UCI vs UCSD

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Irvine
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I’ve been accepted into UCI for business administration and UCSD for undeclared social sciences (although I’m pretty sure I’m going to declare economics) and right now… I’m completely confused about which university to go to… Honestly, I feel like I’ll enjoy business administration more than economics at UCSD because although I do well enough in math and economics, I don’t really enjoy it.

As of right now though, prestige sort of matters in the community I’m in and that’s the biggest reason I’m leaning towards UCSD. Also, I heard that UCSD’s economics program is one of the best and so there’s more pride in that maybe? I don’t know. There’s a lot more hoops to jump through for UCSD though, as I’d have to get a good enough score in the math placement exam first and get good enough grades in the prerequisites to declare the economics major since it’s a CAPPED major (limited seats). Both the quality social life and location seems rather equal for both UCSD and UCI so they’re not decisive factors for me.

I’ve also heard that UCI is generally filled with more laid-back students so it’ll be easier to get a high GPA (this is just what I’ve heard, please correct me if I’m wrong)… Also, I feel like there’s more internship opportunities in UCI.

I’m more of a business student and I want to get an MBA in the future (or a finance master degree if I end up liking finance), even though my economics grades are just as good as my business grades. Sorry for rambling on, but at this point, I’m super confused about whether the prestige of UCSD is worth all the extra hard work (I’ve often heard that the UCSD students are more studious and competitive, and that their economics grade is a rigorous course). I’m also wondering whether there’s any other factors I should consider that could be decisive factors for going to one of the two schools.

I’d appreciate any input. Thanks!

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We are going through a similar situation. Have you visited both schools yet or attended admitted students day? UCI’s admitted students day is next weekend. If your intention is to attend graduate business school, I don’t think it will make a huge difference whether you attend UCI and UCSD. Most business schools are interested in what you’ve accomplished after you’ve finished your undergrad not so much as what school you’ve attended.

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@puggletruffle I was in a similar situation last year but with computer science (undeclared @ ucsd and accepted @ uci). I really wanted to go to ucsd (because of the said prestige and reputation. And because I am from SD, and wanted to stay near family), but I also really wanted to study computer science, so I decided to take a gap year and try again this fall. Over this time, I did some research, visited both campuses twice, and now that I applied again, I am leaning more towards UCI, and here is why:

  • less impaction means I can get classes I need easier and graduate faster ( = pay less)
  • I most likely will get to study exactly what I want
  • the campus is much nicer and cozier than ucsd’s in my opinion
  • people are more chill (I spent a year talking to people on reddit in both subreddits)
  • the environment here seems less stressful (40% of impacted ucsd majors are on antidepressants)

Not trying to convince you to choose one over another, both are excellent schools, just sharing my thoughts :slight_smile: