UCLA definitely! Love the area, it’s so much better than the others! It’s basically in Beverly hills. also berkeley curves grades so it is much harder to get high grades for grad school. Congrats on all ur admissions!
Go to the school with lowest amount of costs/debt since Medical school is crazy expensive. Prestige/Name recognition is not what gets you into Medical school. Hard work, High GPA, High MCAT scores, access to Medically related EC’s and good Pre-Med advising are what you need from any school.
California is one of the worst states for Pre-Med since there are so many high achieving students competing for the few medical school spots.
Piggybacking on @confusedstudent827’s question as we are having a similar dilemma. My son got into both UCB (EECS) and Georgia Tech (CS). UCB will cost us about $67K. We haven’t received the aid letter from GT yet, but we are OOS and expect the amount to be $45 - $50K.
We know UCB EECS is one of the top CS programs in the country/ world and due to its location and connections, the internship and job opportunities are abundant. The EE part of the UCB EECS major is also a nice plus. Then there is the prestige and name recognition. But, we are questioning if the difference is significant enough to pay the higher cost.
Would really appreciate your insights and advice!
I can help you with UCB and UCD but I don’t know as much about UCSC.
UCD is flat - it is a biking school with a small college town adjacent to campus. Very happy and friendly students. Very collaborative. Lots of easily accessible resources (ex. free tutoring for chem, math and writing in each freshman dorm). It is an hour from Tahoe and an hour from the Bay Area. There are areas outside of Davis where you can go hiking but you would need a car/Uber to drive to them. @Gumbymom has a child who studied environmental science at UCD so she might be able to answer more about the major from a personal perspective.
UCB is urban and a little grittier. SF is obviously close but it is more of a weekend excursion for undergrads. Students are more intense. At Berkeley you need take the initiative and be independent and assertive enough to look for campus resources and figure out a lot on your own. You asked about CNR. I don’t have any first hand experience but when we attended BSE, they emphasized that CNR was smaller with easier access to advising. If your major is offered in CNR, I would take it there rather than L&S. You can always move to L&S later if you want. Berkeley has a lot of hiking in the hills above campus. Google “Berkeley trails” and you will see all that is available to you.
I should clarify. I don’t mean that it is far but it isn’t something that a student would do on weekdays or in between classes. It is more of a weekend day trip.
UC Davis, US Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley all have great Environmental programs but it does depend on what kind of emphasis you are looking for in the program. UCD used to be the farm school for UCB and they have shuttle for UCD professors and students between campuses.
Environmental science is a broad area so there is policy (where most of the good paying jobs reside with consulting firms), Marine Science, Hydrology, Resource Management, Environmental Restoration, Ecology etc…
UCSC would be good for a Marine emphasis, although UC Davis has connection with Bodega Bay Marine Center.
My son attended UC Davis as a Environmental Science and Resource Management major. His emphasis was on Freshwater Fisheries and is currently working as a Environmental Biologist for a consulting firm. He really enjoyed his time at UCD and for him was the best option.
Most Environmental jobs as a new graduate do not pay well in comparison to other majors. GIS is probably the best area to pursue for a good paying job and having Environmental policy experience is very helpful.
Depending upon what are your career goals, I highly suggest you get internships in the private sector to get some good experience prior to completing your program since work experience is the # 1 most important aspect of your resume. School name makes little difference so select the school that fits you academically/financially and socially.
Check out the career center at all the schools and see which employers recruit from each campus.
Best of luck with your decision.
How is UCB vs UCSB vs UCI vs UCSD for Psychology major
@phatdoggo you mentioned the UCB curves grades and hard to get high GPA. Is that for most of the UC Schools?
@Gumbymom do you know the answer?
@diane2350 that is a lot to put on the UCB thread. Why don’t you go to the “UC General” forum and post a new topic asking for a comparison of the four schools? You will get more responses with different perspectives that way.
@rudranil You are not alone, I’m in the same boat. OOS (from NY) admitted to ChemE at Berkeley and Georgia Tech and not sure which one to pick.
For those accepted, my daughter’s acceptance says it it contingent on her maintaining a 3.0 for her final semester. With Covid, her school has been closed for 3 weeks and there are rumors of them just passing everyone instead of letter grades. No work is being graded, it is all “enrichment”, is anyone else in the same boat? How do you think this will effect and acceptance?
She was accepted at SLO, UCD, UCB, UCI, UCSB and Cal Poly Pomona.
@RoseBud44 I don’t think your daughter and other accepted candidates need to worry since it’s an unprecedented global situation and universities will take this into consideration. All will be well.
Thank you - she signed up for several workshops and they say there are live q and a sessions, it’s just disappointing that the year is ending this way overall. It would have been nice if the letter had something in there about GPA. She is unexpectedly really excited about Cal. When we toured she felt it was too intense. But being home, she learned that she thrives on intense.
@RoseBud44 I was so excited when I saw the acceptance letter but I may turn it down to go to GaTech given I’m in the east coast and GaTech is little cheaper and close to home. Good luck to your daughter and best wishes!
Hi all,
Just wonder when is the commit date, in that the CAL Date is cancelled this year.
Thanks and stay safe!
@sunquebec It is still May 1st.
Someone up thread asked how the UCs will evaluate P/NP grades this semester. A statement was released today. It also says that they will accept AP scores in the same manner that they have in the past.
https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/response-covid-19.html
@lkg4answers That’s a great link with good news 
@gooofypirate, my son is 3rd year at EECS pm me if you have any specific questions. Funny we live in SD and he chose Cal over UCLA (computer engineering, regents for both) because he feels UCLA is too much like SD.
Has anyone gotten a Berkeley Admissions Package?