<p>Hi Guys,
Not quite sure if this is the correct board to post on, but I was curious to see your opinions on this school choice. I have been admitted to both programs for the Fall 2012. I have done a lot of research on this major at each school and have read that UCLA has the better program overall but Berkeley is sometimes perceived as more prestigious and studious. Which would you pick, and why?</p>
<p>Hi. My daughter is senior at UCLA and is a communications major. The main reason she picked UCLA was so she could do meaningful internships while attending school. New York and Los Angeles are the advertising and marketing capitals of the country. She had her first internship (at a PR firm) spring of her sophomore year. At that time she picked her classes so that she would be going to school all day Tuesday and Thursday and could do the internship Mon. and Wed. She studied abroad in Paris for the fall of her junior year. When she came back she did another PR Firm internship for that spring. Summer and Fall of senior year she had an internship at Chiat/Day, one of the largest and well known Ad Agency in the country. She is now just finishing up her 4th internship at another Ad agency. She has continued to go to school all day Tuesday and Thursdays while having these internships. These internships will be the reason that she will get a job after graduation. Either in LA or in New York, San Francisco, or Portland. The experience and contacts she has made are invaluable. People in the business respect a UCLA Communications degree.</p>
<p>These internships have been between 15 min and 30 min. from her apt. I am not familiar with Berkeley’s communication program, but I think a big part of your decision should be where can you best do internships while in school. Also, where would you prefer to live and work after school? It would definitely be easier for her to get a job in LA now as she has many contacts and both ad agencies would probably hire her. Had she gone to Stanford or Berkeley she might also have had internships in SF and could more easily work in SF (where she would actually rather live and work). We are from Northern CA and she didn’t want to go to school so close to home. Plus, once again, she knew LA would have more internship possibilities.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure there would be internship opportunities in SF. Would you be up for doing an internship while in school? Possibly driving to the City or taking Bart? Of course, both schools are great, LA maybe a bit more known for communications, but as long as you can get some really good internships while in school you should think about where you want to be for 4 years. She has absolutely loved UCLA and is very sad her time there is ending. It is a beautiful campus, with great weather and, for the most part, happy people. Berkeley is great too. Where do you see yourself? Have you visited both schools? You can’t go wrong at either so I would think about where you enjoy being for 4 years and where you might want to live and work after school. Both schools are prestigious. The comm. major at UCLA is very, very selective. Most of my daughters girl friends are pre-med and extremely studious. My daughter has a 3.9 gpa and is an honors student. Trust me, there are plenty of intelligent, studious students at UCLA. Good luck with your decision.</p>