<p>I am kind of lost these days. The results of my application for American universities were a little disappointing. I wasn't surprised when all top 10 schools that I applied for declined my application, but it didn't feel good when four of the top 20 schools put me into their waitlists... UCB was my dream school, but it declined my application as well. So now, the best choice for me in the US is UCLA.
If all of the school that admitted me shared the same tuition and fees, I would know how to make the choice. However, when money is involved, the problem is more complicated. Hong Kong University gave me an offer with 8k US dollars per year. It means that the money I have to pay for UCLA per year can cover all four years' study in Hong Kong.<br>
What's more, I also recieved an offer from Mcgill University. Frankly, I prefer Montreal to LA, as I don't like the life in big modern cities. I can speak French as well, which may make my life in Mcgill easier. More importantly, it's tuition is also much cheaper than that of UCLA. The problem is that UCLA seems to have a better academic reputation than Mcgill. In LA, I may also have many opportunities that can't be found in Montreal.
I don't intend to give my parents too much burden because of my education. But they insist that the experience I will gain in the US is invaluable. So now, I don't know how to make the choice...Would you please give me your suggestions? Thank you a lot!
P.S. I am from China mainland, and my major will be environmental science.</p>
<p>any advice please?</p>
<p>HKU. Save your money for graduate school.</p>
<p>McGill is a terrific university and much cheaper for you than UCLA. There will be many opportunities there, just different ones from LA. First and foremost, after graduation it will be significantly easier for you to get a work visa for Canada than it would be in the US.</p>
<p>go to Hong Kong University.</p>
<p>LA isn’t full of opportunities. It has high unemployment even for Californians; in this environment, getting companies to hire internationals like you would be tough. Getting anywhere without a car is a huge inconvenience. LA is huge but not really “modern”, esp when it comes to public transit. I’d go to McGill or HKU.</p>
<p>My parents now insist that I shouldn’t consider too much about the money… So which is your choice if the tuition is not a criteria? What’s more, I am almost sure that I’ll go to a graduate school, so working opportunity doesn’t actually matter to me. So now the question is which school can offer me a better academic environment and a greater experience?</p>
<p>The estimated Cost of Attendance for an out-of-state student at UCLA for next year is USD 54,780 [Fees</a>, Tuition, and Estimated Student Budget - UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm]Fees”>http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm) You will have more transportation costs than are covered in this budget. You will need to demonstrate to the US consulate that you can pay every cent of that USD 54,780 or you will not get a student visa. Sit your parents down, and ask them if they have that much money in the bank right now. If they don’t where is it going to come from? What about the next three years? </p>
<p>Maybe your parents earn enough money to pay for UCLA, maybe they don’t. You need to find out though before you commit them to spending something like USD 240,000 just so you can study there.</p>
<p>My parents are confident to gain enough money to pay for UCLA. It’s just that I don’t want them to carry such a burden. However, they don’t think it would be a burden. They only care about how much I can learn.</p>
<p>Definitely HKU or McGill. In speaking of academics, both of HKU and McGill are stonger than UCLA, while, at least in my opinion. UCLA is good at its Math and finance related programmes. And LA is not a “mordern” city, it’s just big enough. Believe me, HKU and Montreal have a giant market for you to find internship or other things. If I were you, i would choose McGill…But you have to be prepared for facing the overloaded school work for the upcoming four years in McGill, this is what i heard form McGill forum. BTW, I got admitted into McGill for Physiology and HKU for B of med. I did not even apply for any UC schools…
Anyway, it really depends on yourself, you have to find the one that really fit you. I am just not into California.</p>