Huge congrats to your daughter! My daughter absolutely thrived at UCLA and although definitely challenging at times, neuro at UCLA provided tons of opportunities right from freshman year. It’s surprisingly a “small” major there - there were less than 200 when she graduated last June. She said that faculty was down to earth and highly accessible.
That’s amazing. Thank you for that info!!
Congrats! Is UCLA a much safer campus than Cal, for girls?
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My sister went to UCLA and I can vouch that it is (though we live in LA as well so the closeness may bias our perspective a bit), Westwood is a really safe area overall to the point where I’ve felt comfortable being there with friends or alone late at night(past midnight) I can’t say the same for Berkeley, and UCLA is also right next to 2 major financial districts(Westwood itself and century city a few blocks down and to the east) that help increase the level of security in the area.
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I don’t really know–but we are more accustomed to LA than Bay Area so it feels that way to her. They are both urban schools though.
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My D20 Cal student does not feel safe in Berkeley. She has, however, learned to take great care to be as safe as possible. She doesn’t walk alone in town at night, carries an alarm, never wears AirPods or headphones while walking in town, wears a crossbody bag, etc. Beyond going to Cal Day festivities in the daytime, I think it would be good idea for newly admitted students to stay until nightfall to see how they feel about the vibe downtown and on campus. My D20 picked Cal during the beginning of covid lockdowns, so she didn’t get to tour it. If she had, she probably would’ve realized the town wasn’t a good fit for her.
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I would also recommend newly admitted students sign up for UC Berkeley Warn Me online, if you wish to see live updates of crime in town. The alert this morning about 2 masked individuals shooting air soft or BB guns (cops are unsure) near the Clark Kerr dorms was particularly concerning for my D20 who lives near there.
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Thanks for sharing. I’m still waiting on Berkeley because it’s been one of my top choices for a while, but honestly I’m inclined to just move forward with UCLA given all that has been going on with with People’s Park, and increased crime in the Berkeley area. Students on the r/berkeley forum also seem to be quite fed up. I’ve never visited in the nighttime, though – I’m going to see if that’s something I can do soon.
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My daughter would have transferred, but after a year of Cal online at home, plus her AP units, she was already at junior status and was told that transferring to another UC would be difficult. And I don’t mean to disparage Cal - some students absolutely thrive in that environment. My D20 just would have been better suited in a more safe and collaborative environment.
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As I’ve said before, I don’t personally consider Berkeley particularly dangerous - but I am sure that comes from both familiarity with the area (Ive lived her about 17 years) and from experience in cities I consider quite a bit rougher - I did undergrad in NYC, some grad in DC - in fact, during my two years in DC I was robbed once at gunpoint and once at knifepoint - so my threshold for “sketchiness” is obviously a bit higher than many people’s…Anyway…
My daughter recently spent the night with another student in one of the dorms to get a sense of student life. They apparently made a 1 AM Taco Bell run…I asked her how she felt being out in Berkeley that late and she said she felt totally fine. It was all students out, places relatively well lit, not dark and deserted, just regular student night life.
But then she also grew up here, has lived her all her life, and is familiar with Berkeley and she also works in downtown Oakland, so she too probably has a higher threshold for sketchiness than people used to smaller towns and more suburban areas.
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Yeah, I’ve heard it’s a super cut-throat academic environment, esp. for the hardcore STEM majors. In many ways, it would almost be a repeat of my experience at my very competitive Bay Area HS, which I’m not sure is what I want anymore.
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It is important for students everywhere to be aware of their surroundings. Some schools are in very urban settings and have more crime than others. I have a relative living in Oakland (Piedmont area). This year, they had a drug dealer living in their apartment complex and the SWAT team arrived with guns drawn. Some students may be better equipped to handle these types of situations. For others, it is scary.
To be aware of what was happening at my kids’ schools, I followed the campus police/fire and city police/fire on social media (IG, Twitter). Most schools allow parents (in addition to the students) to sign up for their alert notifications.
Each campus should have a police log.
https://ucpd.berkeley.edu/alerts-data/daily-crime-log
And each city should have a police log.
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If anything, I would just suggest that “fit” be your overarching goal. Both UCLA and Cal are excellent schools so you can’t go wrong with either. Go where you feel like you belong.
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Yes, this was actually more my concern about Cal for my daughter, rather than the crime issue. I do not think she would thrive in STEM at Cal or even generally in L&S. I have heard CNR is a bit of a different environment, however, and I’m hoping that’s true. So far the students she’s talked to there have validated that view, but I guess you never truly know until you go and experience it for yourself. Of course, by then you are committed…
Right. Well, I haven’t gotten into UCB yet, so we’ll cross that bridge when/if we get there LOL
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Just two more weeks to go! But you seem to already have excellent options, no matter what happens with Cal.
This is why my oldest chose Davis.
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Welcome to UCLA’s community! There is an an active parents Facebook page that I have found helpful re: understanding stuff around housing, course registration, where to order a birthday cake for your kid’s birthday etc. I can message you the link if you’d like. Congratulations to your kiddo on making a decision. My son is really happy there.
Did I just hallucinate all that? lol
Is it hard to switch from L&S to CNR?