because getting a internship there would be my dream.. and ill be at uci in the fall.</p>
<p>He created some program for viewing pictures or something. I'm not sure exactly, I'm not much of a computer person. But apparently they were impressed.</p>
<p>well I have a friend whos going into material sciences. She's got an awesome gpa (think 3.9+) but she got accepted to every single grad school for material sciences she applied to and received various kinds of scholarships at every school. I believe she's leaning towards UCSB because they are giving her a full ride plus a fellowship and research position (basically, they are paying her to come to UCSB). Her other choices are UCSD and Northwestern but hey, can't complain about getting paid to get your masters.</p>
<p>US news ranks the UCI Materials Science Engineering program in the 40's, Stanfords's is #5.</p>
<p>That's a Huge difference.</p>
<p>sonicone: Think where your high achieving friend would be if she were graduating from Stanford. Instead of UCSB, it would likely be Berkeley, MIT, Harvard...i.e. a quantum leap UP from UCSB.</p>
<p>Confuseddesi, are you kidding me? Your thinking about going to UCI over Stanford? If your parents dont have the money, i have heard that Stanford is very helpful in giving financial aid and if your parents do have the money then you really shouldn't even consider UCI. US News and World Report ranks Stanford's engineering program #2 at the graduate level (im not sure about undergrad) and UCI is #41. You can always take out loans and pay them back later (and the Stanford degree will probably get you a higher salary so you can pay those back faster). UCI is not even comparable to Stanford. It is a pretty boring commuter campus with not much going on. Have you been to Stanford? Its a really nice school in a nice area. Plus, if you want to go to Stanford for grad school, you will have a better chance of getting in if you go in as an undergrad. DONT let money play a huge role in this kind of situation. </p>
<p>I got accepted regents at UCI and at Stanford, but i chose Berkeley. I was REALLY close in going to Stanford.</p>
<p>I'll agrew with what ad_med said. Stanford's in another class than UCI. While I posted an example of somebody who made well on her UCI Journey, Stanford will provide you with many more opportunities.</p>