UCLA or UCSB Geography

[cansashie]

Hey guys, I was admitted into both UCLA AND SB but I can’t decide which school to attend for the major? Any suggestions? Thanks.

[goldencub]

UCLA is ranked 6th in the world, whereas SB is ranked 39th (rough numbers from only one website that are a year old and may not be completely accurate, but it still gives you an idea).

At the end of the day, it all comes down to where you think you’ll feel most at home. If you care mostly about prestige and the quality of the program (which I admit I can’t attest to the latter), go for UCLA. If you really like Santa Barbara for some reason, well, there you go.

I’d pick UCLA, but that’s completely my opinion.

[Cayton]

Learn as much as you can about both campuses, and if possible, visit them. See which atmosphere you like better. Both are excellent schools.

[mikemac]

Either school is fine. Don’t know where the ranking in post #1 came from since no link is given, and without knowing the source I wouldn’t give it much credence.

UCSB Geography is internationally recognized as one of the best Departments of Geography in the world, and we have been ranked among the top doctoral programs in the U.S. by a variety of indices for the last 15 years. Back in 1995, The National Research Council ranked us number 4 in the nation, based upon reputation by peer review. In its latest (2010) Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs, they used a new methodology designed to show the full complexity of the data and the difficulty of giving a unique ranking, and each program and department was given a range of possible rankings, depending on how much weight was given to the different components used in the ranking. Accordingly, our Graduate Division rated us number 2 in the nation, a ranking based on a “sort by S-weight 5th, then 95th percentile rank,” while Cornell University concluded that UCSB Geography is number 1, using a ranking “sorted by R Mid.”
http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/about/awards-and-rankings/

While some might argue that this means the same faculty that are running a top doctoral program will be more than capable of running a good undergrad program, I suggest you ignore the rankings. Both are great schools and can teach you enough about geography. Look at strengths of the dept if there is an area you know you are interested in such as GIS. Pay attention to fit; which school would you rather be attending.