Hello,
I got into UC Berkeley and UCLA for L&C. Im very grateful but I’m having a very hard deciding between the two. Pros of Cal is that its very prestigious, great in statistics, and my brother goes there. Cons are that i am very scared of the location, crazy amount of competition, not 4 year housing guarantee, expensive as heck, grade deflation. Pros of UCLA are that im in love with the location, less competitive, better student life, and 4 year housing guarantee. Cons are that its not as good in stats and its in the quarter system. Im OOS so i would be paying roughly the same amount for both. I really want to go to an amazing ivy for law so I need great gpa and good research and internships. Which college is the best in your opinion for me?? I have till May 9th to decide.
Law schools are aware of the grade deflation at Cal, and will take that into account. I won’t recommend a specific school over the other, but I recommend you look at the ‘outcomes’ page at both schools to see what law schools their graduates typically go to
@pl82524 . . . there’s no housing guarantee for UCLA at the moment because of Covid.
But the administration will make a decision on in-person v. remote learning in the near future.
Prior to the pandemic, there was a three-year guarantee for incoming freshmen. They are building more dorms to try to make it a four-year in the future if Covid can eventually be eradicated or significantly contained seasonally. But that possibility may not come for years if at all. How it plays out in the short-term is still a huge unknown, much more related to the intermediate and long-term.
As far as Data Science (“DS”), UCLA doesn’t offer it. It offers Data Theory which incorporates more theoretical concepts into the major because the math department thought there wasn’t enough to DS coursework to be a major, besides UCLA being a heavily theory-based institution.
No they won’t. They do not care.
I would not pay OOS rates for a generic major at a UC. Just not worth it if you have law school plans. Prestige does not matter, GPA does. Save the cash and attend your instate public. (unless you are an international than flip a coin)
btw: you might check on UCLA’s housing situation. Both Cal and UCLA have announced that they aren’t even guaranteeing housing for entering Frosh or transfers (due to the need for social distancing).
Yes, I would be majoring in Mathematics-Data Theory if I were to go to UCLA!
At this point Cal and UCLA are my only options since they have given me extensions on SIR… Would you recommend UCLA because it doesn’t have as bad of grade deflation as Cal?
Terrible investment to attend an OOS public. I’d still check with your instate public as many have extended their application season given COVID. IMO, instead of a UC, better to attend a local junior college and transfer.
That being said, there is no evidence that UCLA’s grading practices is any more generous than Cal’s. So it’s a toss up for coursework. If you like Westwood better, go there. But note:
Gotta ask: How are you planning to pay for UC costs? If you turned down a more affordable home-state option, and are now regretting the cost and housing issues for these two UCs, pick up the phone and call that place you turned down. They might be more than happy to let you come.
@bluebayou . . .per your quotes:
I would hardly call Data Science or Data Theory a generic major. It’s pretty unique and produces grads who are greatly desired.
I already had told OP of the housing situation at UCLA. But if neither is able to provide safety for its students, then they’ll go to online learning. Every college in the nation is in the same situation. That shouldn’t make either less desirable unless OP is from the opposite side of the country.
I don’t disagree with your advice here, but I don’t know where you get the sense that OP’s family is in grave financial difficulty, maybe in his/her original post there was a complaint.
@pl82524 . . . UCLA is more collaborative than UCB, but it’s still competitive, meaning they study hard also.
Exactly. Quants have always been in demand, and a Data major is hot right now so Data science from his/her instate public will also “produce grads who are greatly desired”.
Online sure would make it less desirable at the OOS costs. It’s a value prop.
Facts not in evidence. Again, it’s a value prop. Now if the OP’s family is a top 1%'er, it won’t matter. But the OP did not indicate such, so I can only assume that the OP is at least in the ‘lower’ 99%, or more statistically likely <95% where money starts to matter.
Fair enough, but that’s not my definition of “generic.” This word to me means something that might be associated with Sociology or History, maybe not so much against the latter, because I believe it has value. “Generic” to me means lesser value and a very commonplace degree.
The cost of a university relative to its value to a student shouldn’t have anything to do its value to this same student when its courses have to be online. Just because YOU don’t value the education received by a student attending UCLA (or Cal) from OOS doesn’t make it have even less value when it has to go to remote learning. For example, how do you think Harvard students feel about online classes? They feel cheated, right?
This student has a brother attending UCB currently, yet he/she chose to apply and end up with UCB and UCLA as his/her final two. I’m guessing (admittedly) that there’s not that much of a problem with finances.
Let me restate this as I was in a hurry:
The cost of a university relative to its value to a student shouldn’t have anything to do its value to this same student when its courses have to be online [as long as all colleges have been affected]. Just because YOU don’t value the education received by a student attending UCLA (or Cal) from OOS doesn’t make it have even less value [comparatively speaking] when it has to go to remote learning. For example, how do you think Harvard students feel about online classes? They feel cheated, right?