Great thanks @lkg4answers and @10s4life
Should be soonish. We just finished reading last weekend which took alot of time. Not sure how long the processing and baselining of the scores will be.
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Would the decisions be released over the weekend?
No decisions are not released on the weekend.
My D has a tough choice ahead of her. Got admitted to UCLA CS major and UCB L&S (CS intended). I hear great things about both programs but many people say Berkeley is couple of notches above other UCs when it comes to CS. Considering all other aspects equal, should she take CS at UCB (BA major) vs pre-defined CS at UCLA (BS major)? Thanks in advance.
@pvitty I think L&S at Cal is like that for everyone. They would slot her to take those pre-reqs and as long as she meets the requirements, she would declare CS by end of sophomore year at Cal. I would pick Cal over UCLA.
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Tough choice.
I would lean toward UCLA CS for the following reasons:
- Already admitted to CS at UCLA. Less pressure to try to get into the major.
- Your D still needs to meet the 3.3 GPA for the 3 prerequisite courses with UCB L&S with CS intended to declare CS major. 3.3 GPA at UCB for these courses 1st year is not an easy feat considering the competition.
- More balance college experience. UCLA students seem to be happier. Can’t beat the #1 dorm food at UCLA.
I would lean toward UCB L&S with CS intended for the following reasons:
- Better CS program once admitted to the CS major.
- “There is no difference in the CS course content between the BS and BA programs. The difference is in what else you take: mainly engineering, or mainly humanities and social sciences.”…A more balance engineer with the BA.
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Thank you. My wife and I are trying our best to help our daughter comparing all aspects, visiting campuses etc. to make an informed decision but it’s going to be tough to say NO to one of these prestigious programs!
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Ucla Vs Ucb for Mechanical engineering?
I hear you. I’m sure that your daughter will make the right decision and will be happy with either choice. We advised our son to apply for UCB CS instead of UCB L&S (CS intended) so that we don’t have to make this tough choice. If he can get into UCB CS then the decision is easy. He didn’t get in so he’s heading to UCLA instead. UCLA is his dream school anyway and we are very happy that he’s only 2 1/2 hours away as we are in SD.
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Thank you for the detailed response @UCSDMuiron89. We’re collecting inputs like yours to help our daughter make a decision that she feels good about.
@pvitty I think campus makes a huge difference. My S21 would’ve preferred UCLA any day of the week. He got into Berkeley but is likely to decline right now because he prefers the campuses and weather of SoCal. The one bonus w/ Cal is it’s so close to Silicon Valley and the world is your oyster there.
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Thanks @MommaLue. We are in South OC… so UCLA is perfect for us from proximity, travel flexibility, weather etc. My D loved the UCLA virtual campus tour (yet to visit physically) but was not a big fan of UCB campus although she loved the artistic look of the buildings. One thing she’ll absolutely enjoy if she decides to go to UCLA is the FOOD… She has already looked up the housing, clubs, food choices etc. and is clearly excited what UCLA has to offer on those fronts.
Another factor to consider is that if pvitty’s daughter plans to attend graduate school (MS or PhD) in CS later on then BS CS will prepare better than the BA as you have to take more engineering courses for BS.
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@UCSDMuiron89 Good point. Will keep that in mind. Thanks.
I agree with everything said there. Always go for the direct admit program. UCLA CS is prestigious enough and your kid won’t stress in pre reqs since they’re already in the major.
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Thanks @10s4life. Every input is helping us to get clarity on our eventual decision! It’s truly a blessing to be in this position to choose between 2 excellent in-state programs.
My D21 OOS was accepted to UCLA and applied for the Alumni Scholarship; the app said to check mark if she is of Greek descent, which she is. Is that because there is an alumni donor who restricts the scholarship be awarded to someone that meets that criteria?
Yes
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One more question: do the Alumni Scholarship reviewers also consider the essays from the admission app when considering potential recipients for the scholarship, or just the essays submitted specific to the scholarship app? We are really crossing our fingers for the Greek criteria. I can’t imagine there being a lot of students that fall into this category.