<p>Hello guys, thanks for reading my post.</p>
<p>Here's my story, so I got accepted to both UCSD and UC Merced as a transfer student. However, my dilemma is that, UC Merced offered me pretty much full-ride, yet UCSD will only cover my tuition. </p>
<p>I kind of want to go to UCM vs UCSD because of smaller class sizes and less competition. I am planning to get a 4.0 GPA once my GPA resets (I have a 3.67 GPA currently, due to the classes I took in high school). But, I don't think I will be able to receive a 4.0 at UCSD.</p>
<p>My goal, after graduating from the UCs, is to attend MBA/MPA graduate program in NYU or other top business schools. Preferably ones in NY.</p>
<p>My question is: which school will be a better choice for getting accepted to the top MBA programs, after graduation? Is 3.7 from UCSD better than 4.0 from UCM? Are there stats/charts for UCs, like the ones in high school, in which it tells you how many students got accepted to harvard, UCLA, etc...? </p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>It depends on what you want to do. Merced is VERY small and the town nearby is tiny too . If thats ok with you , then go for it . But keep in mind UCM is like 2 buildings, it doesn’t feel like a full university.</p>
<p>BUT if your already leaning towards UCM and their giving you more financial aid then it sounds like the better choice . You should take a trip out to UCM first just to make sure your fine with being at a small campus.</p>
<p>thank you so much for your response,</p>
<p>I am a poli sci major, and I want to study MBA and MPA at NYU Stern.</p>
<p>I really don’t care about the campus size. What I am really worried about is if UC Merced can get me into top business programs after graduation… Do you think if I tried hard enough, like get a GPA of 3.8 or higher and good GMAT scores, I will be accepted to NYU Stern MBA program?</p>
<p>Since you are asking for advice, I would assume that going to UCSD is not a choice impossible for you in spite of the less favorable financial aid they offer to you. To get it straight, I think you should opt for UCSD if you do care about getting into a reputable MBA program.</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>but wouldn’t a 3.8-4.0 GPA at UC merced vs. 3.5-7 at UCSD be more desirable to MBA programs? This is because I am not sure if I can receive a high GPA at UCSD…</p>
<p>Quick question, why are you a Poli Sci major if your going to transfer into a business school .
UCSD has one of the best Poli Sci programs in the nation . So, infact, for your major its probably a better choice to go to UCSD . But nether UCM or UCSD offer business degrees ( excuse me if you applied to other schools that offer business degrees but didn’t get in ) .</p>
<p>Have you taken many business classes ?</p>
<p>Many poli sci majors, instead of going to law schools, they attend MBA programs. At least my friends did… For me, I enjoyed the economic aspects of Poli Sci, such as East Asian development, and the implementation of export-oriented industrialization, etc. That’s why I want to study MBA/MPA so that I can become a budget manager for an investment banking firm or work for the government, (federal reserve).</p>
<p>Also, is there a list of schools that people go to after graduation? My high school had this list, in which it showed how many students got accepted to UCLA CAL UCSD IVY leagues, etc.</p>
<p>My advice is go where you feel you can get the best GPA. I had a choice between basically all the UCs and chose UC Berkeley since it was the most prestigious. Now I’m getting mediocre grades and my once pristine GPA is dwindling so much I fear no med-school in the US will want me 
and I know if I had gone to another UC, like perhaps Irvine/Santa Barbara/Riverside, etc, I would be getting MUCH better grades. I love Cal to death, but i fear it literally will be the death of me. So from personal experience, its probably better to go where you feel you can succeed the most, rather than which is the most elite.</p>
<p>thank you so much…</p>
<p>so… it will be still possible to go to top business schools, graduating from UCM right?</p>
<p>Have you seen these?:
[MBA</a> Admission: What Schools Really Look For](<a href=“http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/mba-admission-schools-look.aspx]MBA”>http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/mba-admission-schools-look.aspx)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-school-mba/428214-do-mba-programs-look-prestige-undergraduate-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-school-mba/428214-do-mba-programs-look-prestige-undergraduate-college.html</a></p>
<p>Yes, it will be easier to achieve a higher GPA at Merced, and your class sizes will be much smaller. A full ride is a sweet deal (I’d have a very difficult time turning it down, especially since money is very tight for my family and me right now), however I’m giving my vote to UCSD. It will be harder – perhaps much harder – to get a 4.0 at UCSD but you will have many more internship opportunities in San Diego than you will Merced. From what I looked at, it seems like internships and experience are more important to business schools than GPA.</p>
<p>I see…
thanks for your insight, i really appreciate it.</p>
<p>however, internship isn’t a problem for me.
I will be interning for John Campbell of 48th District of California.
Also, I looked into internships opportunities at UC merced, they seem to have a good program.</p>
<p>Visit both campuses and go to the one where you feel more comfortable. Both campuses are University of California and neither is the flagship campus of the system. If you live somewhere that fits with your personality and you’re studying in a situation that fits with your student habits and strengths, it’s going to mean more energy, more motivation, and more success. That’s far more valuable than either a quarter of a grade point or the name of the campus, when neither campus is the flagship of the system.</p>
<p>thank you guys… </p>
<p>i really appreciate you guys’ help. but nobody seems to answer my final question: does UCs have charts/stats that tells how many undergraduate students go to graduate school and to which graduate schools they go to? My high school had it for universities and colleges they got accepted to.</p>
<p>^ I have not found anything online about total UC stats regarding undergrads entering graduate school. I did however find Berkeley’s Graduate Student Profile. It could address some of your questions, stat-wise: <a href=“http://grad.berkeley.edu/publications/pdf/berkeley_grad_profile.pdf[/url]”>http://grad.berkeley.edu/publications/pdf/berkeley_grad_profile.pdf</a></p>
<p>Those statistics are not available from the UCOP StatFinder and I very much doubt they are tracked in any comprehensive manner. Furthermore, UC Merced is such a new campus that even if all the data were available, the likelihood that you would be able to come to any statistically significant conclusions in a comparison of data between UCM and UCSD is extremely low. Only a very small number of students have graduated from UC Merced at all; out of those, even fewer will have applied to any graduate school already; out of those, an incredibly small number will have applied to any graduate business school.</p>
<p>Were you not aware that UC Merced’s first full graduating class was the class of 2009, two years ago?</p>
<p>Under no circumstances would I attend Merced before the school is accredited. That could happen soon, but I’m pretty sure it hasn’t yet.</p>
<p>Initial accreditation is expected in July 2011, [according</a> to the Office of the Chancellor](<a href=“http://chancellor.ucmerced.edu/node/57]according”>A Campus Update from Chancellor Leland | Office of the Chancellor). I suppose it’s possible the committee could recommend not to grant initial accreditation, but university officials certainly haven’t communicated any concerns about this as a possibility, and we’re talking about a system that has gone through this exact process already for nine other campuses.</p>
<p>If I were you, I definitely would not give up my offer to a great university like UCSD, but instead attend such an undeveloped university. I mean, the academic atomsphere does matter. By going to UCSD, your ambition of getting into a nice graduate school will more likely be retained and you plan of future career will be further developed in the right way. </p>
<p>Don’t care too much about how hard it is to get a high GPA. If you are to succeed, you should treasure every chance you’ve got and study really hard. If you do so, I think you will be fine even at UCSD.</p>
<p>What’s the point of this thread? Every time someone gives you reasons for why UCSD is better you shoot it down with “I see… but merced has…”</p>
<p>It seems you’ve made up your mind already. Honestly, in my opinion choosing UCM is the dumbest mistake you can make. If you wanted to go to merced, why didn’t you just go straight out from high school? Why spend 2 years at a cc just to go to the lowest ranked UC? Yes, UCSD will be hard but that’s the whole college experience. You’re supposed to be challenged and be pushed to and beyond your limits. If you want to go to merced just because it’s easier to get a higher gpa then you have no place at NYU in the first place. Think about it, if you can’t handle UCSD at an undergraduate level, what makes you think you can handle NYU at a graduate level?</p>
<p>^^^ exactly. why would you ever pick UCM over UCSD? the purpose of subsidized loans is for students like you.</p>