<p>Guys, please help me!
I cannot decide which uni is right for me, and my time is ticking away!
I am currently admitted in UCLA- Mathematics Economics
UC BERKELEY- Statistics
and UMICH- Statistics</p>
<p>my future goal is to work as an actuarian. I am planning to take those exams.<br>
Can you please tell me what you think is the best university with the best major and the reasons for choosing them? Thank you guys so much.</p>
<p>Michigan seems to cost the highest, but they will pretty much amount the same thing since the cost for uc, if one is an international student, is way higher than residence/ citizen. Thus, Cost is not a variable in this case.</p>
<p>fairence, Michigan is actually slightly (insignificantly) cheaper than Cal and UCLA if you include cost of living.</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships Office Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.fao.ucla.edu/publications/2011-2012/Estimated_budgets.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fao.ucla.edu/publications/2011-2012/Estimated_budgets.pdf</a></p>
<p>[University</a> of Michigan Office of Financial Aid: Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://www.finaid.umich.edu/financial_aid_basics/cost.asp#2009-2010]University”>http://www.finaid.umich.edu/financial_aid_basics/cost.asp#2009-2010)</p>
<p>I am not familiar with Cal or UCLA’s strength in Actuarial Science, but Michigan is one of the best. I assume Cal is also strong as they are in everything.</p>
<p>All the 3 mentioned schools are quite prestigious internationally, so prestige does not matter in this case that much anymore. The academics at the 3 schools are also quite the same. And, I would reckon that since they’re all large schools, they offer the same campus ambiance and social scene. The OP should then would choose what kind of weather he/she prefers, cold vs sunny, or California vs Michigan.</p>
<p>RML, Michigan is very different from the UCs from a campus ambiance and social scene. For one, the majority of Michigan students tend to come from wealthy backgrounds and a large percentage of undergrads are from OOS and international (35% and 5% respectively).</p>
<p>In all other respects, I agree with your post.</p>
<p>Thank you for the links Alexandre^^ yes, the total cost is beyond my expectation (I’m a non-resident). </p>
<p>I’m not a fan of cold weather, so I guess that narrows 3 down to 2. I am actually scared because I heard rumors about how competitive Cal is. I don’t really know about the grading system of other universities, but only top 10% of the class in Cal get an A. Moreover, about 60% of the class has only 20 students and less (if I’m not mistaken), which is kinda dangerous if one needs to maintain a relatively high GPA for graduation.</p>
<p>Fairence, i would not rely too much on weather to make your decision. I grew up in a place where 110 degrees with 90% humidity was the norm in summer and I had no trouble adjusting to midwestern winters. I think criteria such as campus culture and student demographics are going to play a more significant role in determining fit that the weather.</p>
<p>And do not worry about Cal’s grading curve. As an OOS student, you will naturally be among the top 25% of your class.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How did you come up with this</p>
<p>The UCs are significantly more selective for OOS applicants. There are going to be exceptions of course, but for the most part, it is much harder for OOS applicants to get in.</p>
<p>I thought Cal OOS applicants deal with a looser acceptance rate. Is that pool simply so much more qualified, that even with a bigger acceptance rate, they are still generally considered top 25%?</p>
<p>OOS students make up roughly only 12% of Cal’s undergraduate student body. The acceptance rate is roughly the same for IS and OOS applicants, but the OOS applicant pool and admitted students is sigfnificantly stronger.</p>
<p>Really? I didn’t know that. Thanks for letting me know.</p>
<p>By any chance, do you have SAT stats to support that?</p>
<p>I’m curious on:
-OOS applicant, OOS admit, OOS enrolled
-IS applicant, IS admit, IS enrolled</p>
<p>It’d be interesting to see how those 6 groups compare…</p>
<p>Fairence, I am also a math major, and I am trying to decide between UCB, UCLA and UCSD. UCB gives me a full ride including the domertry. But the UCLA math department is bigger. I will have to pay like 4k each year for UCLA though. I am not sure which one I WILL choose, but I am afraid that my GPA will drop blow 3.0 after I transfer. That is why I AM considering to go to UCSD instead.</p>
<p>The UC’s are NOT significantly more selective for OOS. They used to be. Now, I think they’re actually less selective.</p>
<p>[University</a> of California: StatFinder](<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu%5DUniversity”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu) can give you stats on applicants and students at various UCs.</p>
<p>For actuarial careers, you may want to look at [Be</a> An Actuary - Preparing for an Actuarial Career While in College](<a href=“http://www.beanactuary.com/college/preparing.cfm]Be”>http://www.beanactuary.com/college/preparing.cfm) and the suggested VEE courses at [Be</a> An Actuary - Preparing for an Actuarial Career While in College](<a href=“http://www.beanactuary.com/college/vee.cfm]Be”>http://www.beanactuary.com/college/vee.cfm) .</p>
<p>Berkeley does offer an optional intermediate microeconomics / macroeconomics sequence with more math, if that is something you are looking for.</p>
<p>If you actually want to be an actuarian then it won’t make a difference between these. My vote is either LA for the weather/ lifestyle or Berkeley for the access to silicon valley (in case you change your mind and want to major in something like CS).</p>
<p>ucbalumnus: Yes, thank you for that link… I was going to post it until I saw you did… so much speculating in life, people just need to get the facts:</p>
<p>This is for 2009 entering freshmen. Could very well have changed significantly for 2011 freshmen:</p>
<p>Band: 3.8 - 3.99 unweighted GPA + SAT 2100-2400 SINGLE SITTING</p>
<p>CA Resident Admit rate: 72.8% n=3548
ALL Applicants Admit rate: 60.2% n=3548</p>
<p>Clearly, in 2009, it was much harder to gain admittance into Berkeley as an OOS applicant. My gut tells me this has equalized in the current year due to the recent targetting of OOS student tuition money.</p>