<p>I've got the old UCLA or UCSD question...so I was wondering if you guys could give me some input.</p>
<p>I've gotten into both schools, both undecided at the moment. I want to eventually go into business but seeing as neither has an undergraduate business major that doesn't really work right now.</p>
<p>I'm wondering which school is better academically, which is better for internship opportunities, and what's the general lifestyle like at these schools?</p>
<p>I want to do both the UCLA Bruin Day and the UCSD Admit Day but they're both the same day (conveniently haha)...seeing as I live in the Chicago area its still sort of expensive to fly so i guess 1. is it worth it? and 2. which one should I go to if it is?</p>
<p>I visited both colleges last summer and honestly I love the feel of San Diego and La Jolla. It's so chill there. However, LA is one of the most exciting cities in the world and I loved it there too.</p>
<p>My mom also brought up a good point about how LA's atmosphere promotes movement and energy, while SD is more relaxed. Being really laid back myself, I feel like LA would provide me with more energy and motivation, but SD would feel free and promote more deeper thinking (for me at least).</p>
<p>Anybody have any suggestions?? I could really use some help haha.
Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>(also, for housing at UCSD do I just click a couple buttons and I've already applied...? UCLA's housing app seems much more in depth)</p>
<p>You’ll probably have better opportunities recruiting wise @ UCLA (into consulting, finance, ibanking, etc.) than at UCSD coming out of undergrad. With that said, go with where you feel like home (or some place equivalently awesome).</p>
<p>From my personal experience and hearing anecdotes from students recruiting for jobs at other schools, initially it will matter quite a bit if you’re looking for top tier opportunities. Yes, you can recruit outside the college recruiting circuit/on-campus recruiting but you’re looking at an incrementally more difficult road. Once you’re out of school after your first job, it won’t matter anymore, but it’s tougher otherwise.</p>
<p>Ok so LA will be better for internship opportunities and such?
And SD is better for science, LA is better for…? Other stuff? haha</p>
<p>Also, I’m not a partyer at all, does that affect anything? I don’t know how the social life at each school is so I’m kind of wondering if I’ll still have fun without being that way…I’m much more chill i like longboarding, want to get into surfing…and I’m a tennis player.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the help and if anyone goes to either school if you could offer any insight on the school’s overall experience and feel it would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>You’ll find all three of those activities at UCLA and at UCSD (longboarding, surfing,tennis club). Internships will depend - if you’re looking at bio related work, UCSD has more opportunities, otherwise, you can’t beat LA. </p>
<p>Just come visit if you can to feel the atmosphere. UCSD is a lot quieter and feels more like a commuter school (campus clears out on weekends). It’s got beautiful weather and really close access to the beach tough + great Mexican food and everything is only a 20 minute drive away. You’ll also pay much less for housing once you move out.</p>
<p>UCLA - well, it’s in LA. there’s plenty of threads about it on this board. Just use the search function. Never lack anything to do, access to the beach, etc.</p>
<p>academically, they are both great. I don’t think the academics at one eclipses the other.</p>
<p>socially however, LA hands down. My friends at UCSD still complain on how horrible the social life is/ lack of stuff to do there. While Westwood is a nice community, it is not ridiculously strict on partying like UCSD. Although you mentioned you’re not a party person…lets face it, its nice to have the option to go out or try at least once. At UCSD you NEED a car to do something…at LA, the bus system is great enough to take you wherever you want to go. My friends got bored of the beach their first year at SD.</p>
<p>Finally, there’s one area that separates the school’s drastically…school pride. At LA, we have dozens of sports teams and have football/basketball games to go to. UCSD…doesn’t have a football team. It sounds trivial, but having NCAA championship caliber sports teams builds up school pride and makes attending the school all the more enjoyable. While our football team isn’t nearly as good as our basketball team, going to a college football game is part of the college experience that you shouldn’t miss. You’ll get tired of 8-claps, but have a good time doing so. UCSD’s school spirit event is Sun God, which, while huge, pales in comparison to all the events at UCLA.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, UCSD is a great school for academics. But the other parts of the college experience, from having a never ending list of places to go (without a car) to celebrating a home college football victory are memories that shouldn’t be missed. You’re not going to remember studying for your finals, but you will remember the good times you had during college.</p>
<p>I went to UCLA for undergrad, UCSD for grad.</p>
<p>UCSD is probably the more academically impressive school once you get past the famousness of UCLA, but as an undergrad experience: go to UCLA. </p>
<p>I TAed when I was at UCSD, and there was a definite feeling amongst UCSD undergrads that they didn’t “connect” with the campus in as deep of a way as my colleagues at UCLA did.</p>
<p>I caution, however, that the stereotype that UCSD is better for science, and UCLA better for other areas is somewhat overgeneralized.</p>
<p>For example, UCSD’s poli sci department is much stronger overall than UCLA’s, and UCLA’s biology department is probably stronger than UCSD’s. I’d also generally expect UCLA’s engineering department to perform better overall. UCSD is really underrated, but I think UCLA is still more well-rounded.</p>