UC Berkeley w/ Regents Scholarship or UCLA as PS major

State Forums
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<p>I was accepted to both schools as a political science (pre for ucla) major. I'm having a hard time debating which school I should go to because I feel I like the environment at UCLA more than at Cal and I think environment plays a huge role. Not to mention, UCLA is practically at the mecca of everything.</p>

<p>Most people that don't know me that well (teachers, counselors, etc.) tell me to go to Cal, while some of my friends are telling me to go to UCLA because it is a more fitting environment for me considering location and the social scene. I'm not sure if I will handle the competitive nature of Cal students, but then again, it may not be that different at UCLA.</p>

<p>From a financial standpoint, Cal would make sense because I do have significant financial need. However, I'd be taking out about 11 grand in loans a year for UCLA, which may be worth it if it's the right choice. After I graduate, I really want to help out my family financially, so having to deal with students loans is not ideal.</p>

<p>I visited both campuses and I do prefer the location of UCLA (although, I hate the longer drive and traffic). Cal students do not seem as social as UCLA students and the campus overall was pretty dead when I visited on Cal Day aside from where most of the informational booths at Sproul where. I went to the AAP Scholars Day at UCLA and most of the people seemed a bit self-centered and only interested in where I got into and things of that nature, while when I went to Cal I mainly hung out with someone I knew from high school that currently goes there and everyone seemed laid-back for the most part.</p>

<p>As far as my plans, I'm not set on being a political science major, since I'm not sure on what I want to do after school. I'm also considering double majoring in economics or switching to it. I'm looking into getting involved with Foreign Service. Law school may be something that I want to do, but I never really considered it before this year.</p>

<p>Thanks for any advice/opinions you have. I know this is a somewhat odd problem to be having, but I'm having a really tough time making this decision. My head is saying go to Cal, but my gut is telling me that UCLA might be the better choice.</p>

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<p>I’m in the same position as you. I have to decide between Cal, UCLA, and Cornell. I went to Cal Day and AAP Scholars Day. As of now, I’m leaning towards UCLA, mainly because it’s close to home and because they are offering me the most money. I’m a political science major as well and like you, I haven’t considered law school until recently. Cal and UCLA’s environments are extremely different. I am a ‘die-hard’ liberal, so it would seem as if I would love Cal but it was the opposite. When I was there, I just felt tired and I felt as if I would get bored after 2 years there. I do agree that UCLA students did seem a bit stuck up but out of 26000 students, it wont be hard to find people like yourself. I mean for our majors, Cal would be a better choice and if you have to take out loans for UCLA then maybe you should go to Cal but if you don’t see yourself happy there, then go to UCLA. Best of luck.</p>

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<p>As of now, I’m leaning towards Cal even though I feel as though I will be a bit less happy there. I’m honestly mainly leaning towards Cal because I’m pretty split and because if I plan to attend grad or law school it seems logical to save as much money now. I don’t know how much you know about the Regents’ Scholarship, but it says it meets “all unmet financial need”. Apparently networking with the other Regents’ Scholars is supposed to be another benefit, but I’ve heard from some that there’s not much networking going on. It may be just that those people haven’t taken advantage of the services offered by the Scholar’s Association. </p>

<p>I’m afraid that I may tire of Cal after a while like you said. I’m considering joining the Rally Committee, which sounds like it will be very fun.
I agree about being able to find more laid-back people at UCLA. It would be pretty unfortunate not being able to find good friends in such a large student population. I’m a little worried about getting a bit too distracted at UCLA with a seemingly vibrant social scene though. Thanks for your input, I really appreciated it and I hope you will be happy with your final decision!</p>