UCLA or UCI? Really need help!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

Hello,

I just got into UCLA and UCI as an undeclared major (undeclared- life science at UCLA), and I’m going through the phases of what college to pick. Now, before any of you automatically say: GO TO UCLA. UCLA #1 ALWAYSSS, just please hear me out and please be open minded. I need as much suggestions and opinions as I can get from my friends, family, and you guys.

Here are some of my stats:

GPA: 4.23 (W); 3.80-4.0 (UW)
SAT: 1310/1600 (Essays 7,7,7)
5 ap classes total
Rank: 10/446
Essays: REALLY deep and personal and well written.

Describing my situation

What I value: To make it simple, I am an introverted person. I love to be independent and recuperate after a long day of event(s) or self work. I am not a social person, obviously, and I rather speak less with people. I am comfortable working alone most of the time, but can join groups if i needed/wanted to. (It does not mean that I don’t have any friends, however.)

Where I come from: I live in a very low income area, so therefore my parents work hard labor (mostly my dad because he’s employed while my mother isn’t.) I go to a low income high school as well, and teachers sometimes can’t teach right, so I find myself struggling more than I would’ve.

Challenge/ disorder: I have a stuttering issue since I was a little kid, and to this day it hasn’t gotten any better and I struggle most of the time to communicate. (I don’t stutter that bad, but I can’t control it is what I’m saying). This correlates to me being an introvert. by the way. I try not to let it get to me from participating and what not, but it’s hard sometimes, and I’m always trying to learn to improve my courage and communication.

EC/Volunteer: From ^ to this, my impairment made me skip two years of H.S doing absolutely nothing! ( And yes I totally regret it!) However, I made a huge improvement in junior year that I began as a mentor (leadership) toward youths and have represented a program during a summer that really challenged my impairment. (That I believe got me into all of these UCs), and have planned to continue to lead youths in the future. PLus, I’m not a sporty person so I didn’t join any sports. Clubs… ehh I joined some clubs, but weren’t passionate about it. Though my main point is that in the future, I want to restart my social and volunteer life during college and do as much as I can.

Major I chose: I chose undeclared (mainly in the life science) because I don’t know what I want to do with my life yet and I would rather explore every major and find the one that I like and find most interesting, and then commit to that major. However, I see that UCI’s undeclared offers you a whole rounded exploration of EVERY major rather than UCLA that focuses more in the science field (and Yes, I do like science and would love to have a career related to science, but like I said I wanna explore.)

Financially: Since I come from a poor family, money is a struggle for sure. I did not get any scholarships (regents or chancellors), so just a prediction that Im going to have to pay some money out of my own pockets. I calculated my UCLA net cost and it comes out to be 9000, while UCI is lower I bet. I live closer to UCI, so the cost decreases because I don’t have to dorm nor spend on meals, so that’s a bonus for UCI. (Yes, I applied for FAFSA).

What I fear: I fear that I’m going to be the underdog at UCLA because everybody else worked their butt offs to get to UCLA while I’m here with low scores and barely any leadership experience and sport, got in. Of course I’m going to struggle SO MUCH at UCLA, but everyone tells me the education is rich and many opportunities. UCI, however, is more “tamed” and have many people that are just like me (same stats and same social experiences), so I’m not alone. I also fear of leaving my only two parents behind. My father has some serious health issues at times, and my mom is unemployed, which makes her lonely most of the time at home.

Overall, I understand that UCLA and UCI are prestigious colleges nowadays, and have put confidence in my future, but I don’t want to be in a predicament that I will regret what I chose in the future, and have to scurry out somewhere else. And yes, I do feel bad sometimes that I got accepted while other well over-qualified applicants didn’t, but I’m just very blessed that they have confidence in me to succeed and improve.

So, what do y’all think? I am planning to visit both campuses too and see for myself.

Should I be more comfortable financially, academically, and socially by going to UCI
or
Should I be more open to the world and meet real leaders and geniuses at UCLA and TRY TO learn from them. (While struggling in academics and financially, but hopefully push through and succeed).

Thank you! I appreciate a response!

2

As an FYI, it sounds like you already subconsciously made the decision to go to UCI when you wrote this.

I feel that the only reason you shouldn’t go to UCLA is for financial reasons. I don’t know your financial situation exactly but if you truly can not afford it, then it would make sense to go to UCI. Besides this, your other issues do not seem as big as you think.

Here are some reasons you should go to UCLA. If the previous sentence or #'s 1-4 repulse you, then the decision of going to UCI should be easy to make.

  1. You are not going to be an underdog there because you also worked your butt off to get in. UCLA accepted you because they believe you are a right fit for their school.
  2. There will be introverts like you there (a school that is that big probably has more than one kind of person).
  3. Your future major is present in both schools unless you decide to change its subject entirely.
  4. EVERYONE fears for their parents and how sad/lonely they are going to be when they are gone.

OH! and here is a cheesy quote “If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.”

3

UCLA

IF you are low income and need consistent public transportation, you will have more options to the UCLA campus.

If you are a stutterer, you can probably access free therapy at UCLA as a student to help you with becoming fluent and more self confident.
http://audiology-speech.ucla.edu/speech-pathology-services

A large number of students are commuters which is difficult when having to turn in group projects. There are a LOT of group projects in college.

UCLA has a little bit more of EVERYTHING. The majors in life sciences are diverse.
ALSO, if you are a student and need to ask about medical concerns for your father/mother, you do have access to the Med Center with its latest research in everything.

My students and neighbors’, who attended UCI, were miserable there. I haven’t had any good feedback other than you get done in 4 years because people are desperate to get out.

You do not have to dorm in LA.

I think for someone like you, an “introvert”, you would do well at UCLA.

4

@“aunt bea” Thank you for your response, however, I think you said everything in the opposite fashion of what everybody else had said in my other posts. (I have made the decision of UCI btw.) UCLA (as an undeclared major) student find it very difficult to transfer from one major to the next (or even declaring a major in the first place b/c every science major is filled.) Also, I cannot commute to UCLA back and forth, and like I said UCI is much closer to me while UCLA takes an hour or two (depending on traffic), so yes I do need to dorm there. Lastly, UCLA has more extroverts than introverts. Everybody else that posted on my other threads have said UCLA tend to be more “hyperactive” while UCI is more calm and quiet. I think your students and neighbors that attended UCI were more hyperactive and chose the wrong college environment to be in. Like I stated above, I’m an introvert, and I think I should go to a more “introverted” campus like UCI. But thank you for your opinion!