Transfer: UCLA or UMich?

Transfer Students
1

Hey guys I really need some suggestions. I’m a biochemical engineering student at UC Davis, and I’m going to transfer out. I’ve got admitted to the UMich, and now I’m waiting for UCLA. However, if UMich is a better choice for me, I don’t want to waste my time on UCLA: waiting is killing me.

Unique advantages of UMich:

  1. Longer History, Strong alumni network
  2. Quiet environment, beautiful scenery
  3. I want to change my major to BME. UMich admitted me as a BME student.
  4. Rich
  5. Unlike UCLA, UMich doesn’t require any GE courses before transfer (I personally don’t like taking GE courses. If I go to UMich, I’ll immediately drop the GE course I am taking this quarter)

Unique advantages of UCLA

  1. Entertainment
  2. Can transfer without losing any credit
  3. Warm(hot) weather
  4. Its BME ranking is slightly better than UMich’s (But if I got admitted I will enter this school as a chemical engineering student because I decided to change my major after the deadline of UCLA but before UMich’s deadline)

About tuition/distance from home: I’m an international student, so…
Other information: Definitely will go to graduate school.

Any Idea? Thanks for your help!

2

You may want to check transfer credit to see whether you may have to retake a lot of the courses you already took if you transfer to Michigan:
http://apps.engin.umich.edu/equivalencies/colleges/show/531
https://www.ugadmiss.umich.edu/TCE/Public/CT_TCESearch.aspx

1 Like
3

I graduated from Michigan, but live in LA.

Michigan is terrific, but it’s not for everyone. Like UCLA, it has great departments in just about every area of study. The school has lots of school spirit. Athletics are a BIG deal there. People who have no sports interest whatsoever end up going to the football games because it’s fun and the place to be on Saturdays. Ann Arbor is a prototypical college town, and there are so many restaurants and bars, much more than when I graduated thirty years ago. (We just visited in September, and my daughter was admitted, but isn’t attending). If you want the true college experience, there are few places that are better. Think of it as a bigger version of Davis.

But then, there is the weather. You won’t see much of the sun from January-April. After that, it starts to get humid in June, but school ends in May. And the engineering schools are on North Campus, which is a 10 minute bus ride from Central Campus. It’s newer, but it’s pretty boring up there, as all of the action is on Central Campus and South Campus (the athletics campus). If you go there, don’t live in Bursley Dorm, which is on North Campus. You’re isolated up there. And the whole alumni network thing is overblown. We are proud alums, but I really haven’t benefited from the network. I would say that’s pretty much the same wherever you go, with a few exceptions (maybe Harvard, Stanford, and Notre Dame). Don’t base your decision on this.

UCLA is beautiful, it’s in a big city, but Westwood is its own community. The school has a really good international reputation. The campus is relatively compact. And LA has a ton of things to do. The beach is 15 minutes away, the Getty Art Museum is across the freeway from campus, and lots of things to do within a 30-45 minute drive, depending on traffic. As for the weather, it’s hot from August-October. Then it cools off. It does rain here, believe it or not, in January-March. There are some years where it rains the entire month of February. But it never gets colder than 40 F (about 5 C).

Once you get tired of Westwood, you have the rest of LA and Southern California nearby. Once you get tired of Ann Arbor, you have…Detroit. Still, there is enough in Ann Arbor to keep you entertained for three years.

It’s a toss up. Can’t go wrong with either place.

1 Like
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^^^UCLA isn’t for everyone either. Westwood is its own city? To me it feels like an extension of Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. You make it sound like LA is far superior to a true college town. Older folks forget that many things they find exciting really don’t appeal that much to 18-22 yo kids. Ann Arbor caters to this age range and it’s students. It’s a true university community, without that commuter feel that many urban schools have. It’s big enough to not become claustrophobic, but small enough to be manageable once you get the hang of it.

5

“ Once you get tired of Ann Arbor, you have…Detroit.

Detroit is not that close by, still you can get there faster than the time it typically takes to get to the Rose Bowl. Detroit also has some very exciting attractions and cultural offerings. Most students are staying put in Ann Arbor, although weekends in Chicago and Toronto are very manageable.

6

@rjkofnovi, no, Westwood is a community within LA, not its own city. Is it a true college town? Not at all, but it’s downtown is better than a lot of college towns, but not Ann Arbor’s. Love A2, but after three years, it is somewhat limiting. So are Boulder and Madison too. Yes, UCLA and LA are better for graduate school than undergrad IMHO.

I spent time going to Lafayette Coney Island, the old Tiger Stadium, the Fox and Pine Knob for concerts, and of course, the mandatory coming of age trips to Windsor. Detroit can be fun, but outdoors wise, it’s no match during the school year for SoCal. If you are outdoors oriented, you have the mountains for hiking and skiing, the desert for adventures, the Central Coast, SF, Vegas, Palm Springs, Yosemite, Sequoias, and the beaches in fall and spring, all within a 4-5 hour drive.

In Michigan, you really don’t have much to do outdoors from November until late spring-early summer and by then, you’re back home. In 4 years, I never went to Lake Michigan, the UP, Harbor Springs, or Toronto. I didn’t have a car.

But I did have fun times in Chicago, that’s for sure.

7

Hey! I know you posted this awhile ago, and I hope everything worked out with your decision! Let me know which school you chose.

I’m reaching out because I’m currently a student at UC Davis, looking to transfer, and I’m wondering what urged you to make the decision to transfer. I just can’t decided if I should “stick it out” at Davis, or try somewhere new! Thanks