<p>So do transfer students even get these offers HigherHopes was talking about? I’m not so sure they’d care lol.</p>
<p>Hey is that really legit? That whole (2-year, 3.0+ guarantee to UCB?) Seriously if that exists, that is really cool!</p>
<p>I haven’t heard about the 2 year guarantee for Merced, but it sounds similar to the program I got accepted to at UCSC out of hs. The 3/2 dual degree engineering program (believe it got cut this year) involved a student obtaining a degree in social sciences, humanities, or the arts at UCSC and then transferring to UCB for 2 years for an engineering major. I signed up for Business Economics at UCSC and Engineering Math/Statistics at Cal.</p>
<p>You essentially get 2 degrees from 2 different universities. You still have to apply to transfer to Berkeley, but as long as you have a 3.0+ you are pretty much accepted through the program.</p>
<p>back on the UC Davis issue…</p>
<p>it is a great school and for me it came down to UC Davis and UC Berkeley. Same amount of money, same feel, both great bio programs, same number of friends going to both i really was 50% on the fence. so i just made my parents real happy and chose UC Berkeley. i have the school i really like and they have a school that they can brag to their friends about. lol</p>
<p>its not accredited yet right?</p>
<p>Yeah, when I mention Cal is on a semester system everyone thinks it’s the only school with one. Merced is on semesters, too, isn’t it?</p>
<p>Officially it’s not accredited, but I think its (somewhat) close. And yeah, Merced and Cal are the only UCs on the semester system.</p>
<p>Back to the ‘powerhouse’ statement. You guys really think Merced and the other “low-tier” UC’s will become legitimate and well known schools soon?</p>
<p>I;m guessing within 10-15 years, they’ll be as well known and do well in academic rankings comparable to UCI and UCSB are now but my younger brother completely disagrees and says they’ll never be that good. What’d you guys think?</p>
<p>UC Merced is still really new. It has a lot of room to grow. The other UC’s probably won’t move around much.</p>
<p>If you think about it, the strength of their academic programs are linked to the location of the schools. This is because the schools with better locations attract better faculties.</p>
<p>^This is true.</p>
<p>The financial aid is very good at UC Merced. I got a “full ride” also.
In fact, I would have been neck deep in a pile of debt, at any other UC.
Seriously, I’m not BS-ing this. I’m a transfer student, and got accepted to UCI, UCSB, UCR, and UCB. They all had different financial aid packages, but UCB was the worst. Essentially, UCB could only give me 2/3 funding for two years. I’m an engineering student and there would have been no way for me to finish in two years.</p>
<p>It was a hard choice (at first), but UCM offered the most “bang for my buck”.</p>
<p>For those of you who are wondering, about financial aid…my motto has been “apply for everything”. Let the school do the work and reject you!!!</p>
<p>Merced is a gamble. In 10 years it could either have a great reputation or it could still be considered the lowest or easiest UC.</p>
<p>Its a safer bet to go with a school that is already established.</p>
<p>I turned down Merced because their staff was beyond lazy in getting back to me on questions (though they did invite me). So lazy they never returned all but 1 of my calls -_-.</p>
<p>As for location, I dunno. Cal is regarded as most people here as one of the best unis evar!!! but it… isn’t exactly in the best place in the world.</p>
<p>ITT: beggars are choosers</p>
<p>When you say “full ride,” what do you mean? Tuition covered? Tuition and room/board covered? Everything covered, but with some loans?</p>
<p>I dunno… A BA is a BA. If it’s a choice between $20,000 in debt at UCI and no debt at UCM, the latter would be very tempting.</p>
<p>How would the lack of accreditation affect my law school prospects?</p>
<p>By full ride I meant just that, but when I last checked I had about $20,000 in grants/scholarships and maybe 3k/year unmet (that would need loans)</p>