Hello all. After a long college process I have limited down my choices to UCLA and The University of Alabama Honors college. I plan to major in business and go on to get a masters. What is causing the big predicimant is that Alabama has generously offered me the Presidential Scholarship that essentially pays for all my tuition (100K). However, UCLA has offered me almost no financial aid and I would have to pay out of state tuition (38k). Additionally I have to wonder if it would be better to be a big fish in a small pond (Alabama) or a small fish in a big pond (UCLA)? Also, will it be easier to get into a great grad school (let alone afford it) if I excel at Alabama or do mediocre at UCLA? And just how important is it where you get your undergrad degree vs MBA? I don’t want to disclose all my financial details, but essentially if I went to UCLA, I would leave with a good amount of personal debt to pay off. However, UCLA does rank considerably higher than Alabama in every online ranking. Does anybody have any experience with Bama honors? While I would absolutely love to live it up in sunny SoCal, I know I would have a great time at both schools, but as a wise man once told me “Ignore the intangibles. Make sure you don’t owe a house before you own a house.” All opinions and responses are appreciated.
You can’t major in business at UCLA. Also, don’t just assume 'Bama honors is going to be a cakewalk. UA is known for free rides and they are getting plenty of top students to attend there for that reason.
@rjkofnovi correct, I have been accepted to Pre-business economics at UCLA which I am indifferent towards vs a regualr business major.
Then I would go to UA. It’s still going to cost you of course. Room, board, and transportation back home. Wherever that is.
I think you’ve already used your sharp business sense to arrive at the answer.
Have u visited Bama? It’s gorgeous. The Honors College is welcoming, will treat u right, and you’ll graduate being acknowledged at the top of the class. Plus you’ll have a helluva fun time there. You could be a big fish to distinguish yourself for grad school admissions.
At UCLA, not only will u be a small fish; you will likely be plankton. It will be much harder to stand out from the pack for grad school admissions. You will literally be just one of 10’s of thousands of students graduating from the L.A. pool which includes UCLA, USC, Caltech, the entire Claremont consortium, Loyola Marymount, Oxy, Pepperdine, etc. And you will have spent a quarter of a million dollars for this “privilege”.
You infer that the UCLA campus is not beautiful, you’re right–it’s breathtaking. Now, campus beauty should not be the sole determinant in making such a lofty decision, but Westwood will stand second to none in beauty…
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However, UCLA has offered me almost no financial aid and I would have to pay out of state tuition (38k).
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OOS costs at UCLA is over $50k per year. Not sure why you listed $38k. Are you listing only 2 quarters??
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. Sunny California <<<
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Tuscaloosa is sunny as well…sunny blue skies with white puffy clouds.
@mom2collegekids 38k is the tuition. I have to pay room and board at both schools and they are close to equal so I just cancel that out as it is an inevitable expense.
UCLA does indeed have a beautiful campus, but that’s already well known. Not as many people are aware of how beautiful the Bama campus is.
If it’s a beauty pageant we’re talking about, Pepperdine’s Malibu view is the most stunning.
Oh man you’re right, it SHOULDN’T be the “sole determinant”. It should probably be the LAST THING HE EVEN THINKS OF WHEN MAKING HIS COLLEGE DECISION. Do you actually think this bright young man would voluntarily decide to throw away $200,000 and chances at a prosperous future just to see some overrated beaches? HELLO, we all have Instagram. Have you no sense of money? I HIGHLY doubt he or his parents want to be sending all that money to a college that’s not going to do hardly anything for him upon graduating. Growing up in Tennessee, I know southern schools get a bad rap, but the things I experienced at UCLA and the people I’ve met in the real world have showed me that you can make it from any school. Oh, and not a SINGLE one of my coworkers even considered the “breathtaking views” when making their decision. From my experience, UCLA is overrated. A great research institution? Sure, but it’s not heaven, especially when you look at the cost of attendance.
Moral of the story, folks: If money doesn’t mean anything to you, go to wherever it’s the sunniest. But if you have common sense, make the economical decision. (In this case, Roll Tide)
(Talking to boolaHI)
There’s a lot of threads on CC right now with “UCLA vs X.” UCLA is trying to entice students, especially OOS students, to attend so that they can pay a lot of money in tuition. Don’t fall for the trap!
Don’t get me wrong, UCLA was wonderful. And I (mostly) enjoyed my time at the university. But it was a combination of the best and cheapest university for me to attend. I would just go to Alabama if I were in your position. If you really want to visit Los Angeles, you can use some of the money you save to take a vacation here in the summer, or for spring break.
@02UCLAgrad if you take a breath, it was meant to be sardonic…relax.
I can certainly relate. First let me tell you that I am in no way trying to make your decision for you, but here is my opinion:
I was also in UCLA’s business econ program and an out of state student with no aid much like you. I actually ended up transferring because I began to realize a few things. I realized that I wanted to move back after I graduated, so I started to think that there was no point in me paying that kind of money, when I could pay half the price at my local school. If you know you want to live in LA when you’re older thats a diff story, but its definitely hard to tell what you want to do when you’re young. When talking about your future, what matters more is what you do in college (networking/research/extracurriculars) than the prestige of your school. Especially if you want to get a masters degree, your grades will matter much more. I can tell you that it will be much harder to earn your grades at UCLA because business economics is the most impacted major, where you will take a series of gnarly weed out classes. Also, UCLA is on the quarter system, and if you have great friends back home, you will sadly have to see them much less.
Those are just my 2 cents. Don’t get me wrong. Being admitted to UCLA is an a wonderful achievement. I loved UCLA, it was a great school, I had good friends, and loved the weather, but I simply did not think the 55k tuition a year was worth it.
OP what do you parents say?
Alabama has indeed been throwing money at these students left and right to attend U of A, however there are other factors you have to look at not just how nice the campus/weather is and sports culture. UCLA is one of the best pulic universities in the country and no doubt that you will be around students who are equally driven and accomplished ad you are and will be hard to stand out. Take a good look at what the program has to offer, what companies recruit of campus, internships at top companies (both in LA and NYC) and so forth. U of A does not have that caliber in the students it attracts and reputation. It is going to be a huge culture shock going form SoCal to the deep south and would you be comfortable.
UAlabama also has two great programs for you to look into:
http://manderson.cba.ua.edu/academics/departments/mba_program/stem_path_to_the_mba
http://culverhouse.ua.edu/academics/programs/business_honors_program/
Frankly, it shouldn’t be a contest. You’ll be in a terrific honors college and you’ll save a lot of money, but you’ll also have lots of contact and networking opportunities.
@SOSConcern my parents are willing to let me go to UCLA. However, they would prefer not to stomach the high priced tuition, as I would also prefer not to go into debt myself if there is a better school available. My older brother is on the swim team at USC, so they know the california routine.
@Dj22state I have always wanted to live/work in California (visited many times), however one concern I have is that if I attend Ucla I will be a “plankton” (no offense taken) as @GMTplus7 put it, and will end up not getting into any good grad schools and have to move out of cali to attend somewhere else or attend a sub par grad school in California. I suppose maybe if I went to Bama I could save the money on undergrad and then jump ship to California (or who knows maybe I’ll fall in love with the south.) I guess my biggest concern is the value of my Alabama undergrad degree; will people look down on it compared to one from UCLA? Will it hinder me in the business world? In some of the other threads a lot of people mention “the look” you get when you tell people you attend Alabama, and it really has me freaked out. I don’t care much what others think, but I certainly care what my future job interviewer does.
Ultimately, employers don’t really care that much. They care about your internship, your skill set, any research experience, good grades (but only insofar as it shows work ethics, most don’t distinguish between 3.4 and 3.6, for instance) with a good set of classes. The opportunities you’ll have at UA’s Honors college simply can’t be compared to being a “plancton” at UCLA.
Do a GREAT job at UA, enjoy your time there, save your money, and go to grad school in California. Much better anyway, since the UCs are a much better experience for grad students!