Already posted but wanted to post in a more general forum!
Deciding between UC Berkeley with Regent’s Scholarship and UCSB College of Creative Studies for undergraduate physics. Another factor is that I already live in Santa Barbara and know UCSB very well, but I’ve heard that you still get the college experience living on campus. I have also not decided if I want to go into graduate school or enter the industry afterwards.
Between these 2 Cal is the one for you, assuming you actually enroll at one of these pair.
On April 26th you were a prospective Econ major deciding between Rice and Vassar (http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/vassar-college/1770765-rice-v-vassar.html)
CCS is for people that are confident what they want a degree in and plan on going to grad school, the latter being mentioned on their website and I’m sure at any info session. CCS writes
Given that 3 days ago you were thinking of Econ, this doesn’t sound like you.
Also be mindful of the rules against double-depositing, in case your plan is to put in a deposit at a UC and one or more of the other schools you are considering.
@mikemac sorry for confusion, UCB v UCSB (this post) is for a friend using account. Thanks for the advice!
Ok, makes more sense. Still, for someone not expecting to go to grad school, Cal (esp. with Regents that gives priority registration, really a benefit that should be plated in gold) seems to offer a better choice. It would be a more normal college curriculum, if you look at what CCS students take compared to general undergrad physics at Cal. And if your friend does decide on grad school she/he will not be at a disadvantage coming from Cal provided they take part in research and get to know some profs for personalized recs.