<p>I got rejected by Cal, so my choices come down to UCLA and UCSD. I'm a political science major hoping to head law school right after I get my BA. I've tried looking online for political science undergraduate rankings but to no avail. Anyways, I also wasn't sure where to post this. I'm just looking for advice and honest opinions about which school to attend. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>P.S. I'm a transfer student. :)</p>
<p>UCLA for sure
They have a top 10 program for poly sci</p>
<p>UCSD is known for its engineering and sciences, NOT poly sci</p>
<p>PLus UCLA is more prestigious with a a more vibrant campus life</p>
<p>"UCSD is known for its engineering and sciences, NOT poly sci"</p>
<p>Nope, that's wrong...UCSD in most rankings is close to or ahead of UCLA. Check the recent U.S. News rankings. I've also heard that there comp. gov. is one of the best in the nation.</p>
<p>As a poli sci (notice everyone that there is no "y" in poli sci) grad and once-hopeful PhD student (now looking at a master's in public policy or East Asian Studies to first gauge my interests), I have to say that UCSD should be high on anyone's list for political science studies.</p>
<p>However, I'm of the opinion, and so are scholars I have spoken with at other top universities, that UCSD's program is largely dependent on the work of Gary Cox to inflate its rankings. If UCSD lost Gary Cox (they won't) then they'd lose a lot of their ranking.</p>
<p>I'm not bashing the program. I largely considered it for grad school to begin with. I'm suggesting that both programs be evaluated fairly.</p>
<p>UCLA offers a better breadth and overall quality of scholarship than UCSD, but it has a serious issue with how it handles its more "hands-on" programs like dept. honors. For whatever reason, UCSD is much better at kicking their students into gear and getting them to f'in work. UCLA is a much more laissez faire program, and doesn't really expect it's students to do much but get done. The resources are there, they're just not shoved in front of you like at UCSD (which offers less, but pushes them better).</p>
<p>One more thing: There's a reason why undergraduate programs aren't ranked, b0nifide. Nobody cares. You're an undergrad. Welcome to college!</p>
<p>both UCSD and UCLA are good for poli sci. UCLA does send more of its graduates to top law schools though, since that's what you were looking for. whether or not that correlates with the strength of the poli sci department is debatable.</p>