UCLA vs UCSD vs ASU Barrett. Please help me choose!

College Search & Selection
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I’ve narrowed down my choices to ASU Baretts, UCSD and UCLA ( WL) for undergraduate psychology. I’m on the waitlist for UCLA but would like to collect information in the event I get off of it.

All of them would be around the same cost ( 33k-34k) but if my dad moves to AZ via his company ( which they have offered to do much before) there is a specific clause that would allow us to become AZ residents and the COA would be 22-24k/ yr

I intend to go to grad school after this and would have to take loans for all these colleges anyway.

I’ve fallen in love with UCSD and was fully planning on committing. However, I got into ASU Baretts today and now I’m conflicted, and I don’t know what to do between these three colleges. Could you please help me choose? Additional pros and cons of each?

UCSD pros: ( ERC college)

-Great for psych

-Multiple psych degree options ( business psych, ba/bs, including specilizafions) and since I am not 100% on what i want to do after undergrad, this keeps my options open

-Very diverse with asian population which I value as an Indian

-beautiful campus, on the beach

Cons:

-Social life is good, but not the best and I would really have to throw myself out there and not much to do

-STEM oriented school so lesser focus on humanities

-MMW sequence in ERC seems a little overtaxing

UCLA

Pros

-Amazing for psychology

-IT’S UCLA

-Great networking and alumni network too

-Incresibly diverse

-Social scene is fun and multidimensional and lots to do outside of campus

-FOOD is :hot_face::ok_hand:

Cons

-Cost of living is too high, including out of campus housing and in general food and such

-Academic rigor and competition is often too intense
-Safety I heard was bit of an issue

-Dorms are incredibly small and stuffy, but I’ve also heard they’re decent so if anyone could elaborate?

-Traffic is😬

Any other inputs are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much

ASU Baretts

Pros
-Could be cheaper
-good for psych
-honors program + scope for scholarships

Cons
-party school
-lower ranked
-okish food and housing
-mot much to do
-super hot weather
-Not super competitive
-Lesser diveristy

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  1. UCSD
  2. UCLA
  3. ASU-Honors

P.S. What type of contract clause allows one to become a state resident for tuition ? Seems like this would be a government decision & not one made by a private company. Is your dad a state government employee or military ? (No need to answer. Just curious as I had not come across such a contractual provision.)

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Thanks for your input! Any particular reason why UCSD over UCLA ?

Also here s the information we found :slight_smile:
https://students.asu.edu/residency

ASU If your employer paid for your move, you might qualify for the transferred employee exception.

https://go.oasis.asu.edu/residencypetition/

Transferred Employee

This 12-month exception applies to individuals (and spouses) who were transferred to Arizona for employment purposes within the last 12 months can document that their employer paid their relocation expenses are not self-employed or employed in a family-owned business not previously operating in Arizona

My dad is in the IT field and has a job that’s quite flexible to move around and his company said they would pay for his move, if needed. Hope this makes things clear.

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UCSD over UCLA mainly because you have been accepted to UCSD & waitlisted at UCLA.

Both UCSD & UCLA are great options.

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Makes sense. I was just wondering in the event I got off of it, which of the two would be better? UCLA gives 2 /3 days to accept your offer and I just wanted to be informed in case that choice came up. I absolutely love UCSD and I’m completely happy going there but if UCLA comes up, I’m unsure if I should pass that up for UCSD is all.

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If your family is moving to Arizona, I think that you will love direct ocean access at UCSD.

Both UCSD & UCLA are highly respected universities so personal preference is a reasonable basis for selecting one over the other.

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It really sounds like you prefer UCSD.

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I do, but I got barett honors yesterday and was conflicted so I thought I’d get some opinions

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I could have Googled this, but at the moment i’m squeezing every ounce of happiness out of my day off, so I didn’t. Is Barrett the honors college at Arizona State?

If so, that’s pretty sweet.

Arizona State is a school that takes its mission to educate its in-state kids very seriously, so their admission stats lag behind most of the UCs… obviously including UCLA and SD. But their faculty are capable. And if Barrett is the honors college, it’s a huge thumbs-up fit a multitude of reasons I’m too lazy to explain. But as a blanket statement, honors colleges at state flagships are probably going to offer you an education rivaling the expensive/elite LACs and private universities.

UCSD and UCLA – at the latter, you are waitlisted. They don’t know if they want you, and chances are fairly slim that they will admit you. So ew-scray them. You have two fine choices in ASU and UCSD. Everyone knows the Sun Devils, and UCSD has made its name for great advances – publishing, awards, and international recognition. UCSD actually is probably ahead of UCLA in research output. UCLA is constructing its efforts into the college , while UCSD is trying to become UW- Madison, Johns Hopkins, UMich on the international stage – major research and helping the rest of us to innovate those ideas. Berkeley is there too obviously.

I’d say, if Barrett is the honors college (lol i feel like a moron not knowing, but as i said, this is my single weekly day off – you either know or can google it…) at ASU, that makes it at least even with UCSD general admit. If all else is equal, go with UCSD. Unless you are allergic to the Pacific water. Hehe

At any rate, you have wonderful options. Regards.

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I am a UCSD (undergrad) and UCLA (grad) alum. First off, congratulations. Personally, I think its most important for you to go to the school where you feel you can be successful inside and outside of the classroom, especially if you are planning to got to grad school. Where are you “feeling” it?

Many of my close friends at UCSD including my ex-wife were psych majors. They had very rigorous courses and great experiences. Most of them went on to grad school so I disagree with your assessment that UCSD is more of a stem school.

Finally, your college experience is what you make of it so the generalizations you listed as pros/cons are just that, generalizations. What is your opinion?

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The structure of Arizona public universities appears to be related to population geography. The two flagship-level universities ASU and UA are in the two largest concentrations of population in the state, whose metro areas make up over 80% of the state population (ASU is in the metro that makes up more than half of the state population). Hence, combining the mission with that of a broadly accessible university within commuting range for much of the population makes sense.

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OP, have you visited UCSD?

I’m reading your comments about “beautiful campus” and “on the beach”… and if that’s a firsthand impression, that’s awesome. But opinions differ widely about the campus aesthetic, and beach access isn’t really all that easy. Just want to be sure that you’re familiar with what it’s really like. I’m pretty neutral on it personally - I thought it was nice when we visited - but my daughter, who had expected to like it, really really did not. So it’s a very “YMMV” thing.

No bad choices here. It’s true that housing can get expensive around UCLA, and the way students disperse to off-campus housing options can end up very much stratified by ability to pay for the more desirable situations. It’s not as bad a housing crunch as Berkeley or Santa Cruz, though… and it’s a gorgeous campus in a very nice area. Definitely worth serious consideration if you clear the waitlist.

Tough call. Obviously you can get a great undergrad psych education at any of them - the “you get out what you put in” adage will apply, and none of these schools will limit you. It may come down to intangibles. Congrats on having great choices!

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Thank you so much for your input! Barrett is the Honors college for ASU, yes. And I know UCLA wl chances are low but I heard they give 2 days to accept and I just thought it would be great if I could go into that choice with a little more of my eyes open.

I know you mentioned honors colleges at state flagships rival Ivies and such, but in the event j decide for whatever reason to drop honors, would ASU in itself be worth it? I know a lot of people who drop out later and if I’m one of those people, then would I be academically challenged otherwise?

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I’m an international applicant so I haven’t been able to tour any of these campuses unfortunately:(

I’ve been researching all of them and they each have their own pros and cons, and without visiting and taking to students and all those smaller stuff I feel I’m walking in blind. All of them are T50s for psych so I know I’m not debating between quality of education. It really is about the tangible except I dont know how to really how to decipher it.

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Make sure your instate Offer at ASU applies to international students. Same with the instate COA at those UCs.

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That’s great to hear! Super awesome to have an input from an alum of both schools. I think given the pros and cons, I’m leaning towards UCSD but I’m unsure if the 10k difference that ASU Baretts would reduce is worth it. And if UCLA comes up, it seems insane to pass that up but I’ve never experienced the LA culture and haven’t lived in the US for a while. I atleast know cali, but nothing about AZ. Not being able to attend most of the ASU sessions because of time differences and nothing from UCLA for WL students makes me feel like I’m walking blind into this.

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I’m an intentional applicant with domestic UC citizenship and CA residency:)

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I know tha UCSD is close to some big medical facilities from what I heard from my counselor, so I think that wiiod provide a lot of good psychology internships as opposed to ASU but I’m not really sure about LA. Do you have any insights for me?

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Do you expect to have a car? If not, I’d say you would feel the lack of one more acutely at UCSD than at UCLA. I’m not sure about cars and ASU but maybe others will weigh in.

If you didn’t have the coveted CA in-state status, I’d go with Barrett rather than pay double for a UC… but at cost parity, I think I’d lean toward whichever UC you prefer. The whole thing of your dad’s moving his business to AZ so that you can save on the last 2-3 years’ tuition… not only does it sound like a hassle, but you might regret it if you then realized you’d like to apply to UC grad programs.

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A car is not needed at ASU, but a bicycle or skateboard is a must as the campus is pretty large. Outside the campus, the public transportation network is decent. It is very easy and very cheap to get to/from the airport using the Light Rail.

Valley Metro Light Rail | Phoenix.org