UCLA or UC Berkeley

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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<p>@Tik1127‌ thanks for that! I guess it really all comes down to regret for me. I don’t want to look back in 20 years and think about all the things I could’ve done had I done things a little differently. In terms of Cal, I’m not too worried about going far away from home; it’ll be like an adventure. I’m not much of a city guy myself, I’d rather hit up some good bookstores or get a sandwich from a cafe than anything else. I probably wouldn’t be able to fully take advantage of the social aspects of UCLA that make it so desirable. I just worry that Cal will be too much to handle. Thank you though, I hope the decision becomes easy eventually and that you have a great transfer experience.</p>

<p>@randombookie‌ haha my username is rather fitting for this current dilemma. When I made the name, all I was thinking was “I’d be happy if either one accepted me” now I almost wish one had rejected me so that I didn’t need to make the choice (but not really of course). I hear change of major isn’t too bad for L&S, you just have to finish the major pre-reqs.</p>

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<p>@randombookie It is 216 quarter units, I think you can an extension if you are close to completing your major, but if you want to take different classes/double major I heard the don’t grant exceptions. My cousin has been at UCLA for 3 years, but he didn’t get to complete all the premed classes because of the cap. I’d say contact both schools and see what your options are. </p>

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<p>@CSB111 or @CalBruin, thanks for the info! Do either of you guys know if I can change it before I start the fall semester? would really like to avoid going on the path of a major I don’t intend to pursue anymore XD</p>

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<p>@randombookie‌ For Berkeley I believe you can do that at CalSo (orientation)</p>

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<p>It’s comforting reading through this thread and seeing that I’m not alone. Many of your posts look word for word like something I might have posted.</p>

<p>I’m also having second thoughts about the major I chose. I spoke to my admissions officer at Cal and he said there’s absolutely nothing I can do to change it. I wanted to change from one engineering major to another, that may be a factor.</p>

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<p>@AngelJ‌ There’s quite a group of people in this situation so it’s good that we have a community like this :slight_smile: it is harder to transfer majors within the school of engineering. Would you be able to do that at LA?</p>

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<p>@CalBruin, UCLA doesn’t take a hard stance like Cal. It seems possible at least at UCLA. But my conversation with a counselor wasn’t encouraging. He said, “We rarely allow transfer students to change majors, especially to majors that are as impacted as CS and CS&E.” and that my chances of changing majors are “very slim”.</p>

<p>At the moment I’m considering waiting another year and reapplying, which is depressing. :(</p>

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<p>@AngelJ, do you live near Cal? I want to talk to a counselor about major changing, but I live very far away. </p>

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<p>@AngelJ‌ :confused: I doubt you’ll be able to transfer majors at either institution without a bunch of hassle, if at all. If you really don’t want to do the type of engineering you were admitted for, it may be in your best interest to wait a year and reapply into what you want to practice. </p>

<p>@randombookie‌ you can always call/email the counselor listed on your app</p>

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<p>@randombookie‌, I live in SoCal. As @CalBruin mentioned, I’ve been talking to counselors and admissions people on the phone or through email.</p>

<p>@CalBruin, I think you’re right. Hopefully I can convince myself to stick with Mechanical Engineering and go to Cal. Otherwise, it’d be a year of torture while I wait and hope to get admitted again.</p>

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<p>@angelj Are you sure it will really be a hassle? I applied as an unrelated L&S major and I am switching to econ…Maybe it is different with engineering, but I thought Cal was pretty lax about switching majors, other than Haas. </p>

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<p>@JewBacca, it seems like it’s just different for the school of engineering. On the myBerkeleyApplication site this message was posted under my admission decision:</p>

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<p>Not sure if you have posted it before, but what are your stats? </p>

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<p>Just SIR’d to Cal :slight_smile: I’m super excited to meet you all next year! Go bears!</p>

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<p>@CalBruin‌ Congrats!! What was your deciding factor (curious because I’m in the same position)? :)</p>

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<p>@nowworried‌ thanks! It really came down to how I wanted to set myself up for the future. I figured the next 2 years of undergrad are going to fly by and I wanted to be in a position to get the most out of my experience. I’ve been enchanted with the idea of going to UCLA since I was in elementary school. My dad told me, when people picture college, they see UCLA; it has amazing academics, a beautiful campus, and a vibrant campus lifestyle. I never really thought about Cal because to me it was just something that was beyond my reach.</p>

<p>After being admitted to Cal I thought long and hard about what I wanted these next two years to be like. I thought about which institution would better give me the chance to continue to challenge myself and get an education that goes beyond my classes. For me, UCLA feels safe, if I went to LA I’d be able to go home on the weekends and I would have a strong support network right from the beginning. It’s kind of strange but I realized that I kind of want to experience life in a whole new setting. To me, Cal feels like a place where I could start over and learn so much about the world and myself by being so far from home.</p>

<p>In terms of academics I can’t really speak to either one because I’ve never attended them but as I’ve been a student at UCI, the idea of the semester system is really appealing. I really like the quarter system because you have the chance to take so many interesting classes. It feels like you can get a sampling of just about every discipline you can imagine. The thing is every time I’ve started to really get into the groove of a class, it end. I’m looking forward to studying topics in greater depth and getting to know professors for longer than 10 weeks at a time.</p>

<p>There are so many other reasons but I would feel like a total fake if I didn’t admit the prestige element. Yes, UCLA is an amazingly well known and respected school. It is the dream school for he vast majority of students in Southern California and arguably all over the country; I know it was mine. But, Cal is just different. In California, the two schools are regarded somewhat similarly but, once you step out of the state or the country everybody knows Berkeley. People get riled up when the prestige card is played, they say that rankings are silly or that it’s dumb to base your life choices on things like that but people really do care about these rankings. I now have the opportunity to be a student at the number 1 public school in the world. Would I have a lesser education at UCLA? Probably not. In terms of prestige it really is about this numbers game, who is to say that LA or Berkeley has a better program? Nobody could really make the judgement on that but people do know which school is ranked higher.</p>

<p>I’m going to Cal because I can. They’ve extended this opportunity to me and I feel like I would regret it if I didn’t go. I love UCLA so I’ve made it my goal to go to UCLA for graduate school. This poorly written post can’t really sum everything up but I do feel like I’ve addressed some of the big reasons why I’ve chosen Berkeley. Good luck to you with your choice and I hope you do great wherever you go.</p>

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<p>@CalBruin‌ Thank you so much for your long and thoughtful answer. Sometimes I’m amazed at the lengths that collegeconfidential users are willing to help other people and express their opinions and concerns.</p>

<p>I can definitely rationalize your points and they will help me with my decision! I’ve also thought about all these things, especially the prestige at Cal - which both attracts and intimidates me. I’m very happy that you’ve made your decision and I bet your conviction has become stronger after SIR-ing. I hope for great things in your future as well! </p>

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<p>@nowworried‌ I’m glad I could help! Collegeconfidential is kind of awesome because we have this great community here that thrives on helping each other out. I totally agree with you though, I was crazy intimidated by Cal’s prestige, I still am but I feel like if I thought I’d be successful at UCLA then there’s no reason why I should feel any less confident for Cal. Let me know what you decide! Either way it’s a victory </p>

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<p>The traffic people complain about LA is really nonsense. Don’t get me wrong, when you are stuck in traffic, it is hell on earth. But you have to learn to beat rush hour. </p>

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<p>Congratulations @CalBruin‌! I am happy you were able to come to your decision (:</p>

<p>For me, the decision is getting harder the more time I spend trying to figure it all out. UCLA and Cal both offer me things that I feel appeal to different aspects of who I am, trying to decide what part of me is more important is hard. </p>

<p>Warning: what is written below is an irrelevant and long winded rant on why it is so hard for me to make a decision. I decided to write and post it because it isn’t something I’ve spoken to anyone about and I feel the need to release it into the universe. </p>

<p>UCLA, it gave me good vibes. It surprised me. It felt right walking around the campus. Impressions aside, UCLA also represents something else for me - the potential to be involved in the world of music. Music has been my passion since I was a kid and for a long time I was involved at things in school, my parents couldn’t ever afford to get me lessons in anything so I just kept going at it in school until the lack of familial support and the ridicule of my peers kind of made me break. I always wanted to move to LA as a kid because that is where I always heard about a lively music scene filled with gigs and a lucky couple of people getting signed but it never happened. I quit music for a long time, for years I didn’t sing, I didn’t try to pick up an instrument; however, it was during this time that I began to write. I think those long years where I kept the music out of my life were filled with a sadness caused by a deep regret that I was too young to be having. I didn’t start up with music again until my junior year of high school and the shift was slow but I eventually began again. By the time I reached CC I really thought I was going to go for the music at university but I let “life” get in the way. I did manage to take one guitar course, one piano course, and a year of a vocal course, but there was so much more I wanted to do in music but I never allowed myself because once I saw I could get a 4.0 I was determined to keep it. I buried myself in school to try and forget or let go of my passion for music because I felt it was unfeasible. I didn’t have the money or the talent to take it anywhere. Fast forward to now and for some reason, I feel like university is almost like my last shot at the music thing, even if all I do is take out the trash at a record label or fill up someones coffee at a radio station - I feel like, if I don’t give this music thing a go now, it might be too late afterward. Music, it really is everything. I know it’s cliche to say, but what other word can I use to encapsulate the passion I feel for it? It is everything. And I suppose UCLA, being in LA, represents my last chance to give it a go and not grow old with the regret that I never gave music a try. I’ve been living with that regret for a long time.</p>

<p>The problem with UCLA is, would I be going there for the right reasons? Would I really get involved in music? Would I get my dreams completely crushed and decimated? If I go to LA am I sacrificing a more stable future? Would I mesh at all? How would I live so far away from home? And, if I go to LA - how could I walk away from Cal? People dream of going to Cal there entire lives and I took that spot from someone who really wanted to go. How could I do that and then throw it away?</p>

<p>Cal, where to start with Cal? I was skeptical of even applying. I think I just did it to see if I could get in. Then I went to the campus and my goodness it is a beautiful place. The architecture and the views from the bay, it is magnificent. They only accept about 20% of people and I am one of them. It is incredible. Cal represents a part of me that is much more intellectual. I like school, I like to be challenged, I like to learn and grow. I think that could happen for me at Cal in a way that has never been possible before. If I ever wanted to get a job overseas, which is something I might consider, I can put a university that will be recognized on my resume. Cal has great staff and they have a library just for anthropology students! I’m also a bit of a museum junkie so the fact that they have an anthropology museum, a museum of vertebrate zoology, a museum of paleontology and a botanical garden! It is pretty flippin’ awesome. From my understanding, if I go to Cal I will have a decent amount of opportunities to just go out and be in nature for a little while (Yosemite anyone?) which is something I am pretty sure I will not be able to get out in LA. I know it sounds corny but nature, being in a “natural” environment, is important to me and my peace of mind. Cal is also super close to SF and I have always wanted to get to know and explore the SF area because of how unique it is. I like Nor Cal, I grew up in Nor Cal. I like the vibes up here. I like that I am close enough to home that if I need something I can go back but not so close that I would be expected back every weekend, I feel like it gives me a great balance. Going to Cal would make me more confident when applying to Stanford to get my M.A. in environmental anthropology. I also feel like the people I would met at Cal (or in the general Berkeley area) would be people I could vibe well with. Cal gives great opportunities found in urban environments without the overwhelming city feel. I think I could see myself living in Cal or the greater bay area for a while after graduation, I don’t think I could see myself (permanently) living in LA. Cal appeals to the person who I have grown into these past couple of years. (*bonus: I saw a ton of cute guys working at the science museums when I went to Cal, not a big factor, but I’m trying to make the rant more lighthearted).</p>

<p>The problem with Cal is, would I forever hate myself for not going after my dream? I often question if I even want to go to grad school, or get a degree, or if I want a “job,” I feel like I would advance in that direction if I went to Cal. Would I be consumed by the pressure to live up to the standards of the incredibly intelligent student body? Could I compete? </p>

<p>How do I decide which part of me is more important?</p>