Hi!! I just wanted a quick opinion to which is the best college to attend. I just got a huge amount of Financial Aid from FAFSA and am thus able to attend colleges out of state rather easily. Based on your opinion, which is the best college to attend in terms of liveliness, major choice (Computer Science), social life, Greek Life, etc.? Thanks for the help!
UCSC has a great computer science program and is a pretty lively campus, especially if you like the outdoors. However, the town of Santa Cruz does not compare to what the city of Pittsburgh can offer. Greek life isn’t really a thing at UCSC. Instead they do the college system, which has its pros and cons. Personally I think the college system is better at integrating students with the school since it includes everyone rather than a minority of students.
Have you visited either one? Since it sounds like you’re from California I would encourage you to see how you like UCSC. If you think it’s a place where you can spend 4/5 years, deposit. If not, Pittsburgh would probably be a better option.
Those are very different campuses and institutional structures. You would need to provide some more info. about who you are, what your goals are, your personal likes and dislikes, etc. – assuming costs are relatively similar. Each of these schools has respective strengths, but they are so different as to not really merit a “better” or “worse.” I’d probably lean towards UCSC, but if I were considering analytical philosophy, or medical sciences, to name two examples, then I would choose Pitt for its strengths.
Thanks for the replies. The main reason I’m really leaning towards going to the University of Pittsburgh is because it is right next to Carnegie Mellon University, the #2 school I wanted to attend. Because of its close proximity, I just wanted to ask if it would be possible for me to make a transfer (after 2 years) from UPitt to Carnegie Mellon considering that I attend UPitt and not UCSC?
I would not recommend attending a school you are not truly satisfied with, in the distant hope you may transfer to a more prestigious school in the vicinity. It would be a poor waste of time and finances. You would be better off attending UCSC, and if, after a year or two of performing well, you still have a desire to transfer into another school like CMU, then send off transfer applications. UCSC may even give you a slight advantage; CMU probably sees more than its fair share of Pitt and surrounding area applicants. Not as much so, with high caliber University of California-campus applicants.
But truthfully, you should settle on the school that feels best, and plan on completing your undergrad there, unless there are mitigating circumstances. You plan on becoming a much better student in the next ~two years than you have already been?
No, there’d be no advantage in attending Pitt to transfer into CMU, and understand that you’d have to pay full fare there even if by chance you did get in. it’s harder to get into a selective college such as CMU as a transfer, and it’s virtually impossible for CS. (Plus, i have a feeling way more Pitt students attempts this than UCSC students… and yes it’s virtually impossible for all of them.
A transfer from anywhere has 8% odds, ALL COLLEGES INCLUDED.
http://www.cmu.edu/ira/CDS/pdf/cds_2014-15/d-transfer-admission.pdf
Keep in mind that the “all colleges included” rate of admission at CMU is 25%…
A tie breaker: go where you’ll discover a new region and a new culture of the US.
