So I recently got of the waitlist at LA and will be pursuing a double major in neuroscience and cognitive science if I attend. If I go to Davis, I will be pursuing Biomedical Engineering. I do not know if engineering will be a match for me, and I’m afraid that if I do not do engineering my job prospects look pretty bleak. I plan to go to med school, but would like a safety net in case that doesn’t work out. Cost is not an issue for me.
Pros UCLA:
prestige
location/ climate/ social life
research/ internships
excellent academics
Pros UC Davis:
engineering (broader scope)
less competition= more opportunities?
closer to home
If you really want to go to UC Davis, and you end up not liking engineering, you could always switch to the cognitive science major! Davis also offers neurobiology. I’m not sure what the difference is between neurobiology and neuroscience, but I’m sure that you’d be able to find something that you like with the many majors that Davis offers.
Also, being that it sounds like you are a bit unsure of what to major in, at UCLA it would be much harder to switch majors. I’ve heard it’s very easy to switch at Davis!
Also, UC davis is still one of the top 10 public universities. You would not be losing all that much prestige! And, it matters how well you personally will do at the school, not the school in and of itself when it comes to job offers.
I personally absolutely love Davis as a town. It’s really cute, green, and all of the people there seem really really nice.
I’m biased because I will be attending Davis in the fall haha, but I thought I’d just give you my personal opinion. I’m sure you’d be happy at either school and I wish you the best of luck! Choose the one where you think you’d be happiest at, and don’t base it too much on prestige or what other people may think because that’s not what matters most!