<p>I love UCLA because its in LA. I love the area. The campus is beautiful, it's sunny, there's grass to run around in and I feel like I will be happy. But I hate that it's a public school. I've gone to public school all my life and it sucks. The budget deficit is definitely not going to let me have as great as an academic experience than if I were to go to Northwestern. Now a few words about Northwestern. I love how you can get to know professors intimately as an undergrad and cross-register among their different schools. NU is also ranked higher academically. They have fewer students which makes me feel like there will be more focus on us and less competition to get classes, etc. But the campus seems socially dead and I absolutely hate the weather. I cannot live in the cold. I cannot be snowed in on a dead, lifeless campus for close to 6 months out of the year. Maybe I'm exaggerating. I'm not sure.</p>
<p>If anyone can give me any advice, I'd be very grateful. I need to decide soon.
Btw, I'm completely undecided for my major. I have a lot of interests: film, journalism, communications, and I definitely want to take a lot of electives to fulfill my interests and see what it is I want to do. Both schools are on quarter system, so it's good for that.</p>
<p>You’re going to spend the next 4 years of your life in college…why not choose somewhere you’ll be happy? </p>
<p>From what you said, you seem to love UCLA’s atmosphere much better…so go there! While NW is more prestigious and has smaller class sizes, if you hate the weather/area…you’re going to have a hard time to motivate yourself to work hard and it will reflect in your grades.</p>
<p>There was a thread on how UCLA budget cuts have affected education here (search it), but the general consensus has been they really haven’t affected us that much. Believe it or not, you can still form strong ties with your professors here by going to office hours…many students don’t take advantage of this and thus don’t get the “intimate” learning environment. One thing I like about UCLA is that it isn’t “bad” in any field…making it easier to switch around and see what you want to do freshman year. </p>
<p>IMO, the extra prestige of going to NW isn’t worth your happiness. When you’re happy, you’ll do much better.</p>
<p>source: NW was one of the schools I turned down for LA</p>
<p>First, congratulations on being accepted to both UCLA and NW. </p>
<p>Just a couple of thoughts that may help you with your decision. Only 10% of UCLA’s budget is state supported. So you need not worry about UCLA’s financial future. </p>
<p>Something else that you may want to consider is the 400,000 UCLA alumni. Being a Bruin is being a part of a prestigous, elite group. It is definitely something to think about. Also, research the corporations that recruit UCLA graduates, this may also help guide you. </p>
<p>Lastly regarding the size comparison, although UCLA is a large univeristy you will get what you give. If you choose to become involved (student groups, greek system, etc…) you will be surprised how small and initmate it really can be. Gatos is absolutely right, if you are miserable outside the classroom it will reflect in your performance - therefore potentially affecting your success after college. Don’t just think about the next 4-5 years, think about life after college.</p>
<p>K-12 public schools aren’t the same as public universities. The only requirement that K-12s have is that you live nearby in the area. A school like UCLA has similar requirements as many privates, and the reason it’s able to do this is because it’s at the same level as many of them.</p>
<p>There professors are paid very competitively, in addition to the nice weather, and overall prestige of the university makes for a very good university. Trust me, i was in K-12 public my whole life and it DOES suck, but you can’t track that onto UCLA just because it’s public. It’s just not fair.</p>
<p>As far as budget cuts go, many services haven’t been cut. Everything’s still up in the air for the university, but they’re trying their best to increase revenue and they’re doing a pretty good job at it.</p>
<p>I’d only go to northwestern over UCLA if it was significantly cheaper (like full ride at northwestern vs no support at UCLA) but other than that, you’ll experience similar things at both universities: both are filled with some of the most intelligent people you’ll ever meet, with whom you’ll form fond memories with, and quite possibly, life long friendships.</p>
<p>you seem to be leaning to UCLA. If you haven’t visited it yet, you should. If you really love it, you should be willing to take the chance on it. If you end up hating it, you can always transfer out. However, UCLA’s freshman retention rate is pretty high iirc (95% i think) so i doubt you’ll fall into this category.</p>
<p>Man, for the sake of the weather. Go to UCLA.
I’ve been living in Chicago for 4 years. I am getting the heck out of here. (to UCLA hahaha)
Anyways, if you decide to go to UCLA i will tell you more about winter horror stories, but if you decide to go to NW, good luck.
Prestige wise, NW is the way to go bud.</p>
<p>While NU is more prestigious, based on your interests, I think your success after graduation will be more guaranteed in UCLA. While Medill is fabulous, I think UCLA’s strong film program and LA’s opportunities for internships in film and communication is incomparable. :)</p>