I was accepted to UCLA with a $10,000 scholarship and at Berkeley with no scholarship, only university grants and loans. I’m going to be biology major and be a pre-med. Where will I have a better shot at actually getting a research spot? Are both equally cut-throat? I’m thinking academic competitiveness will be about the same, tell me if you feel otherwise. I like how UCLA has a hospital on campus and that housing is guaranteed for 3 years. BTW, I’m not a super liberal person and I fear that my conservative leanings will make me feel out of place.
To clarify-I meant that my conservative leanings may lead me to feel out of place at Berkeley. Thanks for your help guys.
I don’t think you can go wrong either way. They are both great schools. Isn’t a grant pretty much the same as a scholarship?
Well, the total out of pocket costs for my freshman and sophomore years will be about $15,000 at UCLA and $24,000 at Berkeley. After that, my brother will no longer be in college and I’m not sure how much the costs will go up. Btw, I live in Orange County and it won’t cost much to travel to UCLA vs. UCB.
To clarify, it would be $15k/yr. at UCLA vs. $24k/yr. at Berkeley.
If you are from OC and conservative, Berkeley might be a bit too liberal for you. UCLA will feel a bit more even to you. They are very very comparable academically. UCLA has really closed the gap very fast. But UCB is a bit crazier with grade deflation so it does create a bigger headache for premed GPAs.
Bear in mind that UCLA has quarter system - which is faster paced and allows you to study more topics (probably a bit less in depth than at UCB) and I think that, along with the UCLA hospital will be a better environment for a pre-med major. Finally, if you wish to be involved in research - I suspect UCLA will be better than UCB on this issue due to UCLA hospital etc but I am prequalifying that statement as a guess.
The 3 year housing guarantee is a valuable point especially given UCLA’s high end location.