<p>I'm torn between uci and ucb at the moment. at first, i was set on berkeley even though i have not visited it and dont know too much about it except for its prestige. but when i received my financial package from irvine, my first year at uci is basically free because of the scholarships and grants. and so I visited uci campus today, and i really like it. i'm from southern cali, so going to irvine won't be too big of a change for me. and from doing some background research on uci, i don't think it's a bad choice going to irvine. but still, the prestige of ucb really intrigues me. (i am hoping that visiting ucb in two weeks will help me make up my mind) also, i do like the idea of going someplace far from home. this is college after all, and i'm all up for being on my own and exploring a new city.</p>
<p>but after looking through the different threads in this forum, i guess that going to uci is not really that bad of a choice because of less competition and a higher chance of getting a higher gpa. and i guess that going onto graduate school, it's the gpa that matters more than where you come from. </p>
<p>i plan on going into psychology/cognitive science. so can you guys give me some insight as to how i should make up my mind? (besides visiting, since i already decided that i will visit ucb) This is such a tough decision and any advice will be extremely helpful.</p>
<p>Our CogSci and Psych programs are awesome.
UCI is more of a party.
UCI is a Chinese Fob magnet.
Irvine itself is one of the most right wing places in all of California.
CogSci and Psych are majors that generally lead to grad school; you will have a harder time getting into a good grad school from there. Financially, in the long run, Cal will be a better option for you.</p>
<p>I'm also doing Cog. Science / Psych... but I would suggest you look into the Cog. Science program at cal (Irvine doesn't even have one BTW)... because if you're like me, you probably wont want to do it... it's more "perception" based and honestly I went to sit in on some Cal students presenting their thesis for Cog. Science and they were just the worst things ever... just a *<strong><em>load of common sense (honestly this girl's thesis was "Online libraries allow people to access it anywhere" WHO *</em></strong>ING KNEW?)</p>
<p>UCI DOES have a CogSci division of psychology and their grad department is well ranked, and they have some great profs</p>
<p>There are two psych branches- the touchy-feely counseling side, and the cogsci/neuroscience/ bio based, more experimental/research oriented side. The research would have a lot of perception based stuff- like how Autistic kids perceive, etc. Mostly it is about how & why the brain perceives things a certain way, whilst the other counseling side is about helping people perceive and deal with life.</p>
<p>I do want to do more of the cogsci/neuroscience/bio based side of psych rather than the "touchy feely" side, although I won't exactly mind learning about both sides. do you think that going to cal would give me more opportunities to do research and learn as a group? I want to be able to have easy access to the professors, which, knowing that cal is the bigger school, would give irvine the better advantage? i dont know. </p>
<p>While UCI has less competition, the other side of it is that it also has less motivated students, meaning you would be less inclined to study, more inclined to party. Consequentially, your grade will go down. While Cal has more competition, the fact that everyone is working hard will motivate you to succeed and even end up with a high GPA.</p>
<p>Outside of like....Southern California, UCI doesn't have that huge of a reputation. Certainly not bad by any means, but few on the East Coast are probably aware that it even exists. It's a school on the rise, but it hasn't been around long enough to attract the types of students and professors that Cal does/can. If it were between UCSD and Cal, that would be a different story. I don't like getting caught up in "prestige", but in this case I think the Cal name will just carry you further. Also, UCI is a big commuter school with little school spirit. Cal is exactly the opposite, and also has one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation. Just some things to consider outside of your major. Good luck and congrats on getting into 2 great schools!</p>