UCLA vs UCSD. I've decided LA. Can you convince me otherwise?

<p>Pretty straight forward, got accepted to UCLA and UCSD as a poli sci transfer. I am almost 100% sure that I am going to choose LA so I just wanted to know if anyone has a reason why I should check out UCSD before I jump blindly into LA haha. My UCSD college is ERC btw.</p>

<p>Nobody will convince you otherwise. Come on down to UCLA!</p>

<p>Source: fellow polisci transfer also blindly jumping into UCLA.</p>

<p>isn’t ucsd ranked higher in poli sci than la?</p>

<p>Honestly it doesn’t matter. You could flip a coin and 2 years from now you’d be just as happy no matter what the coin said. People adapt like that; if you are an intrinsically happy person you’ll find things you love that you’ll be sure wouldn’t have happened at the other; if you have a more pessimistic outlook then the grass will always be greener…</p>

<p>You’ll have different experiences at the two schools, no doubt, but 2 big things that affect what you’ll say reflecting back down the road are going to be (1) what you do to take advantage of your opportunities and (2) randomness. People prefer the sense of being in control, and I’m not arguing there is no predictability, but random things like the friends you make, chance conversations that may lead to an internship, stuff like that, are significant and yet not predictable.</p>

<p>In the end you have 2 great choices. Have a great time at UCLA!</p>

<p>Such an easy choice… ucla the hottest girls out of all the UC’s…</p>

<p>I have chosen to go to UCSD instead of UCLA (or UCB, UCI…) with a major in Sociology. I highly encourage you to look into the academic programs offered at both UCSD and UCLA more, as the areas of concentration are slightly different at the two universities, so it depends what you are interested in. UCSD’s political science program is ranked slightly higher than UCLA, as another poster suggested. Also, will you be living on campus or commuting? Housing options or the time to commute may also be a deciding factor. You really can’t go wrong with either school though - and it’s only for 2 years!</p>

<p>Yeah UCSD’s is ranked a little higher but overall UCLA is a better school right (academically)? And I would most likely be living on campus.</p>

<p>No I can not. Congratulations on being admitted to both as well.</p>

<p>@Mandapanda could you elaborate on what made you choose UCSD over Berk and LA? </p>

<p>@MikeyRawks thanks man!!! Worked my a** off!</p>

<p>Department quality is probably more important than the school’s overall academic rank. Unless of courses you plan on majoring in all of the offered majors… lol.</p>

<p>I think mikemac summed it up about as well as could be done regarding choosing between two schools like UCSD and UCLA.</p>

<p>Los Angeles has terrible drivers & unreal traffic jams. </p>

<p>That’s all I can think of.</p>

<p>The biggest factor for me was the program. All of the schools offer good sociology programs, with Berkeley being the top program. I was accepted to Berkeley for Spring instead of fall, so I automatically threw that school out because I just can’t wait any longer to transfer (I already have 90 lower division courses completed). However, UCSD offers an area of concentration in law and society under my sociology, which is attractive to me because I plan to eventually go to law school. Although UCLA is more prestigious than UCSD and offers a greater social life, that simply isn’t all that I was looking for. Because I am married (21 years old, no kids), I was faced with the option of commuting to UCLA or UCSD or moving, which would be an added expense. The commute to UCSD is 45 minutes versus 2 hours one way for UCLA. It was a hard choice, but commute time and the academic program really attracted me to UCSD.</p>

<p>But to each their own. As I said, both schools are excellent and you can really go wrong with either.</p>

<p>West side LA is lame. San Diego is also lame. It’s a toss up!</p>

<p>No, just kidding. Kind of.</p>

<p>East side LA is cool and not THAT far, relatively, from UCLA. A little farther than La Jolla to DT San Diego though, I think. As far as location goes, I think LA has a lot more to offer. But I am biased because I live in LA, I guess.</p>