I’m in a big crisis on what school to go. I really need some advice, especially from students in these schools.
UCB: My major is Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). The school is known for this program and its competitiveness, which is why I’m afraid going would be suicidal. I’ve heard the phrase, “People come laughing to Berkeley and leave crying.” I’m good at math and all, but I’m not a genius. I have a great work ethic, but is that really enough for Berkeley?
UCLA: My major is Computer Science and Engineering (CSE). I really want to go to UCLA for the slightly-less suicidal competition and similar prestige. I also love the environment. Yet, my parents are adamant about me not going to UCLA because CSE is relatively weak in comparison to EECS.
UCSD: My major is Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). This school would likely be less suicidal than Berkeley but less prestige. My parents strongly prefer that I go to this school over UCLA, because it has EECS. I don’t hear great things about the environment, but I’m a big hiker so I would probably be able to make things work.
Other questions I’m considering:
What matters more, GPA or prestige of school? In an employer’s eyes, would B’s at Berkeley be worth more than A’s at UCSD?
Is there really that huge of a difference between CSE and EECS?
If I throw out Berkeley, is UCLA CSE or UCSD EECS a better choice?
If you chose UCSD over UCB and UCLA, why?
Have you visited? Sat in on a class that you’d understand, for instance calculus? The bottom line, it’s engineering, they’ll all be hard. Don’t underestimate yourself. Go to the one that speaks to you.
@eyemgh I have visited the UCSD and UCLA campuses, and I liked UCLA’s more. I feel pulled in many directions about what school to go to. I really want to go to UCLA, but my parents are telling me its CSE isn’t very good.
@coolweather Thank you for the links! I want to concentrate more on hardware. My parents say UCLA CSE is weaker because it concentrates less on hardware than UCSD. UCLA also isn’t “known” for its engineering school while UCSD is more established in the science department.
I think UCLA just eliminated Computer Engineering as a major but it still has EE. But I want to warn you, Ds friend at UCLA got his butt kicked in Computer Science and he finally switched to premed route and did better, got mostly As and Bs while he was pulling Cs in Computer Science.
@CuroHeights, that last statement is simply not true. UCLA has a well respected program.
Now onto the bigger issue, it really sounds like you are being advised poorly. If medical school is your top priority, engineering of any kind is a poor choice. It’s very hard to get a high GPA no matter where you go and you’ll have to take LOTS of classes outside the engineering curriculum to get the prerequisites.
This is very common fir parents to overly direct their kids to, knowingly or not, make themselves happy. I say that because if YOU don’t like your career, there’s no amount of money that will compensate for the dread of going to work everyday.
I also worry that you and your parents are planning around failure rather than success (go to the school where you perceive GPA will be easier, choose engineering as a backup to medical school, etc.). It’s really YOUR time, time for YOU to decide what you want to do with your life.
What turns you off about the UCSD environment? Many people (myself included) think that the campus is beautiful.
GPA matters more, but if you think a B student at Berkeley is an A student at UCSD, you’re in for a rude awakening; the difference in difficulty is not that dramatic.
There is a difference between ECE/EECS and CS/CSE. Do you want to be a hardware engineer or a software engineer? The degree you have determines that option.
UCSD has a solid ECE program that employers love and that has many local internship and research opportunities. However, doesn’t necessarily mean its program is better, nor does it mean that it’s better for you.
Definitely try to visit all the campuses! See which one you like best, because in the end, you only get one undergraduate experience.
